Ethan plot bunny (and laws of character emotion)

[beccaelizabeth]

I have this Ethan plot bunny that keeps trying to turn into a story. Which would be yaaay, but it was somebody elses bunny. Indeed, someone elses story, which I read and disliked very much.

It seemed to violate the first law of character emotion, which is that characters emotions tend to stay the same unless acted on by an outside force. I realise *people* can randomly change, but *characters* can't without it looking like bad writing.

If someone, last time we saw them, thought of another character as having tried to kill her repeatedly and being inherently untrustworthy and borderline dangerous, how that changes has to be shown on screen.

Second law of emotion is of course that a large feeling requires a large force to change it (a large thing, or a small thing very precisely applied, like with levers).

If someone mildly dislikes someone it takes only small changes to change their mind. If someone violently dislikes someone, say sent them off with the military and figured they deserved everything that happened to them, it takes a much larger thing to change them.

Third law is the equal and opposite one. Not so clear on how that applies to emotion. You move towards, your friends move away? Something, anyways.

Yes, I got sidetracked translating Newton's laws. Back to the bunny!

Basics of bunny - season 6, after Giles leaves, Ethan turns up on Buffy's doorstep and tells her TPTB sent him and he is her new Watcher. Then they have sex. And a baby.

So anyways, that bunny got in my head and wouldn't leave.

See the fun part is, The Power That Be telling Ethan to do things is *Janus*. In the series, mostly known for changing everyone into their costumes. But I did a lot of research, wrote an essay, and found out some extra bits yesterday in reference books at college.
(Yes, I spend college library time on Janus research. Yes this explains some of why my homework remains unfinished. Moving on...)
There are a lot of good reasons in the RL mythology that Janus might actually help Buffy.

Janus was the guardian of doors, gates, portals - possibly Hellmouths?
One of the direct effects of changing everyone into their costumes was Xander got all that soldier knowledge, which saved the world twice for definite and contributed many other times.
Could Janus have known that would happen? Certainly. He had two faces - one looking to the past, one to the future.

Those two faces were also key in the story of Carna, also known as Cardea.
Carna was a nymph who teased her suitors. She said she would, then sent them into a cave ahead of her, and ran away. Janus, of course, could still see her behind him, and caught her. So she shared her favours, and in return he granted her certain powers and dominions. Power over door hinges and handles in the simplest version of the story. But in other version Janus also gave her power over nocturnal vampires. And under the name Cardea she also had power over thresholds, and vampires. Therefore under this mythology, Cardea, originally Carna, empowered by Janus, was the reason vampires cannot cross the threshold. The protection she granted would be to keep vampires out of the house.

The other possible interpretation is - girl goes into a cave with Janus, comes out with the power to fight vampires. Could it be Janus that empowered the Slayers?

These myths link Janus to vampires by way of Carna-Cardea.

And Ethan worships Janus.

So we get an actual logical reason Janus might send Ethan to help the Slayer.

And that, to me, makes it a fascinating bunny. Ethan on a mission from god? Comedy *gold*. And serious plot fuel too.

So everyone would react to Ethan in their individual ways, not trust him as far as they could spit to start with, all of that.

Interesting thing, right before Giles leaves, in Tabula Rasa right after everyone loses their memories and wakes up as someone else, we see a two faced statue of Janus in the Magic Box. It wasn't there the episode before, and we don't see it until after the transformation. Did Anya buy it? Or did Janus just turn up to watch the fun?

So, Ethan walks in to the Magic Box, and the first thing he sees is a statue of his god there to welcome him. He wants to buy it, but he doesn't want to move it if Janus still wants it there. So he puts down a deposit and Anya holds it for him. Plus he'll need an income, and there's this handy magic shop that used to need two people to run it... or he could sell charms, or magic tuition. Whatever. Gives him a reason to be working with Anya, who probably wouldn't be so judgemental about the whole formerly-evil bit.

Then, in the original bunny, there is sex and pregnancy.

Okay. I don't see the brewing romance with Spike being derailed just because Ethan hits town. I mean *I'd* jump right into bed with... okay, both and/or either of them, but I'm pretty sure Buffy's thing for older men wouldn't be quite so fast acting. So imagine Buffy's relationship with Spike goes as we saw in canon, then she dumps him after Riley turns up.

