The Path to Self-Discovery
Mar. 17th, 2026 04:16 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
madimpossibledreamerFigured I’d look through the list of episodes in the season before “Halloween” is set and whaddya know, “Kaddish” is on there. It was February, while “Halloween” was obviously set, well. On Halloween.
Also I definitely had to make a Peanuts reference with the potato ghost.
“Teacher’s Pet” would be possible in this ‘verse, but according to Wikipedia would have a spider (Micaria sociabilis or Allocosa brasiliensis), crab (Ovalipes catharus) or snake (Malpolon monspessulanus). Given that one of the triggers for attempted cannibalism with the snake is refusal to mate, I figured that I’d go with the snake.
Main Points:
Buffy the Vampire Slayer/X-Files (The Truth is Out There {Stranger than Fiction})
Summary: Alex heads to Willow's to cheer her up.
Word Count: 1019
Rating: Teen
Sheila Rosenberg must be off doing another lecture tour again. There’s no one else home when she shows up, and Willow isn’t actually coming to the door. She doesn’t answer when Alex knocks on the door to Willow’s room, either, so she just grabs the key from its hiding place and heads inside. To her surprise Willow isn’t in her room. She’s actually sitting sulking a little watching the TV—looks like it’s one of the taped X-Files episodes she’s probably technically not supposed to be watching. Then again, her mom always did like parenting in the hypothetical, rather than anything actually approaching reality. Her dad just tended to follow her mom’s lead. She’s half-heartedly doing her homework. She must really be doing bad if she’s not enjoying her favorite activity.
“I, um. Do you...want to talk to me?” Willow doesn’t answer. “Well, if you won’t talk to me, I guess I have to talk to you, right?” Willow doesn’t respond to that, either, but as much as being ignored really stings, she would probably actually get up and walk away if she wasn’t cool with it. “It’s, um. I don’t want to die or anything. It’s just that I’d be a super terrible friend if I let you die for me being stupid.”
Willow finally takes a quick glance over before looking back at the screen, pulling the pillow closer to her, and Alex feels even more terrible, because her eyes are wet with tears. “I don’t want to lose you.”
“I think that’s mutual.” Alex contemplates that for a moment, then adds, “...I mean, the part where we don’t want to lose each other, not the part about not wanting me dead. That’s also true, but.” The quiet giggle is reassuring. It still sounds like it’s being done through tears, but it also means that she might be actually having a good effect for once, take that. “Scoot over?”
“I made popcorn,” Willow offers quietly, pushing the bag in Alex’s general direction, and that’s when Alex knows she’s definitely forgiven.
“Oh, hey, this is the one with the golem, right?” she asks again after another few minutes, and Willow nods.
“I don’t think Dad would throw a fit. As much of one anyway.” Even with her rebellious streak, Willow’s thinking about the rules. Then again, it’s not like Alex is one to talk—it’s probably easier for her to get away with stuff that way.
“You think you could make one? If you, um. Mastered...Kaba—what is it?” It’s just a casual question for Alex. By the way Willow stiffens, it’s not a casual question for her.
“It’s not like all Jewish people are magic!” she protests, and yeah, okay, when you put it that way it does sound kind of ridiculous. “We don’t even know I’d be any good at Kabbalah anyway.”
“Wils, I think you could do anything you actually put your mind to.” She turns her head away, flustered but pleased. “And, just playing messenger here—Buffy’s concerned about the ghostly tradition. She’s probably told you, but. I could maybe go ‘potato ghost’ in solidarity.” It wouldn’t be very cool, but it’d be cheap. Affordable on an allowance of approximately zip, zilch, and nada, and if it’d help Willow feel better, it’s a worthy sacrifice that doesn’t even include any dismemberment or stabbing or, more to the point, having your life essence sucked out by a handsome mummy.
“You shouldn’t have to do that.” She’s acting like this is some huge burden. The situation might be, but Willow? Never. And then she glances at the screen, and then back at Alex thoughtfully.
