So What the Hell is Anywhere But Here?
On the Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode "The Dark Ages", Willow and Buffy are in the courtyard and play a little game they call "Anywhere But Here". It's basically a pretend game of making up a fantasy about you and someone you admire from afar (fictional character, movie star, etc.) being off together somewhere other than the blahness of your personal reality. (Since I've written this, I've found the form in other fandoms. I'm not sure if they got it from BtVS or Joss got it from them, but, there ya go!)It started appearing as a fan fic form on the various Buffy lists soon after that, mostly in the first person style shown on the show ("I am in Italy and I spot Xander on the road to Pompeii..."). Not long in following, some authors began to do it with a more generic focus ("You are walking the road to Pompeii when you see Xander Harris and he smiles at you..."). I preferred this format because it sort of let everybody play (plus was much less embarassing to read on the really steamy ones).
Though I believe various sectors of BtVS fandom do ABHing (and even other fandoms entirely), it has truly flourished amongst the Anthony Stewart Head (Giles) fan community. On this site, these little vignettes feature you and an ASHBLF (Anthony Stewart Head Based Life Form).
In March 1998, I posted my first ABH to an ASH list and got a very positive response and added thanks for having it show up on a Monday morning. Thus a tradition was born. Many of those archived here are by yours truly GylzGirl but I have decided recently to archive the ABH's of others. Below you will find links to the 3 mailing lists that receive an ABH each week.
The recurring stars of the weekly ABH's are primarily on a 3 week rotation, although others can appear at any time.
Adam Klaus is a character ASH originated (which has since been recast with the also marvellous Stuart Milligan) on a BBC show called Jonathan Creek. If you've never seen the show, you're really missing out. And Adam is about as far removed from Giles as you're likely to get (for the stories on this archive, Adam is always played by ASH). He is a Stage Illusionist who is a woman chaser on a grand scale. :)
Rupert Giles is the character ASH plays on Buffy the Vampire Slayer and probably the role most folks stumbling onto this site are likely to know him by. He is the Watcher to Buffy and former Librarian at Sunnydale High School who now owns a Witchcraft supply store called "The Magic Box". In the sixth season of Buffy, he is currently living in Bath, England, on his own for the first time in 6 years (and possibly dabbling in a little ghosthunting, if the rumors for the upcoming Ripper show are to be believed).
Oliver Sampson is the role ASH portrayed on the far too short lived series VR.5. He is a dangerous and sexy Superspy with a very strong sense of honor.
Norm Pitlock is...well Norm :) He is a character ASH played in a cable movie called Royce. Usually fans either love or hate the poor guy with not a lot of fence sitting in the middle. I have a soft spot for him I must say. Most of ASH's characters just seem to have a certain refinement at their core. Norm just doesn't have any. He's almost a combination of some of the worst traits men can have taken to an extreme...and somehow it's sort of endearing. Not a guy you're taking home to the parents...or admiting to any living soul you're actually seeing but...that's Norm :)
If the fancy strikes, other ASHBLF will get their own stories. These will be archived on the "Other Characters" page. People were after me for a long time to try a Frank-N-Furter ABH and I finally managed to figure out how to do it. This proves that no BLF is out of the ABH realm of possibility, if I get into a weird enough mood.
That all being said, I hope you enjoy your visit here. Remember, YOU are the star.
GylzGirl
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