Poem: The Worst Crowd that Would Have Him (R)

[thewiggins]

Title: The Worst Crowd That Would Have Him
Author: thewiggins
Rating: R
Characters: Giles (Ripper), Ethan, Deidre, Phillip, Thomas, Randall
Length: 270
Summary: He's sick of destiny. So he leaves Oxford to find the worst crowd that will have him.
Author's Note: So, I tried writing a different fic for SoG this year, but it was kinda high concept and more difficult to pull off than I envisioned. Seeing that I wouldn't be able to finish it in time, I tried to write a shorter, simpler fic. It also got too complicated. Approaching the 11th hour and with neither fic anywhere near finished, I resorted to this, free verse poetry.  All things considered, I'm pretty happy with it.
Definitely unbeta'ed and feedback, as always, is much appreciated!
PS, I haven't gotten around to reading and commenting on everyone's works yet due to life stuff, but I plan on getting to you all as soon as possible! <3

He left Oxford for London
with nothing but a guitar
and a new accent–
both practiced in secret
for years.

He was 21 years-old,
a man who’d never
been a child,
a youth who’d never
rebelled.

He’d labored too long under
the weight of a planned,
inevitable future
and now,
it was time for some fun.

He played in bars
and on street corners.
He never
told his parents
he’d returned.

He said yes to everything
that was offered to him:
uppers, downers,
hand jobs and blowjobs
couches and beds to sleep on.

But he wasn’t satisfied.

If Ripper was truly
going to fulfill the
promise of his youth
and his education,
he’d need help.

Then he met Ethan,
a trickster, a mock-sorcerer,
a bony, smooth talking youth
who bluffed at importance and
experience almost convincingly.

He and Ripper
found real magic together
quickly enough.
And the others joined them,
 one by one.

First Deidre,
who’d used her great, great grandmother’s spellbook
to summon an imp that had eagerly helped
right wrongs in the classroom and at home
and gotten her kicked out of both.

Then Phillip,
Deirdre's ever loyal friend
who’d followed her from York
and brought along a beautiful collection
of knives and other wicked toys.

And Thomas,
burglar, cheat, thief of hearts and vintage cars,
who wanted to give up
his life of petty crimes
in favor of much grander ones.

And finally Randall,
who made the others
look tame
and could never,
never be predicted.

And Ripper looked around
at the gang he’d helped create
and smiled
knowing that his future
wouldn’t go according to any plan.

Comments

[il_mio_capitano]

Lots of fun. I do like Randall as the bad boy. It's a change from his usual naïve martyrdom.


And those other fics can still be completed for free-for-all day. Just sayin'

[thewiggins]

Thanks, Cap! One thing I enjoy about writing and reading Ripper's Gang fics is that, apart from Giles and Ethan, they're all such blank slates, so they can be interpreted a little differently each time.

And yes, I think I can get at least one of the other pieces ready for posting by the end of the month. I'm certainly going to try!

[thenewbuzwuzz]

Oh, yay! :) Good luck! hmu if you want last-minute beta

[thenewbuzwuzz]

"Seeing that I wouldn't be able to finish it in time, I tried to write a shorter, simpler fic. It also got too complicated."
I FEEL this in my SOUL, as the kids on tumblr say.


I love the first two stanzas! *g*

...so now I know what uppers and downers are! :D

Characters who bluff almost convincingly are some of the most charming ones :))

I like the structure of giving every new character a stanza. It's going to be an honest coincidence when I use it in the next poem I post. :D (really, because I was going there already in my revision process - but I digress)

Personally, I really like the rhythm towards the end of Deidre's part. It appeals to my taste for bounciness. :D

"knowing that his future
wouldn’t go according to any plan"
oh! Nice

See, it's interesting to think about what makes a text sound like poetry or like prose. Is it imagery, sound, the ratio of straightforwardly logical vs. associative? Some parts of your poem sound more poem-y to me than others. Regardless of such classification, lovely character study!

[thewiggins]

See, it's interesting to think about what makes a text sound like poetry or like prose. Is it imagery, sound, the ratio of straightforwardly logical vs. associative? Some parts of your poem sound more poem-y to me than others. Regardless of such classification, lovely character study!

Yeah, I think that's the area in which it's most obvious that it's a last minute project. I's kinda... prose-y for a poem. There are some bits that work reasonably well as poetry, but others could have really used more time to work in some of the elements you mentioned. (Interesting take on the distinction between prose and poetry btw, I think you're pretty much dead on!)

Anyway, glad you enjoyed it overall! And I guess that I could teach you some drug slang? lol

[thenewbuzwuzz]

"There are some bits that work reasonably well as poetry"
Oh, some parts work *beautifully*.

[accioawesome]

This might be my favorite entry so far this month. I love Ripper and his gang so deeply and this is a really fun format. “A man who’d never been a child” hit hard. Awesome job, thanks for sharing.

[thewiggins]

Aw, thanks, I'm happy to hear you enjoyed it!

I'm really pleased to see you participating this year, btw! I started your fic but haven't got a chance to finish it yet, I plan on doing so and commenting soon!

And yes, I am such a sucker for stories about Ripper and his gang. My other stories that I started for SoG are also Ripper's Gang related, so hopefully you'll get to see a little more of that come free-for-all day.

[accioawesome]

Aw, thanks! Happy to be here. I'm posting a second one right now, and I MIGHT have something for the free for all day, but I might be tapped out, haha. Can't wait to see what you've got, whether it gets posted this month or not.

[sparrow2000]

This was terrific, and great to see something in a different form from normal. Your word choices were all spot on, but I especially loved this description of Ethan
a bony, smooth talking youth
who bluffed at importance and
experience almost convincingly.

That's just perfect. Look forward to seeing those unfinished fics when you get there, but this was wonderful in its own right!

[thewiggins]

Oh, thank you so much!

[dragonyphoenix]

knowing that his future
wouldn’t go according to any plan.

Ha, he's got that right. Lovely poem.

[thewiggins]

Thanks!

[double_dutchess]

This is awesome, from Giles' secretly practiced accent to Ethan's almost-convincing bluffing and Thomas' wanting to give up his life of petty crime (in favor of bigger ones). I admire your talent for coming up with this off the cuff at the last minute!

Here from buffyversetop5

[yourlibrarian]

Seeing that I wouldn't be able to finish it in time, I tried to write a shorter, simpler fic. It also got too complicated. Approaching the 11th hour and with neither fic anywhere near finished, I resorted to this, free verse poetry.

Haha, the best laid plans! Still came together quite nicely, though the enumeration of each person did make me think of the The Gashlycrumb Tinies, (which would not be out of place given their doings!)