You have replaced Xander in Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Now you have to figure out how to fill that spot.
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Replacing the Zippo
- Thread starter Blacksheep
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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
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
- Pronouns
- She
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
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
Last edited:
Vote closed
- Pronouns
- She
Scheduled vote count started by Blacksheep on Oct 8, 2024 at 8:24 PM, finished with 11 posts and 7 votes.
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[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
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[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
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[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
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[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.
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Planning Out the First Steps
- Pronouns
- She
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
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
Vote closed
- Pronouns
- She
Scheduled vote count started by Blacksheep on Oct 10, 2024 at 10:48 PM, finished with 12 posts and 6 votes.
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[X]Try to save Jesse
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[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.
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[X]Try to act like Xander around Willow
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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.
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Fresh Fall
- Pronouns
- She
You were going to try to save Jesse. He was meant to be one of Xander's friends. His death had heavily impacted Xander. You had taken Xander's place, so it was only right that you did your best to save the guy from being turned into a vampire. You carefully planned out how you were going to approach this. You would do your best to be in the library to "eavesdrop" on Buffy and Giles to learn about vampires. When you all went to the Bronze to hang, you would make up an excuse that you wanted to stick close to Jesse and Willow, a hangout for just you guys.
Once you all helped Buffy stop the Harvest ritual to free the Master, you could talk to Willow about how you were changing and needed some time to think. With the big change in reality Willow would easily agree, and you could just be yourself as her friend. Anxiously you hoped that Willow wouldn't dislike new Xander too much. Once that had passed, you could start figuring out how you'd track down news of what was going on around Sunnydale.
Your plan seemed great, no major flaws. You weren't going to lie, beyond not being Xander, and you'd get a chance to help everyone do better than they had in the show. You even planned to avoid Xander's mistakes. That alone would help to untangle a fair amount of things. And if you were lucky, Anya was a very beautiful woman with a lot of experience. Perfect to end up with.
Your plan lasted all the way to school when you saw Buffy for the first time and was hit in the face with how incredibly hot she was.
That was not something you had expected. Yes, Buffy was beautiful. Yes, she was extremely attractive. But that should not have caused you to slam right into a pole! You were really glad that Buffy didn't seem to notice you at all. Oh sure, some people laughed at you, but that was pretty much par for the course for someone like Xander. It did sting, but at least you could pretend they were laughing because of Xander's goofiness and not because you had completely messed up.
It didn't take long for you to realize that there was a very major kink in your plan, and it wasn't Buffy. No, it was being a teenager again. You had forgotten just how easily it was to get turned on. It felt like you were constantly being hit in the face with the need to jerk it off and being distracted. You had been able to accept being attracted to Buffy, and Cordelia was somewhat expected as well, but Harmony? Cordelia's utterly brainless lackey?
You were utterly exhausted by the time lunch arrived. Had you heard anything that was said in your classes so far? How had Xander managed to not be completely red from embarrassment all the time? Right, he was used to this. You on the other hand, had suddenly found yourself dunked back into the horrors of puberty with no warning. You really had to find a way to pull yourself together!
"Hey, my man!" Jesse clapped a hand on your back. "Heard the news? There's a new girl!"
"Yeah, what's the word?" you asked blankly.
Jesse shrugged. "New girl."
You chuckled. "Really? Everyone knows that. Seen her at all?"
"Nah, not yet. You?"
You looked away. "Saw someone new when getting here, but that's it." You stood up. "Gotta pick up some books from the library. Willow promised to help me study." Jesse laughed and waved you off.
You did your best to hide in the stacks. Thankfully Giles was far more focused on his Slayer than any of the students milling around. He didn't realize that there was anyone still in the library when Buffy entered. Your throat entered your mouth again when you saw her and you quickly ducked back. You just needed to focus. Vampires. That was far more important than wanting to stare at Buffy's curves.
At least you had your reason for knowing set now. You were really relieved when school ended and you got to go home. This was not how you had thought it would go. How were you going to handle these...these...reactions? You were used to being cool and in control, not letting hormones jerk you all over!
Buffy was really hot...
No, don't think about it!
>>>
You got pulled into the rhythm of school all over again far too fast. Granted you were struggling to focus whenever there was a remotely pretty girl around, but you thought that you were starting to get it. At least no one expected anything of you. Xander was a complete loser through and through after all, only passing because Willow had taken pity on him and Jesse since they were childhood friends. The good news was the Bronze was tonight, and things would start setting up for the Harvest. A corpse had already been found in the school, though it was shockingly easy for you to not think about when there were so many other things going on. Part of it was likely that everyone else had already moved on from it. It was just a slight blip in normal life.
You had tried to convince Jesse and Willow to stay close, but Willow had ended up inviting Buffy along and was focusing on girl things with her, and Jesse wanted to dance with hot girls, not stick with you. He even found you a dance partner, which was pretty cool of Jesse, really. If it wasn't getting in the way of keeping him alive.
It was only when you saw Willow leaving with a guy that you recalled yourself. You were quick to excuse yourself and start following after her. Willow was rather naive at this time, afraid of breaking rules, and you knew she'd be terrified when she realized she was being herded off to a dark corner. You did your best to run after them and called for Willow. She turned around in surprise. "Xander?"
"Hey, why're you cutting out on the Bronze?" you asked. You gave a grin. "Where's Buffy, wasn't she with you?"
"She said she had something to do," Willow said. She glanced at the vampire beside her awkwardly, clearly unsure how to explain this to her crush.
