Another fanfic snippett - BTVS this time
Aug. 3rd, 2003 11:40 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
selenakThe bunny was stronger. Anya was right about them, I tell you. So, here's the first of the Five Things Which Never Happened To Warren. On the geek theme, ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
honorh, who has posted the next part of her season 6 analysis, also provided me with a delightful link to a couple of
Andrew memes.
But now, inspired byandrastewhite:
I.
Warren knew he hated Sunnydale the moment he saw it, but of course his mother didn’t listen. She had some post-divorce dream about life in California, featuring the beach, the Pacific Ocean, a garden of her own and possibly Patrick Swayze. Which meant she managed to overlook all the rather blatant signs that Sunnydale would have won any competition with Salem or Castle Rock or Derry for Just Plain Weird And Bad News. But of course his mother had never read Stephen King.
It didn’t take him long to figure out everyone in this town was into massive denial, which fitted into his idea of them as small-town idiots. The High School was the same as his old one; more idiots, jocks, and bitches out to torture you with their miniskirts and their superior smiles. Well, he would survive this last year, go to College, prove his genius, be finally appreciated somewhere and never be bothered by any of them again.
The computers the school used were at least two generations behind. He was told that there had been a great teacher who got killed the year before, and since then, no real replacement. A student had taken taken over from her,and the principal couldn’t be bothered to hire someone fully qualified he’d have to pay as a replacement. Of course, recommendations about updates from a student were easily ignored. Warren had his own computer at home, of course, two of them in fact, plus the microstar laptop, but in a rare moment of altruism, he still thought he should complain, on principle, for the poor slobs who wouldn’t be able to compete at all later on. So he went to the student who had filled in for the dead teacher, a girl named Willow Rosenberg.
She heard him out, which was a surprise. He hadn’t really expected her to. After all, she regularily hung out with two specimens of the species puella cheerleadera, a gorgeous brunette which a toothy smile and a voice just designed to draw blood, and a blonde who looked like she came from one of the stupid movies his mother had believed to be representative for California. Moreover, Willow Rosenberg dated a guitarist. If there was a magical circle of cool, she had managed to enter. And Warren was quite self-conscious that so far, he had not come even close. Of course, soon enough, that wouldn’t matter anymore. But still. It was awful, standing in front of a girl, knowing he looked awkward and clumsy and that she probably would yawn and tell him to bore someone else.
“You’re right,” she said, and Warren sat down in surprise. “But that’s Snyder for you. He hates the lot of us – he wouldn’t do anything do improve the situation.” She bit her lips, and the nervous gesture didn’t fit with the image he had of her at all. “My mother is on the schoolboard, and I asked her to organize a complaint, but she…got distracted.”
He felt a sudden wave of sympathy. Mothers were unreliable that way.
“Okay then,” he said, and shrugged. He’d have left, but Willow was the first person whom he couldn’t quite categorize, so he felt compelled to stay a bit longer. He asked her about the classes she had taught, and how she compensated for the lack of new software. This turned out to be have the most amazing results. Her whole posture changed, her quiet voice grew bubbly and vivid, and two hours later, they were still talking.
Warren couldn’t believe his luck. He had finally found someone who spoke the same language. She understood what he meant when he mentioned designing interfaces that would be independent of touch, and brought in some of her own ideas. She was smart, really smart, and apparantly she had been starving for someone to talk computers with, too, ever since that teacher died.
Some weeks later, when they were working on their first programm together, he mentioned, casually, the weirdness of living in a town which could be a video game, full of monsters and even a superhero. She grew very still.
“You…know about…” she started, hesitatingly.
“Please,” Warren said. “I’ve seen her stake those things outside the Bronze. Your pal. How dumb do you think I am? Anyway, it’s cool. You’re her Q, right?”
James Bond movies weren’t exactly Willow’s forte, it appeared; she thought of the Star Trek Q first.
“No,” she said. “Though I sometimes think I could have been, you know, with the witch fu? Maybe I could have learned to magic her enemies out of existence…”
Obviously, more explanations were due. Willow told him she had tried some spells and done some research about magic, to the point where she considered becoming a witch. But since they started hanging out together, between hacking and designs and plans for Artificial Intelligence, courtesy Meers & Rosenberg Enterprises, she didn’t have the time to practice her spells anymore.
“So bye bye, Witch Willow,” she said somewhat wistfully.
“I like Hacker Willow,” Warren replied before he knew what he was saying, and felt mortally embarrassed. He flushed, certain that she’d either laugh or be embarassed as well, which would completely spoil the first friendship he had. “I mean,” he continued, desperately, “as a friend.”
To his infinite relief, she smiled at him. “Hey,” she said. “Friendship is good. And who needs magic anyway?”
Coming next: II, in which Warren gets recruited by Maggie Walsh, which is Not Of The Good.
honorh, who has posted the next part of her season 6 analysis, also provided me with a delightful link to a couple of Andrew memes.
But now, inspired by
andrastewhite:I.
Warren knew he hated Sunnydale the moment he saw it, but of course his mother didn’t listen. She had some post-divorce dream about life in California, featuring the beach, the Pacific Ocean, a garden of her own and possibly Patrick Swayze. Which meant she managed to overlook all the rather blatant signs that Sunnydale would have won any competition with Salem or Castle Rock or Derry for Just Plain Weird And Bad News. But of course his mother had never read Stephen King.
It didn’t take him long to figure out everyone in this town was into massive denial, which fitted into his idea of them as small-town idiots. The High School was the same as his old one; more idiots, jocks, and bitches out to torture you with their miniskirts and their superior smiles. Well, he would survive this last year, go to College, prove his genius, be finally appreciated somewhere and never be bothered by any of them again.