There would be Issues with Riley and Ethan. Riley took Ethan away. Serious plot right there.
And I have to do something about that ridiculous Spike=Doctor thing.
Not that Ethan would be that guy either. But Ethan and Spike both together saying 'no we aren't' might, possibly, have more weight than mr fly in and assume things saying they are.
Issues. To be resolved with story. Would be fun.

So, Buffy dumps Spike. And rebounds with Ethan. Obviously that would require some story mileage, but I think I could make it work. Buffy is all guilt guilt guilt about the kink. Spike doesn't know how to be human enough to help (that isn't Spike bashing, that is just saying he can't properly perceive the problem).

The Society of Janus is a San Francisco based BDSM education/support group.
Obviously, in this universe, Ethan has nothing to do with it.
But in the Buffyverse?

So, Ethan not only knows kink, he has all these friends in education & support work. Could help Buffy get untangled. Fun. Lots and lots of fun in fact.

Then Buffy gets pregnant.

If you go all 'happily ever after' at that point its very snuggly sweet.

But this is *season 6*. The geek Trio are still out there.
Warren would still buy that gun.

What if Buffy was *pregnant* when she got shot?

That's the kind of thought so nasty it of course belongs in the Jossverse.

But with all the options in the 'verse, the outcome is not necessarily nasty at all.

There's a whole other arc, with Willow and magic. Ethan would laugh at the concept of magic addiction. He'd say its like having chemistry addiction, or prayer addiction. Tell Willow true things instead. But probably not so much be believed.

The Tara breakup happened when Giles left, so by the time Ethan arrived Willow would be single already. Things would go horribly wrong quite fast after that. But figure Ethan's presence doesn't actually screw up the happy reconciliation.

Is Tara's death necessary to make Willow go off the deep end?

But I wouldn't leave Tara dead.

Ethan's presence allows for a Cunning Plan.

Willow walks into the magic store going straight for the Dark Arts books. Anya is there, but so is Ethan. Ethan is who suggests to Willow that those books aren't the answer. Willow tells him, Warren shot Tara, and Buffy, and Ethan's baby.

Ethan freezes, Willow gets the books, and leaves.

Anya goes up to Ethan. Fully functional vengeance demon right there. Does he wish...?

"I just wish it wasn't true."

Ethan unfreezes, grabs some magic bits, heads to the hospital to help.

Anya is left with a wish she really agrees with, but knows the price of. Bringing people back from the dead. When it was dead frat boys in season 7 it required D'Hoffryn, and the life and soul of a vengeance demon. So she knows she *can* fix this, but she doesn't know if she *should*. Recon first, find out if Willow was mistaken anyway. So there's lots of running around, just like in canon.

Willow is draining local magic users to feed herself. She drains Rack. Next one she meets would be Ethan.

How to avoid Ethan getting killed?
He certainly wouldn't pull the same trick as Giles.

How about if Ethan isn't actually a magic user in the sense Willow is used to?

Being a D&D player I'm rather aware of the difference between a Cleric and a Mage. We've only seen Ethan casting a spell the once, and he called on Janus to do it. He could be a cleric. He could maybe have no power of his own, but ask Janus to lend him some or do things for him.

Willow isn't much with the prayer. She bosses stuff around, spirits do her will, all that mage stuff.

So she could try and drain Ethan, and Ethan could just ask Janus to close the door. Maybe close Willow out of Ethan, maybe close Ethan off from Janus for his own protection. Willow wouldn't find magic to drain. But she would know it was in there. So she could leave a tap on Ethan, a spell that would trigger if he tried anything. That would make him harmless, to her mind - unless he wanted to get drained to death he couldn't do any magic.

Move on to the next thing.

Which would be the gang at the Magic Box trying to protect Andrew and Jonathan. (I don't want to change anything from canon without a specific reason. Character inertia again. They'd act the same right up until something different was done.)

That would mean Ethan would have to be caught somewhere seperate. Well he was on his way to the hospital, and then on his way back I guess after Buffy wasn't there, and Willow could catch him somewhere between. Or would Ethan go to Rack's place? Ah, *Warren* went to Rack, and if Ethan had contacts he could find that out, so to follow Warren's trail he would end up with Rack, and wouldn't need any demon to find the door. And then he could be there when Willow drains the guy. And not stop her? Well why would he?