"Ah, I see. So she's not with you?"
"No," Willow said slowly.
"And Jesse's gone too," you complained.
Willow quickly crossed over to you. The vampire frowned but let her, trying to stay subtle. "Hey, we can still have fun," Willow promised.
"Yeah." You grinned and gave a quick scan. Where was Jesse?
Just in time you spotted Buffy up ahead. "Wait, isn't that Buffy?" Excuse in hand you dragged Willow with you into the graveyard. Sure enough, there was Buffy fighting vampires. You looked around desperately and spotted Jesse. "Jesse!" You darted over to him. "What happened man?"
"Girl's crazy about me," Jesse said hazily. He had a hand clamped to his neck, and didn't look very good.
You hurriedly pulled him up. "Come on man, let's get out of here." Willow looked just as concerned, clinging to your other side tightly. Unfortunately that was just when more vampires turned up. Their demonic features were in full view as they started circling around.
"Where do you think you're going?" A beautiful voice asked. You glanced over and spotted Darla watching. "Take them, boys!" The vampires launched forward. Willow screamed and ran, a terrible move that split you up. Not that you actually had that much of a chance anyways, it seemed. Buffy was working through the group, but you could barely see her fighting as two vampires dogpiled on you and started dragging you somewhere. You yelled and struggled, but it felt like iron was clamped around you instead of flesh. How did original Xander ever manage?
Buffy was suddenly there, dusting the two vamps and helping you up. "Get out of here!" she told you.
"Wait! Willow and Jesse are here!"
Buffy huffed and turned back to the vampires. You heard Willow scream and ran to get her with Buffy. You were far too slow, but at least you were there to give Willow a hug as Buffy killed the ones attacking her. That left just Jesse. You started looking for him, but- the vampires were gone, and so was he.
No, this wasn't supposed to happen. Wait, you knew where the entrance was! You hurried over to the crypt and started pushing at the stone lid.
"What are you doing?" Buffy asked.
"Hidden passage here," you huffed as you pushed. "Maybe-maybe they ducked down here and took Jesse."
Buffy quickly moved over and threw the lid you had struggled against aside. You jumped down and looked around. Buffy followed.
"This way," Buffy said. She ran, and you followed.
You caught up to her holding Jesse, and you took a deep breath of relief. You'd done it! You'd saved Jesse!
Except...Buffy looked at you apologetically. "I'm sorry."
You frowned and walked over to pull Jesse up. He dangled limply. He was colder than he should be too. "Come on, we gotta get him to a hospital."
"Xander..."
"What? We need to hurry."
"Xander. He's..."
No. Not after all of this. You'd changed fate. You looked to Jesse for reassurance, only to find his eyes closed. Okay, so he passed out. He had been hazy. You reached up to feel his breath. It wasn't there. Your breath choked. "No."
This wasn't how the story went. This wasn't how it should go at all. Jesse didn't die drained of blood. They turned him into a vampire, and then Xander accidentally dusted him.
Except you hadn't done the same things Xander had done. You had tried to stop them. You had even followed them down the secret passage!
And that had rushed them enough to make them decide to kill Jesse and drop him behind.
You looked up at Buffy numbly.
>>>
It almost felt like you were in a haze for the next couple days, forcing Buffy to admit the truth because you couldn't. Willow was quick to jump on helping Buffy, especially when the vampires trapped everyone that was at the Bronze to start sacrificing for the Master. You hurried along in a daze, glad that your actions at least hadn't changed things here. Buffy still managed to save the day, and you were looped in with Willow on the truth about Sunnydale.
You just didn't know where to go next. Could you actually change things? Or were you just imagining that you could? Willow seemed to be doing her best to move on from Jesse by clinging to Buffy. You felt guilty. You weren't Xander. You couldn't miss Jesse like he would have. But he had been your first dead body, and you had hung out at school for a bit. You were afraid that this would change things.
No, no, this was just the start. You couldn't think that way. You didn't have any training for what was going to happen. You had clearly overestimated what a regular human could do against a vampire, and what they would do. You had thought they would leave Jesse alive, not kill him. You'd made a mistake this time, but next time you would do better.
You looked at the list of events that would be coming up. The witch that took over Amy's body would be targeting the cheerleaders. Perhaps you could ask about if there was anything besides vampires that could be a problem. The praying mantis demon would be coming up too. You were a lot more nervous about that now that you were aware of how you reacted around girls. What if she completely dragged you down? You really needed a solid plan to keep from being completely pulled in!
General Actions
[ ]Ask Giles about how to stay safe
[ ]Focus on ways to keep focus around girls
[ ]Start working out
[ ]Write-in
Witch Plan
[ ]Ask about what's there beside vampires
[ ]Ask about magic
[ ]Focus on looking for other points of the supernatural around school
[ ]Write-in
Mantis Demon Plan
[ ]Ask Willow to study with you every day after school- can't meet with her if you're busy
[ ]Write a note to yourself about the demon
[ ]Wear a mask to block the pheromones
[ ]Write-in
Once you all helped Buffy stop the Harvest ritual to free the Master, you could talk to Willow about how you were changing and needed some time to think. With the big change in reality Willow would easily agree, and you could just be yourself as her friend. Anxiously you hoped that Willow wouldn't dislike new Xander too much. Once that had passed, you could start figuring out how you'd track down news of what was going on around Sunnydale.