The computers the school used were at least two generations behind. He was told that there had been a great teacher who got killed the year before, and since then, no real replacement. A student had taken taken over from her,and the principal couldn’t be bothered to hire someone fully qualified he’d have to pay as a replacement. Of course, recommendations about updates from a student were easily ignored. Warren had his own computer at home, of course, two of them in fact, plus the microstar laptop, but in a rare moment of altruism, he still thought he should complain, on principle, for the poor slobs who wouldn’t be able to compete at all later on. So he went to the student who had filled in for the dead teacher, a girl named Willow Rosenberg.
She heard him out, which was a surprise. He hadn’t really expected her to. After all, she regularily hung out with two specimens of the species puella cheerleadera, a gorgeous brunette which a toothy smile and a voice just designed to draw blood, and a blonde who looked like she came from one of the stupid movies his mother had believed to be representative for California. Moreover, Willow Rosenberg dated a guitarist. If there was a magical circle of cool, she had managed to enter. And Warren was quite self-conscious that so far, he had not come even close. Of course, soon enough, that wouldn’t matter anymore. But still. It was awful, standing in front of a girl, knowing he looked awkward and clumsy and that she probably would yawn and tell him to bore someone else.
“You’re right,” she said, and Warren sat down in surprise. “But that’s Snyder for you. He hates the lot of us – he wouldn’t do anything do improve the situation.” She bit her lips, and the nervous gesture didn’t fit with the image he had of her at all. “My mother is on the schoolboard, and I asked her to organize a complaint, but she…got distracted.”
He felt a sudden wave of sympathy. Mothers were unreliable that way.
“Okay then,” he said, and shrugged. He’d have left, but Willow was the first person whom he couldn’t quite categorize, so he felt compelled to stay a bit longer. He asked her about the classes she had taught, and how she compensated for the lack of new software. This turned out to be have the most amazing results. Her whole posture changed, her quiet voice grew bubbly and vivid, and two hours later, they were still talking.
Warren couldn’t believe his luck. He had finally found someone who spoke the same language. She understood what he meant when he mentioned designing interfaces that would be independent of touch, and brought in some of her own ideas. She was smart, really smart, and apparantly she had been starving for someone to talk computers with, too, ever since that teacher died.
Some weeks later, when they were working on their first programm together, he mentioned, casually, the weirdness of living in a town which could be a video game, full of monsters and even a superhero. She grew very still.
“You…know about…” she started, hesitatingly.
“Please,” Warren said. “I’ve seen her stake those things outside the Bronze. Your pal. How dumb do you think I am? Anyway, it’s cool. You’re her Q, right?”
James Bond movies weren’t exactly Willow’s forte, it appeared; she thought of the Star Trek Q first.
“No,” she said. “Though I sometimes think I could have been, you know, with the witch fu? Maybe I could have learned to magic her enemies out of existence…”
Obviously, more explanations were due. Willow told him she had tried some spells and done some research about magic, to the point where she considered becoming a witch. But since they started hanging out together, between hacking and designs and plans for Artificial Intelligence, courtesy Meers & Rosenberg Enterprises, she didn’t have the time to practice her spells anymore.
“So bye bye, Witch Willow,” she said somewhat wistfully.
“I like Hacker Willow,” Warren replied before he knew what he was saying, and felt mortally embarrassed. He flushed, certain that she’d either laugh or be embarassed as well, which would completely spoil the first friendship he had. “I mean,” he continued, desperately, “as a friend.”
To his infinite relief, she smiled at him. “Hey,” she said. “Friendship is good. And who needs magic anyway?”
Coming next: II, in which Warren gets recruited by Maggie Walsh, which is Not Of The Good.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
Fascinating!
Date: 2003-08-03 11:03 am (UTC)Very nice
Date: 2003-08-03 02:07 pm (UTC)Unfortunately, it shows up badfic writers who write AUs where someone's uncanonically Evil or Good but can't be bothered to make up a rationale ;-)
no subject
Date: 2003-08-03 05:09 pm (UTC)I especially love this line: If there was a magical circle of cool, she had managed to enter.
It' terribly ironic that Willow would appear to be a cool kid to someone new to the school, and that the appearance is probably true anyway. One of those big flaws for Warren/Willow - they can't see how other people see things.
Can't wait for the next part.
Re: Very nice
Date: 2003-08-03 09:59 pm (UTC)Self-image
Date: 2003-08-03 10:10 pm (UTC)Which is undoubtedly true for Warren as well, but then, the parallels between them were a large part of what inspired this AU.
Thanks for the feedback!
no subject
Date: 2003-08-03 11:54 pm (UTC)Particularly liked both the mental classification system for his fellow human beings and the way Willow catches his attention by not fitting his categories. The sympathy over her mother was a lovely touch, too, and the ending was just perfect.
I also love the idea that Warren instantly saw through Sunnydale's veneer - of course a geek of his caliber would have read enough Stephen King to spot the scary town at first glance.
All in all: adorable, and commendably free of flaying. Although I admit to harbouring morbid curiosity over seeing Warren become evil in new and exiting ways, too ... bring on the Inniative. (Er, I mean, when RL allows.)
Thank you, oh Muse!
Date: 2003-08-04 12:37 am (UTC)As for Warren becoming evil in new and exciting ways - read on! I just posted the next AU...
Re: Self-image
Date: 2003-08-04 12:22 pm (UTC)And the show never quite deals with why she believes she needs that veneer - after all, she had Xander and Buffy before she became "cool." She self-destructs and then becomes that cool veneer. Frankly, that part of the plot creeps me. *Anyway* - off to read part two!