Which is easy enough to read. And Willow pulling off Scully, smart and pretty redhead, sure, but basically the only thing Alex has in common is the hair color. Well, and maybe the quips, but she’s only kind of good at them, on account of not being the brightest bulb and all. “You do know most people are going to just think ‘women in black’, right? Cue epic theme song and aliens and mind wipes? Because I hate to break it to you here, but not a guy, in case you hadn’t noticed.”
Willow pouts. Which is cheating enough, but then she pulls out the whole puppy dog look and everything.
“Look, um...I’m not…” She can’t even muster up a convincing argument. They’re there, they exist, it’s just that Willow’s not going to listen to a single one of them, and Alex hates seeing her upset, even if at this point it’s just a manipulation. “You don’t play fair, you know that?”
“Resistance is futile. Accept your fate now,” Willow responds, speaking her language, before smiling. Actually smiling. “Did Buffy already go to the costume shop?”
“Yeah, wouldn’t stop going on about this ballgown thing, when she wasn’t talking about you and me maybe getting the attention of someone that isn’t a vampire or a demon. Like she’s one to talk, and also like anyone except maybe the Queen C stands a chance of catching anyone’s attention when she turns up like that.” Okay, maybe she’s whining a little, but seriously.
“If we’re going with you being Mulder, wouldn’t we be calling you ‘handsome’ instead?” Willow teases.
“Cut it out,” Alex tells her, but something about the moment catches in her mind anyway, like a scratch on a CD. Willow turns down the TV (but rewinds when it’s done to play it again as background noise) and manages cheerfully to make Alex actually do her homework too. Alex playfully grumbles along, but it’s not like she couldn’t have avoided this really easily if she’d wanted to; she could’ve left her homework at her house, thus foiling any actual scholarly pursuits. It’d been more of a last resort if nothing else worked, but Alex had missed her after the cold shoulder so even being bossed around and having to actually do schoolwork isn’t too bad. Even if it’s having to concentrate on biology class and not think about the trauma. At least more than just mummies and snakemen think she’s not completely hideous.
Also I definitely had to make a Peanuts reference with the potato ghost.
“Teacher’s Pet” would be possible in this ‘verse, but according to Wikipedia would have a spider (Micaria sociabilis or Allocosa brasiliensis), crab (Ovalipes catharus) or snake (Malpolon monspessulanus). Given that one of the triggers for attempted cannibalism with the snake is refusal to mate, I figured that I’d go with the snake.
Main Points:
Buffy the Vampire Slayer/X-Files (The Truth is Out There {Stranger than Fiction})
Summary: Alex heads to Willow's to cheer her up.
Word Count: 1019
Rating: Teen
Sheila Rosenberg must be off doing another lecture tour again. There’s no one else home when she shows up, and Willow isn’t actually coming to the door. She doesn’t answer when Alex knocks on the door to Willow’s room, either, so she just grabs the key from its hiding place and heads inside. To her surprise Willow isn’t in her room. She’s actually sitting sulking a little watching the TV—looks like it’s one of the taped X-Files episodes she’s probably technically not supposed to be watching. Then again, her mom always did like parenting in the hypothetical, rather than anything actually approaching reality. Her dad just tended to follow her mom’s lead. She’s half-heartedly doing her homework. She must really be doing bad if she’s not enjoying her favorite activity.
“I, um. Do you...want to talk to me?” Willow doesn’t answer. “Well, if you won’t talk to me, I guess I have to talk to you, right?” Willow doesn’t respond to that, either, but as much as being ignored really stings, she would probably actually get up and walk away if she wasn’t cool with it. “It’s, um. I don’t want to die or anything. It’s just that I’d be a super terrible friend if I let you die for me being stupid.”
Willow finally takes a quick glance over before looking back at the screen, pulling the pillow closer to her, and Alex feels even more terrible, because her eyes are wet with tears. “I don’t want to lose you.”