Your plan seemed great, no major flaws. You weren't going to lie, beyond not being Xander, and you'd get a chance to help everyone do better than they had in the show. You even planned to avoid Xander's mistakes. That alone would help to untangle a fair amount of things. And if you were lucky, Anya was a very beautiful woman with a lot of experience. Perfect to end up with.
Your plan lasted all the way to school when you saw Buffy for the first time and was hit in the face with how incredibly hot she was.
That was not something you had expected. Yes, Buffy was beautiful. Yes, she was extremely attractive. But that should not have caused you to slam right into a pole! You were really glad that Buffy didn't seem to notice you at all. Oh sure, some people laughed at you, but that was pretty much par for the course for someone like Xander. It did sting, but at least you could pretend they were laughing because of Xander's goofiness and not because you had completely messed up.
It didn't take long for you to realize that there was a very major kink in your plan, and it wasn't Buffy. No, it was being a teenager again. You had forgotten just how easily it was to get turned on. It felt like you were constantly being hit in the face with the need to jerk it off and being distracted. You had been able to accept being attracted to Buffy, and Cordelia was somewhat expected as well, but Harmony? Cordelia's utterly brainless lackey?
You were utterly exhausted by the time lunch arrived. Had you heard anything that was said in your classes so far? How had Xander managed to not be completely red from embarrassment all the time? Right, he was used to this. You on the other hand, had suddenly found yourself dunked back into the horrors of puberty with no warning. You really had to find a way to pull yourself together!
"Hey, my man!" Jesse clapped a hand on your back. "Heard the news? There's a new girl!"
"Yeah, what's the word?" you asked blankly.
Jesse shrugged. "New girl."
You chuckled. "Really? Everyone knows that. Seen her at all?"
"Nah, not yet. You?"
You looked away. "Saw someone new when getting here, but that's it." You stood up. "Gotta pick up some books from the library. Willow promised to help me study." Jesse laughed and waved you off.
You did your best to hide in the stacks. Thankfully Giles was far more focused on his Slayer than any of the students milling around. He didn't realize that there was anyone still in the library when Buffy entered. Your throat entered your mouth again when you saw her and you quickly ducked back. You just needed to focus. Vampires. That was far more important than wanting to stare at Buffy's curves.
At least you had your reason for knowing set now. You were really relieved when school ended and you got to go home. This was not how you had thought it would go. How were you going to handle these...these...reactions? You were used to being cool and in control, not letting hormones jerk you all over!
Buffy was really hot...
No, don't think about it!
>>>
You got pulled into the rhythm of school all over again far too fast. Granted you were struggling to focus whenever there was a remotely pretty girl around, but you thought that you were starting to get it. At least no one expected anything of you. Xander was a complete loser through and through after all, only passing because Willow had taken pity on him and Jesse since they were childhood friends. The good news was the Bronze was tonight, and things would start setting up for the Harvest. A corpse had already been found in the school, though it was shockingly easy for you to not think about when there were so many other things going on. Part of it was likely that everyone else had already moved on from it. It was just a slight blip in normal life.
You had tried to convince Jesse and Willow to stay close, but Willow had ended up inviting Buffy along and was focusing on girl things with her, and Jesse wanted to dance with hot girls, not stick with you. He even found you a dance partner, which was pretty cool of Jesse, really. If it wasn't getting in the way of keeping him alive.
It was only when you saw Willow leaving with a guy that you recalled yourself. You were quick to excuse yourself and start following after her. Willow was rather naive at this time, afraid of breaking rules, and you knew she'd be terrified when she realized she was being herded off to a dark corner. You did your best to run after them and called for Willow. She turned around in surprise. "Xander?"
"Hey, why're you cutting out on the Bronze?" you asked. You gave a grin. "Where's Buffy, wasn't she with you?"
"She said she had something to do," Willow said. She glanced at the vampire beside her awkwardly, clearly unsure how to explain this to her crush.
"Ah, I see. So she's not with you?"
"No," Willow said slowly.
"And Jesse's gone too," you complained.
Willow quickly crossed over to you. The vampire frowned but let her, trying to stay subtle. "Hey, we can still have fun," Willow promised.
"Yeah." You grinned and gave a quick scan. Where was Jesse?
Just in time you spotted Buffy up ahead. "Wait, isn't that Buffy?" Excuse in hand you dragged Willow with you into the graveyard. Sure enough, there was Buffy fighting vampires. You looked around desperately and spotted Jesse. "Jesse!" You darted over to him. "What happened man?"
"Girl's crazy about me," Jesse said hazily. He had a hand clamped to his neck, and didn't look very good.
You hurriedly pulled him up. "Come on man, let's get out of here." Willow looked just as concerned, clinging to your other side tightly. Unfortunately that was just when more vampires turned up. Their demonic features were in full view as they started circling around.
"Where do you think you're going?" A beautiful voice asked. You glanced over and spotted Darla watching. "Take them, boys!" The vampires launched forward. Willow screamed and ran, a terrible move that split you up. Not that you actually had that much of a chance anyways, it seemed. Buffy was working through the group, but you could barely see her fighting as two vampires dogpiled on you and started dragging you somewhere. You yelled and struggled, but it felt like iron was clamped around you instead of flesh. How did original Xander ever manage?
Buffy was suddenly there, dusting the two vamps and helping you up. "Get out of here!" she told you.
"Wait! Willow and Jesse are here!"
Buffy huffed and turned back to the vampires. You heard Willow scream and ran to get her with Buffy. You were far too slow, but at least you were there to give Willow a hug as Buffy killed the ones attacking her. That left just Jesse. You started looking for him, but- the vampires were gone, and so was he.
