Newsgroups: alt.tv.buffy-v-slayer.creative
Subject: FIC: You're not helping - PG - (2/2)
Date: Tue, 5 Feb 2002 10:47:56 +0000 (UTC)
Title: You're not helping - 2/2
Author: Nick Kean
E-mail: buffy@beast.gen.nz
Feedback: Always welcome - be gentle
Summary: Dawn asks for Anya's advice
Rating: PG-13
Spoilers: Set a bit before Gone, season 6
Primary Site: http://www.beast.gen.nz/Buffy/fic/
Archiving: Yeah, go for it. Let me know where, 'k?
Disclaimer: The characters and universe herein are the property
of Joss Whedon, Warner Brothers Network, 20th Century Fox,
Mutant Enemy, Sandollar, Kuzui, and Greenwolf Productions.
The piece of fan-written fiction below does not intend to
infringe upon copyright or trademark.
Scene: Anya is clearing the cash register of the Magic Box.
Dawn
Anya, can I talk to you for a minute?
Anya
Just a second, I'm almost done here.
(she finishes up - depressed)
That really wasn't one of our better days. I need more
customers or maybe each one should loosen their wallets a little
bit more. Perhaps I should have a sale. No, that just means
people get things for less. Why aren't more people interested
in magic anyway? This is the hellmouth after all. There should
be queues of consumers, stretching for miles, all eager to get
their hands on high quality, reasonably priced magic supplies.
But no, they are probably all out spending their money on food
and clothing and other items I'm not selling. Any chance you'd
like to purchase something?
Dawn
Umm, no - sorry. I'm after some advice.
Anya
Sure, Anya's advice line is open for business ... at the new low
rate of only $1 a minute. Just joking - I know you don't have
any money. How can I be of service?
Dawn
Well there's this guy I really like and I want him to like me
back. What should I do?
Anya
Oh that's easy; you should sleep with him. Guys like that sort
of thing.
Dawn
Umm, hello. Developmentally retarded 15 year old here. My
whole young life I've kissed exactly one boy and that didn't
exactly have a fairytale ending. I don't think I'm quite ready
to go jumping this guys bones yet.
You've been watching relationships for a thousand years, you
must have some tips for me.
Anya
I always come in at the end. Not much call for vengeance
when the relationship hasn't kicked off yet. I'm more like the
siren that signals the start of injury time.
Dawn
That's ok, nobody else was able to help me either. It would be
neat if you could still grant wishes. I know exactly what I'd
wish for.
Anya
It doesn't really work like that. I would never have been able
to grant a wish starting a relationship - it has to take the
form of retribution. I couldn't grant just any old wish, like
some crazy fairy godmother. There were strict limits on my
powers.
Dawn
What was it like being a demon? Having the power to grant
wishes must have been incredible. Do you miss it?
Anya
Sometimes I wish I had my powers back. But then I just have to
remember that if I had not been stuck in Sunnydale with this
mortal body, I would never have met Xander. Whenever I catch
myself reminiscing about the good old days, I just have to
remind myself how happy I am now.
Dawn - I'm going to share something with you but you have to
promise me that you'll never tell anyone, especially not Xander.
Dawn
Oh I can keep a secret - I'm like totally the Lucasfilm of
Sunnydale.
Anya
When I was a demon, I did a lot of ... questionable things. I
know that now but at the time I didn't really think about it.
One of the things about demons is that life is seriously
uncomplicated. My whole existence was very simple. I would
find a scorned woman, or be summoned by one, grant her wish and
then move on. Sometimes I might wait around to see how things
turned out but usually it was "wish and move on", "wish and move
on".
You probably think that being a vengeance demon is just about
curses and punishment but I never saw it that way at all. To me
it was all about helping a woman who was hurting. Imagine
loving someone with all your heart and then they just step all
over you. There ain't a whole lot in this world that can top
pain like that. A cut can be bandaged, a broken bone can be cast
but how do you heal a broken heart? The best way to make it
better is revenge on the person that hurt you in the first
place.
