#Also as far as we know that’s just what kendra was told

[finalgirl1984]

Wouldn’t it be messed up if some known potentials where just kidnapped? Kendra was given up to be raised by her watcher. I imagine most parents aren’t going to surrender their children to a random british guy showing up on their doorstep. And even if they are given proof of the supernatural and fully believe this guys talk of monsters and slayers, thats still not much better is it? “Yeah give us your kid so we can raise them into child soldiers.”

[coraniaid]

To the ever growing list of dead adult women in Buffy the Vampire Slayer (Catherine Madison, Jenny Calendar, and Joyce’s friend Pat so far, with at least three more significant names to come over the next three years) we can now add Faith’s first Watcher.  This character never officially gets a name, but she’s called Diana Dormer in the Go Ask Malice tie-in novel and I’ll use that name too just to avoid typing out “Faith’s first Watcher” repeatedly.  ‘Diana’ has zero lines of dialogue and appears on screen for zero minutes (which is pretty bad even by the standards of this show) and after this episode she will never be mentioned by anyone again, but nonetheless I think she’s a very interesting character.

Even if Faith’s arc in Season 3 wasn’t fully planned out from the start, Faith, Hope & Trick establishes quite a lot of what her character will look like going forward.  In particular, we see signs of what she’ll later self-diagnose as a “problem with authority figures” in her initial enthusiasm about the possibility for “having fun” now that she’s “Watcherless and fancy-free”, and in the first of a handful of hints about the circumstances of her pre-Slaying life (“my dead mother hit harder than that”, she tells a vampire mid-fight).  

And we also see, at the end of the episode, that this posture of tough self-sufficiency that Faith assumes is something of an act: that her Watcher’s death has actually had a huge impact on her, one which she’s been trying and failing to suppress since before she arrived in Sunnydale.  It’s surely not a coincidence that we have a scene of Faith hurriedly packing and preparing to flee town this episode which mirrors the scene of Buffy doing the same thing just last episode.  After all, there was a part of the quote from Revelations I omitted earlier: the problem Faith has with authority figures is that “they end up kind of dead”.

What was Faith’s Watcher actually like?  The show doesn’t think to tell us; the writers simply don’t care. All we know about her from this episode, other than that she’s dead, is the vaguest of suggestions that she was older than Giles (since, on seeing Giles, Faith comments that she hadn’t “known they came that young and cute”) and perhaps that she was in rather better standing with the Watcher’s Council (Diana, after all, probably was invited to the retreat, or how else would Faith have known about it?).  We also know that Faith blames herself for not being able to protect Diana from Kakistos (“I was there […] I saw what he did to her [...] I tried to stop him, but I couldn’t.  And I ran.”).  

I think those scraps – a dead, possibly abusive mother who, we’ll learn later, spent a lot of time “enjoying the drinking and passing out parts of life”, and a dead Watcher she wasn’t able to save – explain a lot about how quick Faith is to bond with practically every adult who spends even five minutes making the effort.  From Joyce in this very episode (“your Mom’s really cool, huh?” she tells Buffy within minutes of meeting her, her loyalty bought by a plate of food and the promise of a second soft drink), to Gwendolyn Post in just a few episodes’ time, to the Mayor himself in the second half of this season. Faith has a problem with authority figures, in that she really desperately wants one in her life.

One last thought. 

Something I hadn’t really considered before – and which I’m not sure the writers thought through either – is that Faith knowing about the Watcher’s retreat (and assuming Giles would be at it) means her Watcher must have told her she was going to the retreat herself, presumably sometime shortly before she died.  And at this point, even assuming she was Called soon after Kendra died, Faith can only have known Diana for a couple of months.

So at some point soon after meeting her, and only shortly after finding out about being a Slayer, Faith’s Watcher must have had to sit her down and tell her that she’d be leaving the country for a bit, to go and hobnob and kayak and socialize with the other Watchers in England, and that Faith would have to look after herself again for a little while.  I can imagine Faith playing it tough, like it was no big deal.  Other kids might be scared, but not her.  She can take care of herself, after all, can’t she?

And then her Watcher died, right in front of her eyes, and it turned out that she couldn’t.

Still, this episode at least ends on a positive note.  “The Council has approved our request,” Giles tells Buffy at the end of the episode.  “Faith is to stay here indefinitely.  I’m to look after you both until a new Watcher is assigned.”  Things have been tough – as Buffy notes, Faith had “a lot to deal with” – but she’s got somebody else to look after her now, so everything’s going to be fine forever.

… right?

[thetenthdoctorscompanion]

Summary: Tess returns a favor and gets a favor in return. Or maybe it's the other way around.

Words: 2k

Warnings: Pretty light. Mention of pills and alcohol, the nightmare of working in customer service.

A/N: Look, I promise Joel shows up eventually. I also want to thank @arrthurpendragon for giving this story a shout out the other day, and thus giving me the motivation to do another chapter. Genuinely, thank you for all that you do.