No, this wasn't supposed to happen. Wait, you knew where the entrance was! You hurried over to the crypt and started pushing at the stone lid.
"What are you doing?" Buffy asked.
"Hidden passage here," you huffed as you pushed. "Maybe-maybe they ducked down here and took Jesse."
Buffy quickly moved over and threw the lid you had struggled against aside. You jumped down and looked around. Buffy followed.
"This way," Buffy said. She ran, and you followed.
You caught up to her holding Jesse, and you took a deep breath of relief. You'd done it! You'd saved Jesse!
Except...Buffy looked at you apologetically. "I'm sorry."
You frowned and walked over to pull Jesse up. He dangled limply. He was colder than he should be too. "Come on, we gotta get him to a hospital."
"Xander..."
"What? We need to hurry."
"Xander. He's..."
No. Not after all of this. You'd changed fate. You looked to Jesse for reassurance, only to find his eyes closed. Okay, so he passed out. He had been hazy. You reached up to feel his breath. It wasn't there. Your breath choked. "No."
This wasn't how the story went. This wasn't how it should go at all. Jesse didn't die drained of blood. They turned him into a vampire, and then Xander accidentally dusted him.
Except you hadn't done the same things Xander had done. You had tried to stop them. You had even followed them down the secret passage!
And that had rushed them enough to make them decide to kill Jesse and drop him behind.
You looked up at Buffy numbly.
>>>
It almost felt like you were in a haze for the next couple days, forcing Buffy to admit the truth because you couldn't. Willow was quick to jump on helping Buffy, especially when the vampires trapped everyone that was at the Bronze to start sacrificing for the Master. You hurried along in a daze, glad that your actions at least hadn't changed things here. Buffy still managed to save the day, and you were looped in with Willow on the truth about Sunnydale.
You just didn't know where to go next. Could you actually change things? Or were you just imagining that you could? Willow seemed to be doing her best to move on from Jesse by clinging to Buffy. You felt guilty. You weren't Xander. You couldn't miss Jesse like he would have. But he had been your first dead body, and you had hung out at school for a bit. You were afraid that this would change things.
No, no, this was just the start. You couldn't think that way. You didn't have any training for what was going to happen. You had clearly overestimated what a regular human could do against a vampire, and what they would do. You had thought they would leave Jesse alive, not kill him. You'd made a mistake this time, but next time you would do better.
You looked at the list of events that would be coming up. The witch that took over Amy's body would be targeting the cheerleaders. Perhaps you could ask about if there was anything besides vampires that could be a problem. The praying mantis demon would be coming up too. You were a lot more nervous about that now that you were aware of how you reacted around girls. What if she completely dragged you down? You really needed a solid plan to keep from being completely pulled in!
General Actions
[ ]Ask Giles about how to stay safe
[ ]Focus on ways to keep focus around girls
[ ]Start working out
[ ]Write-in
Witch Plan
[ ]Ask about what's there beside vampires
[ ]Ask about magic
[ ]Focus on looking for other points of the supernatural around school
[ ]Write-in
Mantis Demon Plan
[ ]Ask Willow to study with you every day after school- can't meet with her if you're busy
[ ]Write a note to yourself about the demon
[ ]Wear a mask to block the pheromones
[ ]Write-in
Vote closed
- Pronouns
- She
Scheduled vote count started by Blacksheep on Oct 13, 2024 at 10:21 PM, finished with 10 posts and 5 votes.
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[X]Focus on ways to keep focus around girls
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[X] Give a silver locket to Both Buffy and Willow saying it's an attempt to ward off shapeshifters if pressed, and they should wear them at all times. Upon finding out the reaction between the locket and the girl, talk to her Mother, saying you were trying to find out more information about the situation.
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[X]Wear a mask to block the pheromones
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[X]Ask Willow to study with you every day after school- can't meet with her if you're busy
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First Success
- Pronouns
- She
You did your best to figure out how to focus around girls. You unfortunately found the best way was to not look at them, something far easier said than done. Next after that was thinking of something you cared about a lot. That helped focus your attention, if also gave you slight tunnel vision. Eventually you settled on channeling your thoughts about how hot girls were on Cordelia. You knew she could be a good person, and she was sexy, sharp tongued, and far more intelligent than she was given credit for. As long as you thought about Cordelia, other girls were less on your mind.
None of your solutions were perfect, but it was far better than it had been before. When Buffy decided to try out for the cheerleading squad you didn't completely lose your mind over the cheerleaders. They looked absolutely great, but you weren't completely absentminded. More distracted by Cordelia than you had thought you would be, but even that was a smaller portion than it had been before. You just had to focus on making sure Cordelia didn't notice your sudden interest in her. You knew she had absolutely despised Jesse's advances for her attention.
You bought silver lockets for Willow and Buffy and gave them to them, telling them you hoped the silver would help to repel the vampires.
"That's a nice thought Xander, but they aren't repelled by silver," Buffy told you absently. She pulled up her necklace with a cross on it. "Holy items repel vampires."
"Ah..." You laughed awkwardly. "Well, just in case anyways? Something extra could help." Willow smiled and gave you a hug.
The good news was when things started happening Giles was quick to confirm that blinding, such as what happened to Cordelia, was a popular spell with witches. You even had a solid lead in pointing out that the first victim, the poor girl who combusted into flames, was a cheerleader just like Cordelia. It was a commonality among the victims, and a better place to start at than Cordelia considering how many enemies the girl had. She really was an ice cold queen of the school.
