Replacing the Zippo

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You have replaced Xander in Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Now you have to figure out how to fill that spot.
Welcome to the Hellmouth
Pronouns
She
Xander is, despite everything, the heart of the group in Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It's a show you know and love, for all it's many and various flaws. You cheered with their victories and cried with their tragedies. That's why you know without a doubt that Xander was key. He kept morale up, he provided snacks, encouragement, and he was always willing to fight. He was not chosen like Buffy. No, he chose this for himself. Again and again he threw himself against the darkness. He saw far more than the enemies were comfortable with, enough to drive one to attempt to blind him.

And to think he started as a loser in an abusive household.

Even worse, to think you're now in his place. Your mind races as you think over the various obstacles to come. The Master, who was plotting from his place trapped in the entrance to the Hellmouth raising his minions to free him. Angel, due to lose his soul thanks to the sordid love affair with Buffy. The mayor silently pulling the strings behind the scenes for almost a century, planning to become one of the Old Ones. The twisted military experiments.

And that's not even getting into the personal problems, like dating Cordelia, Jesse's death, struggling to get a job and keep up in school.

You took a deep breath as you looked at Xander - yourself - in the mirror. Alright, this wasn't the worst thing in the world. You just had to figure out what you wanted to do from here. Turning a blind eye certainly wasn't going to be it.

[ ]Stewardship - you're going to focus on the home base. You will help raise morale, focus on school, and making sure that everyone has what they need. A home is important, and you know everyone struggled with feeling they had a place to belong in the show
[ ]Diplomacy - you're going to focus on alliances. There was often tension between members in the group, and it was easy to make enemies that they didn't have to have. You're going to convince people to work with Buffy against the big bad, not falling behind
[ ]Intrigue - you're going to focus on making sure you know everything that happens in this town. Secrets kill, and you aren't going to let that happen. You will make sure that you have ears everywhere
[ ]Education - you don't know nearly enough. You need to make sure you're on top of things. When something weird comes up, you'll be the go to guy. Giles is great at that, and you admired him for that in the show
[ ]Combat - you need to be able to fight. Xander started out being beaten often in the show. It was a joke. You don't want to be that joke. You're going to find a way to fight right alongside Buffy. You may not have super strength, but brains can match brawn any day
[ ]Magic - you've always wanted to learn magic. Now you have your chance, in a world full of it. Sure, Xander tended to have things go pear shaped on him, but you're not actually Xander, just in his body. Surely things will go better for you
 
Character Sheet
Name: Alexander "Xander" Harris
Age: 15
Occupation: High school student

Traits:
Chaos Marked - fate can't control you, but you don't have a neat and orderly life either. Things are more likely to go off the rails around you
School Loser - a loser of the school, the only people lower than you on the social ladder are the ones people forget exist. People will go out of their way to make fun of you and laugh
School of Hard Knocks - you are highly independent and great at taking care of yourself. You have to be, you've had no one else to rely on for that. You have a higher resistance to pain
Goofy - it's easy for you to make people who like you laugh and cheer them up. On the other hand, you're rarely taken seriously

Skills:

Stewardship: 10
Diplomacy: 6
Intrigue: 8
Education: 6
Combat: 9
Magic: ???

