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Replacing the Zippo

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A Quiet Finale
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    • You decided that your best bet would be to stick as closely to canon as possible. You didn't want to risk messing things up here. You didn't ask Cordelia or Willow to the dance, but that was the only real shift from what happened that you tried.

    You were surprised when Marcie sought you out to tell you about the prophecy telling about Buffy's death. It seems that Giles and Angel had missed her being in the library and she'd been there when Buffy found out. That wasn't something you'd been expecting. You knew you had to act faster than you'd planned to now, it would look strange if you acted like you didn't care about this.

    You gathered as much courage as you could and went to face Angel. You didn't know how original Xander had pulled this off. Facing the vampire was intimidating. But you stuck yourself forward the best that you could, and with threats got Angel to take you to the Master's lair. Of course Angel was mostly useless, far too willing to believe that fate was beyond his control. You were quick to give Buffy the CPR she needed to revive, and followed her as she went to face the Master in a final battle.

    You knew she was going to be messed up over the death. Everyone was drained after the surge of vampires and deaths that came with them. You hadn't had the chance to ask Marcie to dance with you like you'd planned, too tired after everything to do anything but sleep. And then Buffy was gone, off to be with her dad for the summer. So that was that, and you had to figure out what to do yourself.

    [ ]Focus on getting a part time job
    [ ]Try to make connections in the supernatural community - not everything can be evil, right?
    [ ]Work on patrols
    [ ]Train for fighting
    [ ]Write-in
     
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    Seeking Connections
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    • You decided to spend the summer looking into Sunnydale's supernatural community. You knew it had to exist. There was Willy's Bar, for one, and the magic shop that you knew was heavily frequented. The only question was how to get in on that. You ended up bouncing ideas about where to look for people who knew the truth about Sunnydale with Marcie. You would have liked to do it with Willow, but you knew that she wouldn't be happy about you poking your nose into things while Buffy was out of town.

    You ended up starting with Willy's Bar as a place that you knew you could visit relatively safely and find others in. The magic shop would be safer, but figuring out who was in the know and who wasn't would be a lot trickier. You looked around, noting the various beings populating the bar. You quickly hit a second realization: you had no idea how to tell who was safe to approach and who wasn't. You knew that demons that were relatively peaceful existed. You just didn't know how to identify them. You just kept on running into problems. It felt like things were going against you.

    This was only the start of summer though, you weren't going to turn around and give up this fast.

    [ ]Focus on magic users
    [ ]Try to borrow books from Giles to identify demon species
    [ ]Try to just strike up conversation
    [ ]Write-in
     
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    • Scheduled vote count started by Blacksheep on Nov 18, 2024 at 10:15 PM, finished with 8 posts and 3 votes.
    • [X]Try to borrow books from Giles to identify demon species
      [X] become a regular at the bar; buy drinks, people watch. Get an idea for who shows up regularly over time, and who are the one and done. Especially for who are the one and done after talking to a regular.
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    • Basic Demonology
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    • You headed into the library. It felt so weird entering school during the summer. Like you were breaking some kind of taboo and there would be terrible consequences. You did your best not to think about how likely something like that was in Sunnydale and looked around for Giles. Lucky for you, he was there, going through his books.

    "Hey G-man!"

    "Goodness! Xander, what brings you here?" Giles looked at you in confusion.

    "Thought I'd ask if I could borrow some of your books. Catch up on my demons." You finger gunned at him. "I'm not great at research, so I thought I'd try and get it in ahead of time."

    "While I appreciate the academic interest, this isn't a game."

    "I thought I proved I was serious about this?"

    Giles took off his glasses and cleaned them. "Yes, but you are neither the Slayer, nor a Watcher. Enough to stay safe is all you require."

    "I'm not going to stay safe, Giles." You stared at him determinedly. "Remember Marcie? Jesse? Sunnydale isn't safe, and I'm not going to stand back. Not even if...not even if it goes wrong." You swallowed silently. Yeah, you weren't going to walk away from the dangers.

    Giles studied you carefully. "Hm. Well, you have been helpful in sorting through the books, and Buffy is away for now."

    You pumped a fist. "Summer studies, got it! Thanks G-man." You beelined over to the books and started to dig through them.

    You didn't really have a clue where to start, but you weren't going to let that stop you. You had to admit to being rather surprised when you found out that incubi and succubi did not, in fact, have to kill in order to feed, and could have symbiotic relationships, though there was a warning that more ambitious and powerful ones found power in killing as they fed. A cuclidus demon was an interesting one, it presented itself as a child and fed off the affection its hypnotized parental figures gave it. The real problem was it would only take a single target at a time, and they would exhaust themselves to death caring for it. Brachen demons were mentioned in the books, though you didn't think you had seen any at Willy's bar.

    Armed with new knowledge you felt much more confident about picking out who to hang out with at Willy's.