Buffy and Willow were quick to draw attention to how odd Amy was acting. You knew that that wouldn't be enough evidence, Amy would use another spell to cause a distraction and allow her to dodge being caught as the witch Buffy was looking for. You could however suggest that they went to Amy's house first - which they ignored. You hadn't expected that. It actually hurt somewhat. Still, you weren't going to let them keep flailing, especially since you knew that the next spell cast could kill Buffy if not undone.
You were practically shaking with anxiety, waiting for the chance to act. When the witch possessing Amy finally realized that Buffy was going after her spell book and moved to ditch cheerleading to stop her you didn't bother with subtlety. You straight up tackled her with everything you had. It felt like it took forever before Buffy showed up and used a mirror to deflect the curse the witch was casting and undo all the spells.
With that out of the way you did your best to subtly start wearing a mask. Both Willow and Buffy gave you weird looks for that. You're pretty sure some of the things they did over the week were in fact to test if you were being possessed, turned into a vampire, or something else. The good news was when class with Miss Mantis Demon happened, the mask worked. You felt an incredibly strong pull towards her, but you could think past it. You weren't going to get caught.
It was a success you had badly needed. It had felt like you had been having no impact on things, but this was something you had managed to change. The mantis demon didn't get you, Xander's luck for getting into trouble was beat back. You felt much more buoyant as you looked at the next events coming up.
You didn't think that any attempts to interfere with Buffy's love life would go well right now. She was well and truly ready to ignore the supernatural things in her pursuit of romance and normality, and she was already quick to brush you off. Willow might listen to you, but you knew she'd support Buffy in anything romantic. Truthfully the 'anointed kid' wasn't a big deal either. He had no power or anything, just a child vampire that would lead Buffy to the Master.
Then there was the hyena trip to the zoo. Perhaps you could try to stop anyone from getting in, though that meant the crazy zookeeper would do the ritual to take on a hyena spirit himself, and you'd have to deal with that. You could go in as had happened in the show, and mention to Willow and Buffy you felt different after. Or you could just let the bullies get infected and try to fight them with Buffy.
There was the reveal of Angel as a vampire coming up as well, and Darla being killed. Did you want to try to reveal the truth about Buffy's crush early? Angel was really bad news waiting to happen. No matter how he plead he was a good guy, he was a bit of a coward and reluctant to truly act. That wasn't even mentioning the whole ability to misplace his soul.
The demon being uploaded from a book should at least be a simple problem to avoid, you could just volunteer to help Giles organize the library some.
General Actions
[ ]Quiz Giles on common supernatural prey Buffy might encounter
[ ]Look into finding Willy's Bar
[ ]Study with Willow, get her seeing you more seriously
[ ]Write-in
Hyena Actions
[ ]Prevent anyone from entering the hyena house, let the zookeeper take the hyena spirit
[ ]Get possessed, warn Buffy and Willow you feel different so they act faster
[ ]Let the bullies get in alone and fight the pack with Buffy and Willow
[ ]Write-in
Angel Actions
[ ]Reveal Angel is a vampire early
[ ]Try to convince Buffy to have Angel work with the group and not stay on the edges so you can keep a better eye on him
[ ]Leave it be
[ ]Write-in
Book Demon
[ ]Help Giles organize his books
[ ]Leave it
[ ]Write-in
None of your solutions were perfect, but it was far better than it had been before. When Buffy decided to try out for the cheerleading squad you didn't completely lose your mind over the cheerleaders. They looked absolutely great, but you weren't completely absentminded. More distracted by Cordelia than you had thought you would be, but even that was a smaller portion than it had been before. You just had to focus on making sure Cordelia didn't notice your sudden interest in her. You knew she had absolutely despised Jesse's advances for her attention.
You bought silver lockets for Willow and Buffy and gave them to them, telling them you hoped the silver would help to repel the vampires.
"That's a nice thought Xander, but they aren't repelled by silver," Buffy told you absently. She pulled up her necklace with a cross on it. "Holy items repel vampires."
"Ah..." You laughed awkwardly. "Well, just in case anyways? Something extra could help." Willow smiled and gave you a hug.
The good news was when things started happening Giles was quick to confirm that blinding, such as what happened to Cordelia, was a popular spell with witches. You even had a solid lead in pointing out that the first victim, the poor girl who combusted into flames, was a cheerleader just like Cordelia. It was a commonality among the victims, and a better place to start at than Cordelia considering how many enemies the girl had. She really was an ice cold queen of the school.
Buffy and Willow were quick to draw attention to how odd Amy was acting. You knew that that wouldn't be enough evidence, Amy would use another spell to cause a distraction and allow her to dodge being caught as the witch Buffy was looking for. You could however suggest that they went to Amy's house first - which they ignored. You hadn't expected that. It actually hurt somewhat. Still, you weren't going to let them keep flailing, especially since you knew that the next spell cast could kill Buffy if not undone.
You were practically shaking with anxiety, waiting for the chance to act. When the witch possessing Amy finally realized that Buffy was going after her spell book and moved to ditch cheerleading to stop her you didn't bother with subtlety. You straight up tackled her with everything you had. It felt like it took forever before Buffy showed up and used a mirror to deflect the curse the witch was casting and undo all the spells.
With that out of the way you did your best to subtly start wearing a mask. Both Willow and Buffy gave you weird looks for that. You're pretty sure some of the things they did over the week were in fact to test if you were being possessed, turned into a vampire, or something else. The good news was when class with Miss Mantis Demon happened, the mask worked. You felt an incredibly strong pull towards her, but you could think past it. You weren't going to get caught.