So then Willow would try to drain Ethan, and that wouldn't work, and then Dawn would arrive, and Buffy, and all just as in canon, they arrive at the Magic Box. Only minor tweakage until Giles arrives.

Then the conversation while Willow is restrained would go... rather different. Probably louder. Maybe less laughing. Or you never know, possibly more laughing. Would be fun to rewrite anyways. Plus it would include "and then Ethan got me into proper BDSM, and I've got these really neat restraints and a chair with no seat". Or, you know, words to that effect.

Then Willow wakes up, beats crap out of Giles (and Ethan, but that wouldn't be hard, no magic yet). Giles gets drained. And Anya wakes up with the world probably going to end.

But Ethan made a wish, so she isn't actually powerless. She just has a thing to do she really doesn't want to have to do.

Life and soul of a vengeance demon, to undo something that looks to be about to destroy the world?

Well, since she's *part* of the world... and so is Giles, and Xander, and everyone else... okay.

But D'Hoffryn won't go to her, so Anya has to vanish off to get D'Hoffryn.

Then Ethan wakes up, which leaves him and Giles having the vague he thinks he's going to die now conversation.

But Ethan has options too. Well, one option. More or less what Giles did. Open up and let her take him.

The difference being, if she takes what powers Ethan, she takes *Janus* into herself. And that would change everything. Guaranteed. He is Chaos.

Giles thinks this is a dumb plan. But Giles likes the plan where Giles dies and Willow is really sorry. Ethan thinks that would be the dumb plan.

Besides, then what? Good washes away all that bad nasty darkness. Well sorry Ripper, but she wasn't all sweetness and light before she grabbed the magic books. No one is. Her problem is she never wanted to face it, much less deal with it.

Janus is all about resolving opposites. Two faces - one being.

So Ethan opens up, and the spell triggers, and uberwitch!Willow plugs right into one of TPTB, Janus.

Ethan, of course, collapses, as close to death as Giles is.

Giles has bad words for him about that.

The problem is Ethan's timing. Xander reached Willow, got to her, got her to stop, she went all sweetness again, *then* Janus went into her. She got all mixed together. Dark and light both present. Which was true *anyway* (the incident with the spider, Willow's ongoing fear of being black eyed and veiny), just Willow was going to end up all jekyll-hyde about it. Janus is presenting a different solution.

Xander's speech was all about loving all of Willow, so that should still work.

But there is an aspect of Xander saving Willow that always smelled really bad. The part where it fit some bad old patterns. Lesbian lovers, death, insanity, evil, saved by the magic healing... love of a man.
Not a nice pattern.

So, back to Anya - she finds D'Hoffryn, but he isn't willing to intervene just yet. He's watching Willow. He has had his eye on her for quite some time, of course, and now look at all this beautiful vengeance. He doesn't want to interrupt. He's just waiting for when he can offer her a job again.

But then she goes all weepy. Bother. Fun over. Okay, Anya, you want what?

And Anya wants to undo all that lovely vengeance. Well, D'Hoffryn doesn't. But that wish does allow for other interpretations. Wish it wasn't true? Okay, can do. Just a really convincing illusion.
It still involves bringing back the dead, so it still costs. Anya? Never go for the kill when you can go for the hurt - it would still be Halfrek.
So she would go burn in whatever hell awaits vengeance demons. But the children really needed her, so she'd be as happy about it as you can be, in hell.
Anya gets dumped back on Earth. Depowered? Don't know.

But that means that Tara is alive again, albeit in a world where as she remembers it both she and Willow believed she was dead.

We've got the two options - the sleeping beauty, Willow wakes Tara, or the love conquers all, Tara gets to Willow.
I have a preference for people saving themselves.
Tara catches up with Willow, and meets Buffy on the way.

So then instead of 'don't kill the whole world just because you are sad' it would be... 'you can hear the whole world hurts, but here we are and we love you and look, baby! wouldn't the world be neat with a baby in it?' More of a negotiation. Hardest thing in this world is to live in it. But not alone. Happy families ever after.

Or something. That ending would be really easy to mess up.

So everyone would be alive at the end of the story and having to deal with consequences.