    [ ]Ask Willow to help you befriend people at Willy's. She is likely to balk, but Buffy's not here, so she'll give in
    [ ]Ask Marcie to come along. You still want to include her, and invisible back up is useful
    [ ]Go by yourself to see the demons. You feel better doing this on your own
    [ ]Write-in
     
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    • Willy's Bar Take One
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    • Finding Marcie was a bit tricky. She was camping out in the school over the summer. You knew Willow was doing her best to help her out. You just hoped the occasional snacks you shared and dropping by to hang out helped too. You knocked on the wall in the area she was nesting in. Sunnydale High had way too many hidden nooks and crannies for a normal school. "Hey, you here Marsh?"

    "Hey Xander." You felt Marcie cross over and brush against your side.

    "I was going to go down to Willy's Bar. It's a supernatural hot spot, demons and vampires like to get drunk there. I thought we could check it out, and see if we can get some gossip from them. You know, it'd be useful for Buffy to have ears on the ground on that side of things," you explained awkwardly. "I know we can't really drink, but vampires and demons. I don't think they're gonna care, you know?"

    Marcie brushed against your hand. "You think they'll have good gossip?"

    "It's worth trying! I certainly don't have the Slayer strength or book brains for other stuff," you joked.

    "Alright, let's go."

    You entered the bar and looked around. Thankfully with your research you could identify a couple demons you were fairly sure wouldn't instantly kill you. The mischief demon, for example. They were more known for creating nuisances and situations where possible accidents could happen than outright killing. You headed over and took a seat.

    "What's a boy like you doing here?" A vampire leered.

    "Can't a guy like myself have a healthy interest in demons?" you quipped.

    The demons and vampires laughed. "Here." The vampire ordered a drink of something you'd never heard of before. You gulped. Okay, time to go big or go home.

    [ ]Coolly turn down the drink, insist you pay your own way
    [ ]Down it, Marcie is there if it goes badly
    [ ]Be polite turning it down
    [ ]Write-in
     
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    • Scheduled vote count started by Blacksheep on Nov 27, 2024 at 9:58 PM, finished with 5 posts and 3 votes.
    • [X] Offer the drink to the Mischief Demon. Decide your cover story is general interest in things that go bump in the night and like Horror movies and similar stories, can't hurt to learn about cool twists if you become a director or screen-writer down the line, getting any amount wasted would make it harder to remember stories and stuff.
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    • In the Door
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    • You shook your head and passed it to the mischief demon you were sitting beside. "If you think I can keep a clear head you've got the wrong guy. I'm here for tales to put on the screen. Can you imagine if I forgot the most important part of a good hunt from drinking?"

    The group laughed. "You've got a point there," the vampire purred. "Still, ballsy of you to ask when you look scrumptious yourself."

    You shrugged. "I'm just hoping I'm more charming as company when alive." Nods ran around.

    "We'll give you a chance," the demon snickered. You grinned and settled in for stories.

    All in all, it was a good evening. Marcie's presence was reassuring, bumping into her side occasionally to assure yourself that she was still there with you. Marcie traced a hand over your arm, thankfully alright with being your silent support. The stories told would have actually been pretty enjoyable, if you'd been able to forget they were based on real things. You didn't have to fake all of your laughter or interest.

    You walked out with at least some ideas of the local climate. You made sure to talk to Marcie after and make sure she knew how thankful you'd been for her support. Marcie was quietly pleased with having been the one you'd asked to tag along, and told you she was happy to come along anytime.

    You started a routine of dropping down by the bar once or twice a week. It was a good chance for getting out of the house. The clients seemed more than happy to tell tall tales to the ballsy human that had found his way into their midst. Willy even seemed fond of you, saying you reminded him of himself when he was younger. You hoped that was just him projecting and not the actual truth. It was very easy to learn the truth behind why vampires were less common during the summer. You had never heard so many complaints about how long summer days were before. You had to sit through more than one far too graphic description of what the vampires planned to get up to once the days started lengthening again.

    [ ]See if you can find a job for some extra pay over the summer
    [ ]Work more on self defense
    [ ]Look for odd and end errands to do in the demon community
    [ ]Relax and spend time with friends until Buffy gets back
    [ ]Write-in
     
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    • Scheduled vote count started by Blacksheep on Dec 5, 2024 at 8:43 PM, finished with 14 posts and 4 votes.
    • [X]Relax and spend time with friends until Buffy gets back
      -[X] Get Willow and you to call Buffy at some point before the break is over.
      -[X] Suggest Giles lets Marcie stay at his house, since he probably has a guest room and so she doesn't have to continue to sleep at the school.
      [X]Work more on self defense
      [X]Relax and spend time with friends until Buffy gets back
      -[X] Get Willow and you to call Buffy at some point before the break is over.
      -[X] Suggest Giles lets Marcie stay at his house, since he probably has a guest room and so she doesn't have to continue to sleep at the school.
      -[X] Ask Marcie out on a Picnic date to Wilken's Grove or some other local park.
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