It was a success you had badly needed. It had felt like you had been having no impact on things, but this was something you had managed to change. The mantis demon didn't get you, Xander's luck for getting into trouble was beat back. You felt much more buoyant as you looked at the next events coming up.
You didn't think that any attempts to interfere with Buffy's love life would go well right now. She was well and truly ready to ignore the supernatural things in her pursuit of romance and normality, and she was already quick to brush you off. Willow might listen to you, but you knew she'd support Buffy in anything romantic. Truthfully the 'anointed kid' wasn't a big deal either. He had no power or anything, just a child vampire that would lead Buffy to the Master.
Then there was the hyena trip to the zoo. Perhaps you could try to stop anyone from getting in, though that meant the crazy zookeeper would do the ritual to take on a hyena spirit himself, and you'd have to deal with that. You could go in as had happened in the show, and mention to Willow and Buffy you felt different after. Or you could just let the bullies get infected and try to fight them with Buffy.
There was the reveal of Angel as a vampire coming up as well, and Darla being killed. Did you want to try to reveal the truth about Buffy's crush early? Angel was really bad news waiting to happen. No matter how he plead he was a good guy, he was a bit of a coward and reluctant to truly act. That wasn't even mentioning the whole ability to misplace his soul.
The demon being uploaded from a book should at least be a simple problem to avoid, you could just volunteer to help Giles organize the library some.
General Actions
[ ]Quiz Giles on common supernatural prey Buffy might encounter
[ ]Look into finding Willy's Bar
[ ]Study with Willow, get her seeing you more seriously
[ ]Write-in
Hyena Actions
[ ]Prevent anyone from entering the hyena house, let the zookeeper take the hyena spirit
[ ]Get possessed, warn Buffy and Willow you feel different so they act faster
[ ]Let the bullies get in alone and fight the pack with Buffy and Willow
[ ]Write-in
Angel Actions
[ ]Reveal Angel is a vampire early
[ ]Try to convince Buffy to have Angel work with the group and not stay on the edges so you can keep a better eye on him
[ ]Leave it be
[ ]Write-in
Book Demon
[ ]Help Giles organize his books
[ ]Leave it
[ ]Write-in
Vote closed
- Pronouns
- She
Scheduled vote count started by Blacksheep on Oct 16, 2024 at 11:14 PM, finished with 17 posts and 9 votes.
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[X] Plan: Serious Seeding
-[X]Study with Willow, get her seeing you more seriously
-[X]Let the bullies get in alone and fight the pack with Buffy and Willow
-[X]Try to get an interaction where you notice something "off" about Angel with him, like not being out of breath at all, directly point it out to him. Do not call him a vampire, but make it clear you think he's either on drugs or doing something magic. Later once it comes to light that he is a vampire, and one with a soul, say we should be cautious but his experience as an "Centuries Old Corpse" may have some use for the group to keep around. Find a separate private interaction with Angel, point out to him he is wooing a teenage girl, tell him just how wrong that is.
-[X]Help Giles organize his books
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[X] Get knowledge and leverage it
-[X]Quiz Giles on common supernatural prey Buffy might encounter
-[X]Get possessed, warn Buffy and Willow you feel different so they act faster
-[X]Try to convince Buffy to have Angel work with the group and not stay on the edges so you can keep a better eye on him
-[X]Help Giles organize his books
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[X] Plan: Eyes on the prize
-[X]Look into finding Willy's Bar
-[X]Let the bullies get in alone and fight the pack with Buffy and Willow
-[X]Try to convince Buffy to have Angel work with the group and not stay on the edges so you can keep a better eye on him
-[X]Help Giles organize his books
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[X] Get knowledge and leverage it
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Slow Changes
- Pronouns
- She
You decided to start by trying to rehabilitate your image. You went to Willow and asked her to help you study. It really was for the best. Everyone acts like going back to high school would be easy, but you forget stuff over time, and they're always changing what they want people to know, and that's not even taking into account that you are locked in a building with a bunch of other people that did not get to choose to be there.
So Willow's help is genuinely appreciated. She does ask you about the mask you wore while the substitute teacher was in science class. You tell her you've been trying out some new things, and you aren't sure the mask quite worked the way you wanted it to. Willow nodded. You think this excuse is really only accepted because you stopped wearing the mask and none of the things Buffy and Willow checked for proved true. Willow does seem to see you changing things up in a good light at least. She's willing to encourage you to try stuff out, and she babbles away about how much you'll love school now that you're putting your mind to it. A true optimist. Or simply one that struggles to understand people outside her worldview. A little hard to tell.
The day of the school zoo trip finally came. Seeing two zebras going at it was in fact as amusing as Willow and Xander had described in the show. You wished you could focus entirely on the trip, it was a wonderful break from school. Alas, needs must. You delayed Buffy from trying to head into the hyena house long enough for the zookeeper to stop all of you from going inside. You felt bad for the kid they were bullying, but you wanted to have your head together, not muddled by a hyena spirit.
You got your chance to start drawing attention to the odd way the gang was acting at the Bronze, coming back to remark that Kyle had packed a way harder hit than normal. Both girls of course didn't think it unusual at first, but you made sure you were around when the pack decided to eat the new mascot. You carried regret there. It turned out they didn't kill the pig before they started eating the poor fellow. You rushed to tell Buffy about this. That was enough to get Buffy going, and she hurried in to take the pack down. It wasn't fast enough to save the pig, but it was fast enough to save Principle Flutie. One small animal's death was a good price for that. Hopefully he wouldn't die from something else, he was a good principal and you hated the guy that had replaced him in the show.