Focus: Intrigue - +1 to all Intrigue rolls
 
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Oh, wow! New Blacksheep quest! Now to actually consider the options...
[ ]Stewardship - you're going to focus on the home base. You will help raise morale, focus on school, and making sure that everyone has what they need. A home is important, and you know everyone struggled with feeling they had a place to belong in the show
I like this one a lot, and Stewardship is "Xander"'s highest stat. Also, what do we call the PC that isn't the original Xander? I'll just go with Xander for now to keep things simple.
[ ]Diplomacy - you're going to focus on alliances. There was often tension between members in the group, and it was easy to make enemies that they didn't have to have. You're going to convince people to work with Buffy against the big bad, not falling behind
My mind keeps trying to do a record scratch at the idea of early original Xander being diplomatic. This isn't the actual Xander, but I'm having trouble visualizing how this would work.
[ ]Intrigue - you're going to focus on making sure you know everything that happens in this town. Secrets kill, and you aren't going to let that happen. You will make sure that you have ears everywhere
This feels like it would work pretty well. Xander could do a bunch of odd jobs all over town to make connections. He'd just also have to be very careful not to run into trouble that he can't get out of.
[ ]Education - you don't know nearly enough. You need to make sure you're on top of things. When something weird comes up, you'll be the go to guy. Giles is great at that, and you admired him for that in the show
I don't think we really need to fill Giles' role for him, especially since Willow will also eventually cover this.
[ ]Combat - you need to be able to fight. Xander started out being beaten often in the show. It was a joke. You don't want to be that joke. You're going to find a way to fight right alongside Buffy. You may not have super strength, but brains can match brawn any day
I'd like to put some work into this, but the other roles seem more interesting as a focus.
[ ]Magic - you've always wanted to learn magic. Now you have your chance, in a world full of it. Sure, Xander tended to have things go pear shaped on him, but you're not actually Xander, just in his body. Surely things will go better for you
There's no way this will go well for us. It should at least be interesting.

[X]Stewardship - you're going to focus on the home base. You will help raise morale, focus on school, and making sure that everyone has what they need. A home is important, and you know everyone struggled with feeling they had a place to belong in the show

I just really like stories about friendship and belonging.
 
[X]Combat - you need to be able to fight. Xander started out being beaten often in the show. It was a joke. You don't want to be that joke. You're going to find a way to fight right alongside Buffy. You may not have super strength, but brains can match brawn any day.

Originally, Xander was actually supposed to gain some serious combat skills and become much more of a costar than he was. Unfortunately, the guy who played him ended up having a problem with alcoholism. I'd very much like to see a quest where he doesn't turn out like a sideshow punch line, as he did in canon. Also ironically, Buffy wasn't supposed to be obsessed with fucking corpses, but unfortunately just like in Twilight, Buffy teen girl fans are idiots that get wet for the stalker serial killer vibe. So corporate forced that to change too, Whedon yelled at the guy that played Spike over it which was a dick move.
 
[X]Magic - you've always wanted to learn magic. Now you have your chance, in a world full of it. Sure, Xander tended to have things go pear shaped on him, but you're not actually Xander, just in his body. Surely things will go better for you
 
[X]Intrigue - you're going to focus on making sure you know everything that happens in this town. Secrets kill, and you aren't going to let that happen. You will make sure that you have ears everywhere

His "One who sees" trait might still be there. It'd also allow us to nip some serious funk in the bud.


But, a more pertinent question however, is; In what PoV does Blacksheep view the cast? Fanon innocent nerdy Willow, Ditzy bottle Blonde Buffy, Fatherly Giles, needy blind Alex, and desperately denial Joyce? Or Canon Psycho Willow that already was abusing magic before she knew it was magic, PTSD Drama Queen tripling down Buffy, Trying and failing to be the Perfect Watcher Giles. Over whelmed, Over stressed, Overly denying Joyce; and lastly formerly survivor sociopath with a reason to play nice Alexander.


If the fanon group, then Stewardship would be best, with a follow up of intrigue. Until, or unless we get Cordy in, we need a responsible treasurer. And while Cordy is passable at intrigue, canon and fanon Cordy excel at money management. Canon/Fanon Alex's main skill was intrigue even before the soldier memories, just greater after.