Ethan and Giles are both alive, and Giles has just seen Ethan risk his life to try and save the world, or Willow's soul. Flip side, as far as Giles is concerned, Ethan screwed everything up rather.

But Ethan's wish enabled Anya to make things better.
Which would be why D'Hoffryn fired her. No making happy! So she wouldn't be a demon any more. Again.

Ethan could have met Andrew long enough to talk to him, or maybe he's just the guy who doesn't see 'bad guys'. Ethan points out that leaving Andrew and Jonathan running for their lives isn't very nice. And also, Willow really did kill his beloved, even though Warren only thought he'd killed hers. Angst angst woe. Go get Andrew and Jonathan back.

So then they'd have three magic users needing some remedial teaching. Four if you count Amy. More if you count all those magic junkies who don't have Rack to get their fix off. Lots of healing needed in Sunnydale. Can't take all them over to England. And does the coven know how to deal with Janus? Nope. Willow would need to study with a priest of Janus, ie Ethan, who isn't leaving Buffy-and-baby, who aren't leaving the Hellmouth. And Giles isn't about to leave Ethan to see to the moral development of *anyone*. Maybe brings some friends in, definitely stays to help.

Lots of big, yet logical, differences. Everyone staying together. Willow with more access to magic, and dealing with the 'Willow sometimes likes to hurt people she thinks deserve it' issue rather than the 'magic is crack!' non-issue. And with a god in her head.

Maybe the god who empowered Slayers in the first place.

We could lose the Axcalibur plot device entirely, or keep Axcalibur but give it a longer runup and some depth.

And when Spike came back, there would be Buffy-and-baby, and it would be all very different. (I said already I don't see presence of Ethan changing the Spike/Buffy one bit, so Spike would end up leaving to get a soul). Anya wouldn't be a demon, so that part would work out different. All sorts of fun consequences to play out. Including the problem where Buffy is expected to protect all the potential Slayers and the baby.
And when Robin turned up, here would be another Slayer with a baby, so added emotional depth layers there.


So, this is why this plot bunny continues to eat my brain.
It could be so cool!

But I have this completely different Epic I was planning to write, so I write this up in much abbreviated bunny form. Which probably looks lame now. *Sigh*

But - Ethan on a mission from god to help Buffy. Fun!

Comments

[pinkdormouse.livejournal.com]

How would Ethan deal with the whole Janus in Willow's head thing?

I've got that issue to deal with for some of my original characters -- mage tried to get his patron god into him for protection and ended up with it inside his intended sacrificial victim instead, who promptly buggered off. Where I left it he'd been telling himself that his patron would forgive him for screwing up the ritual *eventually*, but I need him and the intended sacrifice (now with added deity and nifty but unpredictable powers) to run into each other a couple of years down the line after things have rather fallen apart for the mage. Which is not quite the same because Ethan's got people and my character might be pretty much alone by that point, but still interesting.

Gina

[beccaelizabeth]

my just woken up answer is 'he'd get a lot straighter of a sudden'
but that Ethan up there already shags women so *shrugs*

I didn't say but there was a whole subplot where the Initiative had done Very Bad Things and had tried to stop him doing magic, ie cut him off from his god, so now he was out his reaction was to be in as much contact as he could stand all the time. SO Janus sends him to help Buffy. And it turns out the reason (aside from him being a god with a sense of humour) is they both need to learn to let go of the divine blanky they're dragging around (Heaven or the presence of Janus) and get on with living in the world. So handing the presence of Janus over to Willow would be like the advanced graduation of that. But Janus being all about duality he would of course not leave Ethan after all, rather he'd be in the both of them like the statue.
What that logically leads to would require Willow to be much straighter.
Or a lot of learning that unity and sex aren't necessarily the same thing.

So, nothing like your other story up there, because of the not-leaving.

I could have other thoughts later. When I say 'just woke up' I mean I just jumped up to get a parcel and now my eyes wont stay open. Sleep typing new ideas works less well.

[beccaelizabeth]

eventually Ethan will have to acknowledge he has an equal
younger and opposite, but still equal
that'll jangle his worldview some

[pinkdormouse.livejournal.com]

Yep that all makes sense. I'm hopeless at getting stuff down in the mornings (however you define 'morning' too).

Gina