The first time I saw... [TM challenge]
The first time Andrew saw a demon, he was twelve. Tucker had produced it out of thin air using a star shape on the ground, some stinky blood, and a poem in a foreign language. It stood, angrily frozen, in a glowy corner of the room until Tucker made it go away. It was terrifying, and ugly, and bigger than either of them, but Andrew didn't really feel like he was in danger. Tucker knew what he was doing, like always, and would protect him.
Tucker was, even more than he had ever been, the ideal male. (Does it count as Freudian if your brother is your father figure?) He had control over something stronger than himself. He was smart, and powerful, and motivated toward far off goals. Once Andrew met him, Warren became all this times ten, but for the moment, Tucker was the coolest person on Earth.
For a while, Andrew thought he wanted to be Tucker. He did everything he could to learn what Tucker knew. He studied magic, and language, and the differences between demon breeds, but if he continued to copy, he'd always be four years behind in his studies. Until he learned that there are different types of magic, and different ways to summon. He learned that you can send messages to other dimensions using music. This he could do, and he did it well. He understood melodic phrases, notes, harmonies, what's required to make a sound warble, or slur into another, and how many semitones up from the root to go to make a diminished chord. He studied until he learned how all these things affect magic, and what the spell songs each have in common. And he was better at something than Tucker.
All he had wanted was to be good enough to be confident, or confident enough to seem good, but now that he was, Tucker still didn't show him any respect. And Andrew understood that what he had wanted all along was acknowledgment and validation, not from a teacher or a friend, but from Tucker. If someone that skilled and that ambitious would offer him praise or love, Andrew knew he would be happy.
It didn't take long for him to shift all his attentions to Warren. Brilliant Warren, who talked about things Andrew didn't understand in ways that said "This isn't beneath you; listen up and you could get this." Determined Warren, who knew what he wanted and was willing to use Andrew to get it. Powerful Warren, who repeatedly put them both in danger, then used cunning and force to protect Andrew and save the day.
But it all came back to Tucker. He was there the first time Andrew felt scared for his life and completely trusting at the same time. And that's the feeling he's always strived for since.
Fandom: Buffy/Angel
Muse: Andrew Wells
Wordcount: 473
Tucker was, even more than he had ever been, the ideal male. (Does it count as Freudian if your brother is your father figure?) He had control over something stronger than himself. He was smart, and powerful, and motivated toward far off goals. Once Andrew met him, Warren became all this times ten, but for the moment, Tucker was the coolest person on Earth.
For a while, Andrew thought he wanted to be Tucker. He did everything he could to learn what Tucker knew. He studied magic, and language, and the differences between demon breeds, but if he continued to copy, he'd always be four years behind in his studies. Until he learned that there are different types of magic, and different ways to summon. He learned that you can send messages to other dimensions using music. This he could do, and he did it well. He understood melodic phrases, notes, harmonies, what's required to make a sound warble, or slur into another, and how many semitones up from the root to go to make a diminished chord. He studied until he learned how all these things affect magic, and what the spell songs each have in common. And he was better at something than Tucker.
All he had wanted was to be good enough to be confident, or confident enough to seem good, but now that he was, Tucker still didn't show him any respect. And Andrew understood that what he had wanted all along was acknowledgment and validation, not from a teacher or a friend, but from Tucker. If someone that skilled and that ambitious would offer him praise or love, Andrew knew he would be happy.
It didn't take long for him to shift all his attentions to Warren. Brilliant Warren, who talked about things Andrew didn't understand in ways that said "This isn't beneath you; listen up and you could get this." Determined Warren, who knew what he wanted and was willing to use Andrew to get it. Powerful Warren, who repeatedly put them both in danger, then used cunning and force to protect Andrew and save the day.
But it all came back to Tucker. He was there the first time Andrew felt scared for his life and completely trusting at the same time. And that's the feeling he's always strived for since.
Fandom: Buffy/Angel
Muse: Andrew Wells
Wordcount: 473