If the Canon group, then Magic is actually the better option. Alex didn't actually negatively react to magic, and magic didn't negatively react to Alex. He actually has talent, and skill, in it. He just happen to use for self gain in a destructive manner, thus it reacts like a monkey's paw. And his retaining memories is because he went as himself as a soldier. There was literally no reason for him to forget those memories. So he retained them. And no, he's not a prophecy breaker. The "prophecy" about Buffy dying was fulfilled; it's just that since it didn't include anything about her staying dead that he circumvented the typical outcome for such a prophecy. But it still carried out to fruition. But again, if not magic then intrigue. And we try and recruit Amy so she doesn't go dark practitioner on the group, and thus stamp out Willow's attempt to monopolize Buffy's favor. Try like hell to keep Willow strictly tech support so that she doesn't get ideas of ultimate power, See if we can get Janna to be Diplo, and do our damnedest make Giles focus on his job as researcher instead of half assing it from the start.


But that's all dependent upon Sheep's interpretation of the cast. To determine how to approach the MC/PC actions.
 
But, a more pertinent question however, is; In what PoV does Blacksheep view the cast? Fanon innocent nerdy Willow, Ditzy bottle Blonde Buffy, Fatherly Giles, needy blind Alex, and desperately denial Joyce? Or Canon Psycho Willow that already was abusing magic before she knew it was magic, PTSD Drama Queen tripling down Buffy, Trying and failing to be the Perfect Watcher Giles. Over whelmed, Over stressed, Overly denying Joyce; and lastly formerly survivor sociopath with a reason to play nice Alexander.
Didn't the characters change over time? I'm pretty sure that Willow was not abusing magic at the very start of the story, and the other characters all got worse over time as the trauma built up. It sounds like we're at the start of the show so everyone should be their more innocent selves right now.
Even worse, to think you're now in his place. Your mind races as you think over the various obstacles to come. The Master, who was plotting from his place trapped in the entrance to the Hellmouth raising his minions to free him. Angel, due to lose his soul thanks to the sordid love affair with Buffy. The mayor silently pulling the strings behind the scenes for almost a century, planning to become one of the Old Ones. The twisted military experiments.

As for Magic, the wording of that option makes it pretty clear that stuff is going to go wrong. Xander also has the Chaos Marked trait.
Chaos Marked - fate can't control you, but you don't have a neat and orderly life either. Things are more likely to go off the rails around you
 
Didn't the characters change over time? I'm pretty sure that Willow was not abusing magic at the very start of the story, and the other characters all got worse over time as the trauma built up. It sounds like we're at the start of the show so everyone should be their more innocent selves right now.
As stated, "before she even knew it was magic." There's enough there that it'd take more than an hour for me to remember it all and list it down. But it can be boiled down to using magic to do pseudo hypnosis on others, and herself. (also a likely reason she suffers from hypertension) She likely didn't know it was magic until she was introduced to how it works when Catherine abused it in the first season.
As for Magic, the wording of that option makes it pretty clear that stuff is going to go wrong. Xander also has the Chaos Marked trait.
Ah... just read the description of it. Then it would seem that Sheep's going for the fanon interpretation of the cast. Meaning we should play to Alex's prior strengths (intrigue) and hope we can get Cordelia in soon for money management.
 
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I want to say I'm going for a bit of both.

Willow is currently innocent, but she has the potential for so much danger in what she is. She has blinded herself to her own flaws in her blind pursuits.

Buffy is a bit of a ditz, but part of that is her desire to be so. She has intelligence, she just desperately wants normal. She hates being the Slayer, and her romantic drives are absolutely her trying to get that innocence back.

Giles wants to be a great Watcher. It's clear that in canon he begins to step into a fatherly role for Buffy, but he certainly didn't start there.

Joyce is...

Well, she's kind. And she tries really hard. But she was not at all equipped for her daughter being the Slayer, and isn't gonna take it well no matter what. She'll get over it, but getting through the denial and hate is a mountain.

I don't see Xander as a sociopath, and really don't want to, so please don't share the evidence of that. Let me have my denial. Also I am not going to say that Xander is bad at magic. He just attracts chaos.

The prophecy breaker interpretation is definitely something I favor, mainly because I despise the idea of fate being set in stone. Is it canon? I don't particularly care, prophecies are being broken like vases on the floor.
 