I never chose what would happen to the guy in question, I only
granted the wish of the one who was hurting. The goal was never
the vengeance, the goal was the healing of a broken heart.
I pictured myself as a roaming "good fairy" - helping
those who were dejected and needing some comfort. When I
was made human again I lost my ability to block out the
consequence of the wish. Not only could I not grant
wishes but I started realising that all the good I'd done
for women was outweighed by the hurt I'd been inflicting
on men. A conscience is a terrible burden and I hated it.
Sure, I had helped a lot of women but in the process, I'd
caused an awful lot of torment as well. I just couldn't
take it. I begged D'Hoffryn to give my powers back and
when he refused I really didn't know how I was going to
handle it.
In the end I decided that the only thing was to try and
make amends for my past deeds. I'd locate a broken
hearted male and work on making his life happier. I
figured that if I could balance the scales little bit, I'd
feel less guilty about the last thousand years.
Xander was my obvious starting point. Cordelia had just
dumped him, Willow was back with Oz and Xander was totally
miserable. He was putting on a brave face but I could
tell how much he was hurting. I thought that if I could
give this guy some measure of happiness that would lessen
my own pain. Of course, it didn't quite work out that
way. The more time I spent with him, the less I felt like
finding someone else to help. He became all I could think
about.
Eventually I realised that I had become one of the women
who used to call on me - someone living their life on the
whims of one guy. That was when I started getting scared.
I just know that something is going to go wrong - it
always does you see. I was a vengeance demon for over a
thousand years and still have contacts. I just know that
I'm going to do something stupid as soon as Xander screws
up. Knowing that is scarier than any vampire or hell god
or ... or anything.
This whole relationship idea is just flawed anyway. Having a
huge part of your happiness be totally dependent on another
person can't possibly be a good idea, can it?
Dawn
If you really feel like that, how come you're still with
Xander? If you're so worried about hurting him, what makes you
stay?
Anya
Because there's always that one in a million chance that
what Xander and I have will actually last forever. Or at
least until these bodies wither and die.
Dawn
And the men you punished for all those years?
Anya
Oh screw them. They got what they deserved.
--
Willow! I need service!
Subject: FIC: You're not helping - PG - (2/2)
Date: Tue, 5 Feb 2002 10:47:56 +0000 (UTC)
Title: You're not helping - 2/2
Author: Nick Kean
E-mail: buffy@beast.gen.nz
Feedback: Always welcome - be gentle
Summary: Dawn asks for Anya's advice
Rating: PG-13
Spoilers: Set a bit before Gone, season 6
Primary Site: http://www.beast.gen.nz/Buffy/fic/
Archiving: Yeah, go for it. Let me know where, 'k?
Disclaimer: The characters and universe herein are the property
of Joss Whedon, Warner Brothers Network, 20th Century Fox,
Mutant Enemy, Sandollar, Kuzui, and Greenwolf Productions.
The piece of fan-written fiction below does not intend to
infringe upon copyright or trademark.
Scene: Anya is clearing the cash register of the Magic Box.
Dawn
Anya, can I talk to you for a minute?
Anya
Just a second, I'm almost done here.
(she finishes up - depressed)
That really wasn't one of our better days. I need more
customers or maybe each one should loosen their wallets a little
bit more. Perhaps I should have a sale. No, that just means
people get things for less. Why aren't more people interested
in magic anyway? This is the hellmouth after all. There should
be queues of consumers, stretching for miles, all eager to get
their hands on high quality, reasonably priced magic supplies.
But no, they are probably all out spending their money on food
and clothing and other items I'm not selling. Any chance you'd
like to purchase something?
Dawn
Umm, no - sorry. I'm after some advice.
Anya
Sure, Anya's advice line is open for business ... at the new low
rate of only $1 a minute. Just joking - I know you don't have
any money. How can I be of service?
Dawn
Well there's this guy I really like and I want him to like me
back. What should I do?
Anya
Oh that's easy; you should sleep with him. Guys like that sort
of thing.
Dawn
Umm, hello. Developmentally retarded 15 year old here. My
whole young life I've kissed exactly one boy and that didn't
exactly have a fairytale ending. I don't think I'm quite ready
to go jumping this guys bones yet.