“I think that’s mutual.” Alex contemplates that for a moment, then adds, “...I mean, the part where we don’t want to lose each other, not the part about not wanting me dead. That’s also true, but.” The quiet giggle is reassuring. It still sounds like it’s being done through tears, but it also means that she might be actually having a good effect for once, take that. “Scoot over?”
“I made popcorn,” Willow offers quietly, pushing the bag in Alex’s general direction, and that’s when Alex knows she’s definitely forgiven.
“Oh, hey, this is the one with the golem, right?” she asks again after another few minutes, and Willow nods.
“I don’t think Dad would throw a fit. As much of one anyway.” Even with her rebellious streak, Willow’s thinking about the rules. Then again, it’s not like Alex is one to talk—it’s probably easier for her to get away with stuff that way.
“You think you could make one? If you, um. Mastered...Kaba—what is it?” It’s just a casual question for Alex. By the way Willow stiffens, it’s not a casual question for her.
“It’s not like all Jewish people are magic!” she protests, and yeah, okay, when you put it that way it does sound kind of ridiculous. “We don’t even know I’d be any good at Kabbalah anyway.”
“Wils, I think you could do anything you actually put your mind to.” She turns her head away, flustered but pleased. “And, just playing messenger here—Buffy’s concerned about the ghostly tradition. She’s probably told you, but. I could maybe go ‘potato ghost’ in solidarity.” It wouldn’t be very cool, but it’d be cheap. Affordable on an allowance of approximately zip, zilch, and nada, and if it’d help Willow feel better, it’s a worthy sacrifice that doesn’t even include any dismemberment or stabbing or, more to the point, having your life essence sucked out by a handsome mummy.
“You shouldn’t have to do that.” She’s acting like this is some huge burden. The situation might be, but Willow? Never. And then she glances at the screen, and then back at Alex thoughtfully.
Which is easy enough to read. And Willow pulling off Scully, smart and pretty redhead, sure, but basically the only thing Alex has in common is the hair color. Well, and maybe the quips, but she’s only kind of good at them, on account of not being the brightest bulb and all. “You do know most people are going to just think ‘women in black’, right? Cue epic theme song and aliens and mind wipes? Because I hate to break it to you here, but not a guy, in case you hadn’t noticed.”
Willow pouts. Which is cheating enough, but then she pulls out the whole puppy dog look and everything.
“Look, um...I’m not…” She can’t even muster up a convincing argument. They’re there, they exist, it’s just that Willow’s not going to listen to a single one of them, and Alex hates seeing her upset, even if at this point it’s just a manipulation. “You don’t play fair, you know that?”
“Resistance is futile. Accept your fate now,” Willow responds, speaking her language, before smiling. Actually smiling. “Did Buffy already go to the costume shop?”
“Yeah, wouldn’t stop going on about this ballgown thing, when she wasn’t talking about you and me maybe getting the attention of someone that isn’t a vampire or a demon. Like she’s one to talk, and also like anyone except maybe the Queen C stands a chance of catching anyone’s attention when she turns up like that.” Okay, maybe she’s whining a little, but seriously.
“If we’re going with you being Mulder, wouldn’t we be calling you ‘handsome’ instead?” Willow teases.
“Cut it out,” Alex tells her, but something about the moment catches in her mind anyway, like a scratch on a CD. Willow turns down the TV (but rewinds when it’s done to play it again as background noise) and manages cheerfully to make Alex actually do her homework too. Alex playfully grumbles along, but it’s not like she couldn’t have avoided this really easily if she’d wanted to; she could’ve left her homework at her house, thus foiling any actual scholarly pursuits. It’d been more of a last resort if nothing else worked, but Alex had missed her after the cold shoulder so even being bossed around and having to actually do schoolwork isn’t too bad. Even if it’s having to concentrate on biology class and not think about the trauma. At least more than just mummies and snakemen think she’s not completely hideous.