[X]Intrigue - you're going to focus on making sure you know everything that happens in this town. Secrets kill, and you aren't going to let that happen. You will make sure that you have ears everywhere

I think already having some foreknowledge entering into this existence, that Intrigue is a nice way to go at the beginning, I do think that Stewardship likely should be where we should end up long term, but at the beginning going for Intrigue I think is something we can get character growth from and maintain its usefulness in the long term.
 
[X]Intrigue - you're going to focus on making sure you know everything that happens in this town. Secrets kill, and you aren't going to let that happen. You will make sure that you have ears everywhere

I know nothing about Buffy, but this seems like a fun quest
 
[X]Magic - you've always wanted to learn magic. Now you have your chance, in a world full of it. Sure, Xander tended to have things go pear shaped on him, but you're not actually Xander, just in his body. Surely things will go better for you

We're not Xander, and so I don't feel bound overly much by canon. Intrigue is tempting though as well.
 
Vote closed
Scheduled vote count started by Blacksheep on Oct 8, 2024 at 8:24 PM, finished with 11 posts and 7 votes.

  • [X]Intrigue - you're going to focus on making sure you know everything that happens in this town. Secrets kill, and you aren't going to let that happen. You will make sure that you have ears everywhere
    [X]Magic - you've always wanted to learn magic. Now you have your chance, in a world full of it. Sure, Xander tended to have things go pear shaped on him, but you're not actually Xander, just in his body. Surely things will go better for you
    [X]Stewardship - you're going to focus on the home base. You will help raise morale, focus on school, and making sure that everyone has what they need. A home is important, and you know everyone struggled with feeling they had a place to belong in the show
    [X]Combat - you need to be able to fight. Xander started out being beaten often in the show. It was a joke. You don't want to be that joke. You're going to find a way to fight right alongside Buffy. You may not have super strength, but brains can match brawn any day.
 
Planning Out the First Steps
Knowledge was perhaps the most important currency in this universe. You were going to focus on that. You weren't sure how to start making those connections. You were, after all, one of the school losers. No one was going to talk to you about anything. Eavesdropping would be much more likely to get you information. Blackmail was also a possible route you would have to consider.

There was at least two sources of knowledge you could rely on for now. The first was what you knew about the show. The second was Willy's Bar, where demons liked to drop by. Willy was a professional informant, even though in the show most of the good guys got their information from him by beating him up. Truly it was a miracle he continued to have such good information. You would have to see if you could figure out how he managed to do that, and perhaps make a deal with him for information. Willy didn't have any morals beyond what got him money and kept him alive, but he always knew some relevant gossip about the monsters running around the city.

For now you dug out a notebook and began to jot down the relevant events that would happen over the next year.

- the Master's first attempt at gaining freedom through a ritual involving killing everyone at the Bronze
- Jesse, Xander's best friend, died during that
- Darla, the Master's favorite, would be running around
- Amy's mom body swapped with her daughter to relive her glory days as a cheerleader
- the preying mantis demon that wanted to use Xander to fertilize her eggs showed up, definitely wanted to avoid that
- one of Buffy's love attempts goes bad, and the "Annointed One" rises (creepy kid vampire)
- Xander and a bunch of bullies get possessed by hyena spirits! should that be avoided? fanfics sometimes have Xander keep traces of power, but could be nasty, and they also eat the principal...
- Angel is revealed as a vampire and Darla tries to force Angel back to her side, he kills Darla
- a demon from one of Giles' books accidentally got uploaded to the internet
- school talent show - do not get involved if possible! also a demon using it as a chance to get human parts to refresh disguise
- kid having nightmares drags everyone into some psuedo nightmare realm where bad dreams come to life
- invisible girl trying to murder Cordelia and her posse for being bullies
- end year dance, and also the prophecy where the Master kills Buffy is fulfilled, causing a second Slayer to be called

You looked over the list. That was a lot that was going to happen and you had to decide what to focus on. You didn't want everything to remain the same. You certainly didn't want to end up going through a lot of the stuff Xander did, that was just painful. You decided to start by focusing on how you were going to get through school. The trauma of the harvest ritual where Jesse dies would be a great excuse for your sudden change in temperament away from what Xander was originally like. But did you really want to let Jesse die just like that? If you saved him, how would that change things? You knew Willow at least was unlikely to question things, she was in love with Xander but in a blind manner, and much more clingy to Buffy as her new best friend.