Buffy actually made a remark about you being quick to notice there was something off about the group, which had you puffing up proudly. It was a small thing, and she'd likely forget it again quickly, but she had noticed. You had something to start working off of in getting her respect as the Slayer. You knew Buffy tended to not respect others when it came to the supernatural, first from her repulsion of the life and then from her belief as someone who had been on the front lines for so long to know better than anyone else. This was a way to start changing it.
Buffy's date night came and went. You did argue with her that there were ways for people that weren't like her to help in fighting vampires. Sure, it was unwise to fight the vampires themselves, but you could open doors, do distractions, and help with the research. Hadn't Willow and Giles been plenty of use there? That did perk Buffy up at least a little. You felt bad for the poor guy Buffy had dated being kicked to the curb so fast, but he had been an adrenaline junkie.
You offered to help Giles sort through his personal collection for being a Watcher in the library, mentioning that it'd be pretty disastrous if a student took one of his books out as a loan. Giles was worried about how you'd handle the books, but you promised you'd just act as brute muscle for him and not touch anything he told you not to. It was looking like a project that was going to eat a lot of your time, and you partially regretted it. You could have been lazing around, or reading comics, or goofing off with Willow and Buffy. You knew this was more helpful, but it was mind numbing.
At least you were there when Buffy came in talking about Angel. You were quick to ask what kind of guy would be involved in the supernatural. Was he a male version of Buffy? Someone like you? Someone like Giles? Buffy didn't seem happy to think about her mysterious crush as being a nerd like Giles, but you pointed out that would make the most sense for someone human. Giles agreed that there was only one Slayer, and anyone strong enough to fight with her was likely something other than human.
Buffy got a bit of a clue there, and even more when it finally straight up came out that Angel was a vampire. She was really tearing up about it. You listened, and suggested that she get Angel to spend time with her at the library you all hung out in. You could keep an eye on the vampire for her without her having to worry so much, or risk letting him into her house. Buffy wanted badly for Angel to prove he was a good guy, so she was quick to grab the compromise despite Giles' protests. Willow seemed just as thrilled about the forbidden romance of it all.
Giles reminded you that there was no such thing as a good vampire, and you pointed out that Buffy wasn't going to listen. At least by having Angel in front of all of you you could keep an eye out for her and not worry about any secret meet ups. Giles was reassured by that. Especially when he finally met Angel, and recognized him as Angelus, one of the Scourge of Europe. But Angel killed Darla, something Giles thought Angel would have never done, so he was willing to give Angel a chance.
You just hoped Angel didn't get Giles to change his mind about him. Angel was highly charismatic, unless you had an active reason to dislike him he was hard to resist. You at least had that in the knowledge that Angel would lose himself and try to kill all of you. You just wished that Angel was less unnerving to be around in person. You didn't know why, it wasn't exactly like vampires had a tangible presence you could pick up on. The guy just really rubbed you wrong.
The year was going by fast. Willow was getting used to you being more serious. Buffy was still focusing on her boy trouble, but you had saved Principal Flutie, and Giles was pleased that you were helping him out. You could have done with a little less of that, considering how much dusting of books you'd gotten up to. At least the work to digitize the school library went without any demons being released.
You looked over your list for the last four major events of the year. The school talent show that would have a demon harvesting people's organs for its disguise, the kid that would drag everyone into the nightmare realm from his coma, the invisible girl trying to kill Cordelia and her friends from tormenting her, and the prophecy of the Master killing Buffy.
There was no reason for you to wait to try and help the invisible girl. You could start looking for her immediately. You of course didn't know how to turn her visible again, and you knew that the Hellmouth influencing her enough to turn her invisible made her volatile. You would have to be careful in how you tried to approach that.
For the talent show, you could sign up for it yourself, since you knew that you wouldn't be assigned to it as punishment. You could see if you could befriend the demon hunter cursed into a ventriloquist doll before his soul animating the doll moved on entirely too. You weren't too clear on what you could do with a nightmare realm that would bring your worst fears to life, maybe just try and stick in a group? The prophecy at least would be easy to deal with. You could follow Buffy down to see the Master, or bring a crossbow to attempt killing him yourself.
General Actions
[ ]Work on befriending invisible girl
[ ]Convince invisible girl you liked her, romance to pull her in
[ ]Look into finding Willy's Bar
[ ]Learn self defense
[ ]Write-in
School Talent Show
[ ]Sign up for the talent show
[ ]Look for the ventriloquist doll
[ ]Snoop around for the demon from the outside
[ ]Write-in
Nightmare Realm and Prophecy
[ ]Write-in
So Willow's help is genuinely appreciated. She does ask you about the mask you wore while the substitute teacher was in science class. You tell her you've been trying out some new things, and you aren't sure the mask quite worked the way you wanted it to. Willow nodded. You think this excuse is really only accepted because you stopped wearing the mask and none of the things Buffy and Willow checked for proved true. Willow does seem to see you changing things up in a good light at least. She's willing to encourage you to try stuff out, and she babbles away about how much you'll love school now that you're putting your mind to it. A true optimist. Or simply one that struggles to understand people outside her worldview. A little hard to tell.