You've been watching relationships for a thousand years, you
must have some tips for me.
Anya
I always come in at the end. Not much call for vengeance
when the relationship hasn't kicked off yet. I'm more like the
siren that signals the start of injury time.
Dawn
That's ok, nobody else was able to help me either. It would be
neat if you could still grant wishes. I know exactly what I'd
wish for.
Anya
It doesn't really work like that. I would never have been able
to grant a wish starting a relationship - it has to take the
form of retribution. I couldn't grant just any old wish, like
some crazy fairy godmother. There were strict limits on my
powers.
Dawn
What was it like being a demon? Having the power to grant
wishes must have been incredible. Do you miss it?
Anya
Sometimes I wish I had my powers back. But then I just have to
remember that if I had not been stuck in Sunnydale with this
mortal body, I would never have met Xander. Whenever I catch
myself reminiscing about the good old days, I just have to
remind myself how happy I am now.
Dawn - I'm going to share something with you but you have to
promise me that you'll never tell anyone, especially not Xander.
Dawn
Oh I can keep a secret - I'm like totally the Lucasfilm of
Sunnydale.
Anya
When I was a demon, I did a lot of ... questionable things. I
know that now but at the time I didn't really think about it.
One of the things about demons is that life is seriously
uncomplicated. My whole existence was very simple. I would
find a scorned woman, or be summoned by one, grant her wish and
then move on. Sometimes I might wait around to see how things
turned out but usually it was "wish and move on", "wish and move
on".
You probably think that being a vengeance demon is just about
curses and punishment but I never saw it that way at all. To me
it was all about helping a woman who was hurting. Imagine
loving someone with all your heart and then they just step all
over you. There ain't a whole lot in this world that can top
pain like that. A cut can be bandaged, a broken bone can be cast
but how do you heal a broken heart? The best way to make it
better is revenge on the person that hurt you in the first
place.
I never chose what would happen to the guy in question, I only
granted the wish of the one who was hurting. The goal was never
the vengeance, the goal was the healing of a broken heart.
I pictured myself as a roaming "good fairy" - helping
those who were dejected and needing some comfort. When I
was made human again I lost my ability to block out the
consequence of the wish. Not only could I not grant
wishes but I started realising that all the good I'd done
for women was outweighed by the hurt I'd been inflicting
on men. A conscience is a terrible burden and I hated it.
Sure, I had helped a lot of women but in the process, I'd
caused an awful lot of torment as well. I just couldn't
take it. I begged D'Hoffryn to give my powers back and
when he refused I really didn't know how I was going to
handle it.
In the end I decided that the only thing was to try and
make amends for my past deeds. I'd locate a broken
hearted male and work on making his life happier. I
figured that if I could balance the scales little bit, I'd
feel less guilty about the last thousand years.
Xander was my obvious starting point. Cordelia had just
dumped him, Willow was back with Oz and Xander was totally
miserable. He was putting on a brave face but I could
tell how much he was hurting. I thought that if I could
give this guy some measure of happiness that would lessen
my own pain. Of course, it didn't quite work out that
way. The more time I spent with him, the less I felt like
finding someone else to help. He became all I could think
about.
Eventually I realised that I had become one of the women
who used to call on me - someone living their life on the
whims of one guy. That was when I started getting scared.
I just know that something is going to go wrong - it
always does you see. I was a vengeance demon for over a
thousand years and still have contacts. I just know that
I'm going to do something stupid as soon as Xander screws
up. Knowing that is scarier than any vampire or hell god
or ... or anything.
This whole relationship idea is just flawed anyway. Having a
huge part of your happiness be totally dependent on another
person can't possibly be a good idea, can it?
Dawn
If you really feel like that, how come you're still with
Xander? If you're so worried about hurting him, what makes you
stay?
Anya
Because there's always that one in a million chance that
what Xander and I have will actually last forever. Or at
least until these bodies wither and die.
Dawn
And the men you punished for all those years?
Anya
Oh screw them. They got what they deserved.
--
Willow! I need service!