zandra-x

Fan
Name:	Zandra X
Alias(es):	zandra-x
Type:	fanwriter, icon-maker
Fandoms:	Bourne Series, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel, The Office
Communities:
Other:
URL:	http://zandra-x.livejournal.com zandra-x at FanFiction.Net
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zandra-x is a Whedonverse fanwriter and icon-maker, she also made some recs to Xander/Spike fics.

Some Works

Ficlets/Drabbles

• Working at It gen, FRC (BtVS)
• Waterborne Giles, Willow, gen, FRC (BtVS)

One Shot

• Sadder and Wiser Girls, After Not Fade Away. Anya survived the collapse of Sunnydale, and Illyria the fight in the alley.

Fan Comments

[cindershadow]

Today, we return to the Whedonverse. First, let me say that zandra_x is a multi-talented individual. I’ll talk about her longer fiction in a minute, but she is also a prolific icon-maker and a crafter of delightfully crisp and effective drabbles. ....

A good possible starting point might be the short pieces she wrote as a “Happy Birthday” to Anthony Stewart Head, particularly the two involving cigars. You’ll get a good sense of her humor and her writing style, as well as her insight into character.

“Roman Diversions” is a delightful tale of Dawn in Rome meeting up with that ever-creative Ethan. I enjoy the fact that her Ethan is most definitely the Trickster—very much like Coyote in Native American tales. He interferes with best-laid plans and introduces a note of uncertainty; sometimes the results are benign, sometimes not, but he’s both cause and explanation of the parts of life we can’t always control. You can’t put Coyote—or Ethan—into a neat little box, and that’s what I love about her complex depiction of him. Plus, she understands his charm (and he wouldn’t be nearly so successful in creating Chaos without it).

“California Dreaming” is a lovely slice-of-life featuring Cordelia and Doyle on the Day That Angel Undid. The what-might-have been here is realistic and just poignant enough. The character voices, as usual, are excellent.

“When Ethan Met Tucker” uses a chance encounter to contrast with unobtrusive cleverness the speaking styles and thought processes of these two and to offer insights into growing up and growing old(er); as usual, she’s managed to link it logically into the larger storyline while developing something uniquely her own.

“Sadder and Wiser Girls” features an encounter between Anya and Illyria, which might just be the start of a beautiful—or at least mutually advantageous—friendship. This story demonstrates some of my favorite things about zandra_x’s style: dry, wry, often deadpan, with voices that work just right, and with the emotion going on off-stage, in the reader’s mind. What I mean by that is that she never over-writes; her style can be deceptively distanced, but one can’t help filling in what isn’t being said. This takes real talent.

Another story which has this impact is “Before,” describing Giles’ visit home for his mother’s funeral. It would be terribly easy to overdo the backstory and hand-wringing here; instead, in perfect Giles-voice (internal and external), she sketches out a rich emotional background and leads us to imagine the rest.

“Five Movies Faith Never Saw” uses this familiar format to provide thoughtful insights into Faith’s relationships with others in her life, with tantalizing glimpses of what might have been, had just a few things gone differently.

The Ethan short piece for Theatrical Muse is yet another perfectly envisioned little outtake; Ethan on the road having a cuppa, from the waitress’s perspective. A fine vignette, and excellent development of a non-series character. (She excels at “show, don’t tell,” and we see that here.)

I wouldn’t say that “Mr. Gordo’s Story” is entirely typical of her work, but I will say that it is a relief to have a story told from the perspective of a stuffed animal which actually has an internal logic and a distinctive and non-Disneyish voice!

[ficrecc]

Post-NFA, in an AU where Anya is alive and well and operating a chain of magic stores, she goes to a party in Cleveland and meets Illyria, and proceeds to take her under her wing. It's one of those great meetings that never happened. Written as part of Estephia's Friendship Ficathon