Comments | m_mcgregor: Fic: The Great Random Xander Story

m_mcgregor

Fic: The Great Random Xander Story - Iteration One (10/?)

Feb 02, 2011 11:35

This installment may still be considered slightly NSFW although not like the last installment was. Still, if you're worried about such things, wait until you're at home to read it.

( The Standard Recap )

the great random xander story, fanfic: great random xander story it1

Comments 22

anonymous February 2 2011, 17:11:13 UTC

Oh come on! Just as it starts getting good, you leave us on a cliffhanger. You Jerk.

One question, was that Anya or some other 'Justice' demon? I only ask because while Willow was a scorned woman, make people tell her the truth does seem as... messy as some of Anya's other wishes.

m_mcgregor February 2 2011, 18:46:45 UTC

It was Anya.

My thought was that Anya is bound/influenced by a few things:

1. She can only approach women who have been scorned.

2. She can only use her power to grant a spoken wish.

3. She doesn't *really* care if her wish helps or harms the woman involved. After all, Cordelia died very shortly after making her wish, and her wish didn't even have anything to do with Xander directly, the guy who'd scorned her in the first place.

This means she's limited in what she can do. Still, I think it's a suitably diabolical wish-granting on Anya's behalf, following the letter of the wish but not the intention. In most cases, a woman who was just cheated on being able to force her lover to tell her the absolute truth could lead to some severe unpleasantness.

wittgens February 2 2011, 19:28:13 UTC

That was amazing. You totally tricked me into thinking Anya was Tara. I'm not sure if that was your intent, but you did it and it was beautiful.

I can't wait until they kick the shit out of Adam and get on to the awkward and touching revelations caused by scoobies having to be truthful with Willow.

m_mcgregor February 2 2011, 21:13:38 UTC

The Tara/Anya fakeout was indeed the plan, so it's nice to know it worked. Thanks.

anonymous February 2 2011, 20:16:02 UTC

Hey there.

I was curious about your thoughts on puting Dawn in this story. After all,Xander turned Buffy down for her : )

Glad to see you write stuff again!

m_mcgregor February 2 2011, 21:16:51 UTC

While I'm partly aware of what goes on in the comics, I don't read them. I stopped when Giles hired Faith to be an assassin, or whatever the hell BKV had her doing in that issue. I'm not a fan of many of the writers who work on Buffy S8, and so I usually just go by the TV show when it comes to my personal canon. So the stuff that goes on in Buffy S8 is pretty much never an influence for my stories (except for Buffy having bisexual tendencies, but hell, I was writing her that way before the comics, so that doesn't count -- especially since I basically figure all Joss Whedon characters are at least 10% bi.)

That being said, I'm perfectly capable of picking and choosing when I so desire, and I reserve the right to change my mind.

learnedhand_dj February 2 2011, 20:32:04 UTC

Very nicely done, Mac. I presumed it was Tara, at first, but I thought she was being a bit more forward that Tara would've been, so I thought maybe it was someone else. Didn't expect Anya, though.

Being told the truth is just a limited version of Buffy's previous mind-reading, right? I mean, Willow has to ask, instead of getting stuff involuntarily, but it still opens a window into someone's true thoughts that in many cases would be better off staying closed. Considering how you took Buffy's mind-reading in a new and interesting direction, I'm really looking forward to seeing what you do with Willow's truth-power.

m_mcgregor February 2 2011, 21:19:19 UTC

Pretty much. I wanted to work Anya back into the story at some point once I realized that Lover's Walk was not going to lead to The Wish, so I'm glad I got this opportunity to do it. As for the effects of the wish itself, well that could go in any number of directions. Hopefully we'll all find out soon.

Also: I just accidentally poked myself really hard in the eye. I just thought you'd like to know.

Damn that hurts!

anonymous February 3 2011, 01:26:48 UTC

This was an absolutely masterful chapter. A lot of fanfic writers can fall into the trap of either plodding along with canon in predictable fashion or going completely off base and spinning out into the void, but you've managed to use the characters and plot you had to create an entirely new situation made up of things that were already supposed to be in play. It all felt really surprising and real, way more like an alternate Season Four than a copied Season Four or a non-season Four. It really captured the hectic nature some Buffy episodes had of lots of events swirling around into a big wacky disaster.

It's interesting that this little side quest could inspire Willow to really get into offensive magic; having had success using it in a dangerous situation to escape I think it's possible she could dive deep into it much more quickly than she did in canon.

m_mcgregor February 3 2011, 15:10:43 UTC

Thanks very much. I'm trying my best to just write what I think would be the consequences of the change, and that means that stuff that was set into motion before the change would still be happening. That means the Initiative and Glory will definitely be showing up, but the Trio/Troika/Whatever and the First may not be as important, or even show up at all.