The day of the school zoo trip finally came. Seeing two zebras going at it was in fact as amusing as Willow and Xander had described in the show. You wished you could focus entirely on the trip, it was a wonderful break from school. Alas, needs must. You delayed Buffy from trying to head into the hyena house long enough for the zookeeper to stop all of you from going inside. You felt bad for the kid they were bullying, but you wanted to have your head together, not muddled by a hyena spirit.
You got your chance to start drawing attention to the odd way the gang was acting at the Bronze, coming back to remark that Kyle had packed a way harder hit than normal. Both girls of course didn't think it unusual at first, but you made sure you were around when the pack decided to eat the new mascot. You carried regret there. It turned out they didn't kill the pig before they started eating the poor fellow. You rushed to tell Buffy about this. That was enough to get Buffy going, and she hurried in to take the pack down. It wasn't fast enough to save the pig, but it was fast enough to save Principle Flutie. One small animal's death was a good price for that. Hopefully he wouldn't die from something else, he was a good principal and you hated the guy that had replaced him in the show.
Buffy actually made a remark about you being quick to notice there was something off about the group, which had you puffing up proudly. It was a small thing, and she'd likely forget it again quickly, but she had noticed. You had something to start working off of in getting her respect as the Slayer. You knew Buffy tended to not respect others when it came to the supernatural, first from her repulsion of the life and then from her belief as someone who had been on the front lines for so long to know better than anyone else. This was a way to start changing it.
Buffy's date night came and went. You did argue with her that there were ways for people that weren't like her to help in fighting vampires. Sure, it was unwise to fight the vampires themselves, but you could open doors, do distractions, and help with the research. Hadn't Willow and Giles been plenty of use there? That did perk Buffy up at least a little. You felt bad for the poor guy Buffy had dated being kicked to the curb so fast, but he had been an adrenaline junkie.
You offered to help Giles sort through his personal collection for being a Watcher in the library, mentioning that it'd be pretty disastrous if a student took one of his books out as a loan. Giles was worried about how you'd handle the books, but you promised you'd just act as brute muscle for him and not touch anything he told you not to. It was looking like a project that was going to eat a lot of your time, and you partially regretted it. You could have been lazing around, or reading comics, or goofing off with Willow and Buffy. You knew this was more helpful, but it was mind numbing.
At least you were there when Buffy came in talking about Angel. You were quick to ask what kind of guy would be involved in the supernatural. Was he a male version of Buffy? Someone like you? Someone like Giles? Buffy didn't seem happy to think about her mysterious crush as being a nerd like Giles, but you pointed out that would make the most sense for someone human. Giles agreed that there was only one Slayer, and anyone strong enough to fight with her was likely something other than human.
Buffy got a bit of a clue there, and even more when it finally straight up came out that Angel was a vampire. She was really tearing up about it. You listened, and suggested that she get Angel to spend time with her at the library you all hung out in. You could keep an eye on the vampire for her without her having to worry so much, or risk letting him into her house. Buffy wanted badly for Angel to prove he was a good guy, so she was quick to grab the compromise despite Giles' protests. Willow seemed just as thrilled about the forbidden romance of it all.
Giles reminded you that there was no such thing as a good vampire, and you pointed out that Buffy wasn't going to listen. At least by having Angel in front of all of you you could keep an eye out for her and not worry about any secret meet ups. Giles was reassured by that. Especially when he finally met Angel, and recognized him as Angelus, one of the Scourge of Europe. But Angel killed Darla, something Giles thought Angel would have never done, so he was willing to give Angel a chance.
You just hoped Angel didn't get Giles to change his mind about him. Angel was highly charismatic, unless you had an active reason to dislike him he was hard to resist. You at least had that in the knowledge that Angel would lose himself and try to kill all of you. You just wished that Angel was less unnerving to be around in person. You didn't know why, it wasn't exactly like vampires had a tangible presence you could pick up on. The guy just really rubbed you wrong.
The year was going by fast. Willow was getting used to you being more serious. Buffy was still focusing on her boy trouble, but you had saved Principal Flutie, and Giles was pleased that you were helping him out. You could have done with a little less of that, considering how much dusting of books you'd gotten up to. At least the work to digitize the school library went without any demons being released.
You looked over your list for the last four major events of the year. The school talent show that would have a demon harvesting people's organs for its disguise, the kid that would drag everyone into the nightmare realm from his coma, the invisible girl trying to kill Cordelia and her friends from tormenting her, and the prophecy of the Master killing Buffy.
There was no reason for you to wait to try and help the invisible girl. You could start looking for her immediately. You of course didn't know how to turn her visible again, and you knew that the Hellmouth influencing her enough to turn her invisible made her volatile. You would have to be careful in how you tried to approach that.
For the talent show, you could sign up for it yourself, since you knew that you wouldn't be assigned to it as punishment. You could see if you could befriend the demon hunter cursed into a ventriloquist doll before his soul animating the doll moved on entirely too. You weren't too clear on what you could do with a nightmare realm that would bring your worst fears to life, maybe just try and stick in a group? The prophecy at least would be easy to deal with. You could follow Buffy down to see the Master, or bring a crossbow to attempt killing him yourself.
General Actions
[ ]Work on befriending invisible girl
[ ]Convince invisible girl you liked her, romance to pull her in
[ ]Look into finding Willy's Bar
[ ]Learn self defense
[ ]Write-in
School Talent Show
[ ]Sign up for the talent show
[ ]Look for the ventriloquist doll
[ ]Snoop around for the demon from the outside
[ ]Write-in
Nightmare Realm and Prophecy
[ ]Write-in