As I noted in my reply to texanfan, veering widely from the original concept is something of a hallmark of mine. Rather than telling the same story as I would have if it had been my idea, I’ll get ideas from someone else’s story, and then follow out those ideas. This one came so naturally that I never considered (or thought to consider) any other way.
As for future-Xander failing to anticipate how his younger self would react? Yeah, we do tend to imperfectly remember the way we used to be, especially when obsession (go back! make it all right!) is driving the wagon.
I suspect that a lot of Dawn’s ‘new’ persona was directly the result of unexpectedly encountering Xander again: i.e., grief and guilt redirected into aggression. But, no, he never really had a chance.
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As for future-Xander failing to anticipate how his younger self would react? Yeah, we do tend to imperfectly remember the way we used to be, especially when obsession (go back! make it all right!) is driving the wagon.
I suspect that a lot of Dawn’s ‘new’ persona was directly the result of unexpectedly encountering Xander again: i.e., grief and guilt redirected into aggression. But, no, he never really had a chance.