[ ]Focus on polite manners with Willow
[ ]Try to act like Xander around Willow
[ ]Avoid Willow where possible
[ ]Write-in

[ ]Try to save Jesse
[ ]Let Jesse die
[ ]Write-in
 
One should try to be heroic even if success is unlikely, letting Jesse die and being basically forgotten about is something we shouldn't let happen, and we're already a wrench in the system what really is another that hopefully can help add some spice and maybe balancing to the group.

For the interactions with Willow, I'm not sure how I want to interact there. Avoiding her is out of the question, but the mind that is now Xander does not have the true memories and past with Willow. I don't think we should try and pursue a relationship with Willow especially not at the beginning, nor with Buffy though that is unlikely to work regardless.
 
Interesting story concept, honestly the intrigue specialty makes sense since that's what his current edge is.

[X]Try to act like Xander around Willow

Let's start getting good at lying.

[X]Try to save Jesse

Being a good person is worth the risk.
 
The First Principal was far better than the Second Principal. I'm not going to be up for eating him even if that would give us powers.
 
I'm definitely voting for trying to save Jesse, but I'm not so sure about how to act around Willow. A sudden change in behavior that's NOT the result of Jesse dying is suspicious, but I don't particularly want to keep pretending around her in the long term. Maybe we could start trying to act like Xander and then gradually shift behavior whenever it seems reasonable. What is the PC's default personality, anyway?
 
[X]Try to save Jesse

[X]Clean discussion on growing up with Willow
-[X]Have a talk with Willow, explain that you woke up one morning, looked in a mirror and had some existentialist angst. Explain an intention to pay more attention to the world. Tell her that this isn't meant to grow away from her, just some should searching that will be a focus for a while.

I didn't want to lie to Willow but she's clingy and determined. I didn't think Xander will be good enough to fake himself around her, without hurting her feelings. As such, I want to preemptively let her know why some personality changes will be happening.

I didn't want to suddenly break off Xander's past personality, but I also want it to change according to decisions. I expect those changes to be quicker than any Xander has had in the past.
 
[X]Try to save Jesse

[X]Clean discussion on growing up with Willow
-[X]Have a talk with Willow, explain that you woke up one morning, looked in a mirror and had some existentialist angst. Explain an intention to pay more attention to the world. Tell her that this isn't meant to grow away from her, just some should searching that will be a focus for a while.

I like Tascion's write-in. It feels as honest as we can be in the current circumstances.
 
[X]Try to Save Jesse
[X] Discuss the future with Willow
-[X] Express to Willow, that you really don't want to end up like your parents and that you want to change, ask her to help you maybe actually have a chance to make it to college, outline that you are actually serious about this request, and you know that she's by far the most intelligent person you know.

Okay, the idea here is two-fold the other write in is fine but it indicates that we are likely to avoid her for a bit this one outlines a reason that is understood by Willow, but we understandably don't actually need to talk about what instigated this change in dedication. It also lets us exhibit change but keep us close to Willow so that this new Xander can organically grow to understand Willow beyond the knowledge gained from the show, while also helping us actually improve academically some amount I expect. Also we do have the Goofy Trait so turning fully serious feels antithetical to that trait, we should try and maintain the essence of Xander.
 
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[X] Discuss the future with Willow
-[X] Express to Willow, that you really don't want to end up like your parents and that you want to change, ask her to help you maybe actually have a chance to make it to college, outline that you are actually serious about this request, and you know that she's by far the most intelligent person you know.
My concern about this write-in is that it doesn't seem related to the Intrigue focus. This would be perfect if Education won the vote though.
 
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