Chateau Grief 316

Esme: We will be free!

Xander: What does freedom even mean? I have no knowledge of it!

Xander: I was a kid. I was in army jail. And then I came here.

Xander: I never had to kill anyone before I came to Eynhallow, not even once!

Qureshi: James would you go see what that is? I think we’ll be ok here.

Xander: What do you lunatics want? I’ll bargain. People don’t deserve to suffer because you’re crazy.

Xander: Do you want empathy? I can give you that. Want to double your IQ? I could use people with brains to manage the work groups.

Xander: Shall I ban money again or abolish private marriages like I did thirty years ago? Shall we outlaw guns and religion?

Xander: But I’ve already done that. If you say you want to go back to San Francisco…I’m allowed to send you but not with your Eynhallow memories.

Xander: I’ll give you new ones. You’ll never know the difference. Happy, good memories. The ability to run a business. Be a player with the ladies. Play concert cello. Give me your requests.

Xander: Riches? Immortality? Beauty? Someone special who just…won’t…

Xander: …see reason?

Esme: Fix the broken glass.

Esme: You see? You won’t, will you. You’ll make the people suffer even the innocent ones who didn’t take part in the riot. Even the guilty ones have a right to shelter.

Xander: Look, lady. I just did. Whaddaya want, a rain dance?

Author Notes:

one could be supplied.

Characters: Esme, Xander, Qureshi, Rafe

Episode Recap:

Well Esme is sticking to her aphorisms despite Xander having a really crappy day so far. Like it’s so bad he immediately challenges her to define terms, facts and logic bro, and like, he’s obviously losing it. He gets interrupted by someone making gurgling text effects downstairs. I hope it looks like it came from downstairs, now I’m thinking that’s debatable. Maybe it fills the entire space with a keening wail of horror. Guess who. Qureshi figures that if Xander hasn’t fried them yet, he’s not going to, and he’s right. He sends his only hope at out-muscling Xander away, and so Raphael goes downstairs to give Jackson another cup of coffee or something. But as it turns out, Xander was here to bargain with them anyways. In exchange for peace in the streets he’ll give people three wishes. Problem is he’s already granted all their wishes. They just don’t know what they want. When Esme figures out something tangible to accomplish, she starts to launch out on attacking him, because obviously attacking his character is more important than getting anything out of this. Xander grants her request, and we’re back where we started, leaving her to try and find some other issue with which to attack him with. He is the center of their strict little world.