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March 2013

As it turned out, the doctor’s apartment wasn’t all that far from Tess and Joel’s. It was just on the other side of the main market, which meant you could cut straight through the heart of the city if you were up for it; most of the time, Tess wasn’t. She and Joel kept to the outskirts of the city by nature—less FEDRA officers, more shadows—but there were days where even recluses like them had to brave the city center.

It was one of the few times Tess was using ration cards to buy actual rations. Normally, you’d get a better deal trading with your neighbors than you’d get at the market, but things were always tough at the end of winter. Hunting was bad and supplies were thing, which meant FERDA held all the cards. It also meant the bastards could hike up prices as much as they wanted. Tess spent a small fortune and only walked out with two bags of jerky, a bottle of water, and one shitty excuse for an onion. It was a crap haul, but she guarded it carefully as she walked out the other end of the market; she’d been jumped for less before.

Thankfully, it was only a few minutes before she found herself climbing the narrow stairs to the third floor apartment. None of the buildings in Boston were exactly quiet, not when the thin walls were stained and starting to rot, but Tess noticed at once that it was noisier than usual. Her hand gravitated toward her knife, hovering cautiously as she moved toward the disturbance.

“I don’t understand, I gave you the shirts. You were supposed to fix them!”

“Kendra, there wasn’t enough to fix. As soon as I started to stitch them, the fabric unraveled. The best I can do is salvage them for patches and thread.”

“But I already paid you.”

“Yes, I get that—”

Tess relaxed, hand falling back to her side. She’d had this conversation before. No matter what business you were in, customers were always a pain in the ass.

She knocked loudly on the door, which caused a slight pause in their argument.

“Just a sec! Look, Kendra, I can give you the rations back plus a few more for material—”

“I don’t need rations. I need shirts, so—can you just give them back?”

“Can—no! I just told you they’re unravelling. You could punch a hole through this fabric.”

“Well it wasn’t like that when I gave it to you.”

“Yeah, because I had to stab it with a needle. Which you paid me to do.”

“No, I paid for shirts, so—I don’t know! Give me other ones!”

“Oh, please—”

Tess slammed her hand against the door as hard as she could. Someone across the hall shouted for her to keep it down, but she ignored it. She’d rather kick the door in than listen to any more haggling; before she could, the door flew open.

“What the hell do you—oh…” The doctor stopped short, rage disappearing. She looked hurriedly up and down the hallway and tucked her short hair behind her ears. “Just hold on—”

“We need to talk,” Tess said firmly. “Now.”

She invited herself into the apartment and made a beeline for the couch. She took the liberty of making herself at home, kicking her feet up on the table, and raising an eyebrow at the shocked blonde woman across from her.

“Excuse me,” the woman said, aghast. “I was in the middle of—”

“Trying to con this woman out of some shirts—yeah, I heard. Scram.”

“C-con—excuse me? What I’m doing here is none of your business!”

“Lady, you made it my business when you started screaming for the whole complex.” Tess sat up abruptly and leaned forward, smiling when the other woman stepped back. “Now I don’t know how someone with the name Kendra survived this long in the apocalypse, but a little insider tip: if you’re that desperate for shirts, I know a few people who could make some out of you. Got it?”

She got a special kind of joy out of watching the lady squirm, her jaw dropped open wide as she scrambled for some kind of response. Luckily, her host put her out of her misery.

“Come on, Kendra,” the doctor sighed. “We’ll talk tomorrow.”

She led the shell-shocked woman out into the hall, pushing her the last few feet so she could close the door as fast as she could. She promptly sagged against it, dragging her hands down her face. Through her fingers, she glared at Tess.

“Thanks for that.”

“You’re welcome,” Tess said, without any sense of irony. “Chances are no one will fuck with you now.”

“Yeah, because they’ll all think I’m mixed up with a bunch of psychopaths.”

“You are.”

“Shut the hell up, Tess.”

The woman rolled her eyes and flipped her off, then turned her back as she walked to the kitchen. It was such a stark contrast to the speechless blonde that Tess could’ve smiled—she didn’t, but she could’ve.

“I got rid of her,” she said instead, “and Doc Laurel didn’t have to play the bad guy. Call it another favor.”

“Right. All this because you want me to cook for you.”

Tess actually snorted. “Cooking’s a strong word.”

“Oh, is it?” Laurel asked. “You do it then.”

She raised her eyebrows pointedly, then returned to the glasses she was grabbing from the cabinet.

There weren’t many people in Boston who could get away with talking to Tess like that; Laurel had become one of a rare few.

Tess wouldn’t have used the word “friend”—fuck, she didn’t even know if she’d call Joel a friend; the word felt pointless in the world they were living in—but Laurel wasn’t a stranger. Not a partner, but not exactly an acquaintance either.

Over the last five months, they’d fallen into a mutually beneficial relationship. It was supposed to be over and done with after Tess returned that damn blanket, but then it’d been Laurel’s turn to ask for a favor.

“Hey, you uh—you’re a trader, right?”

Tess had stopped in the hallway, turning back with an incredulous look. “Excuse me?”

“You trade…stuff,” Laurel attempted to clarify with a shifty glance down the hallway.

“Jesus—” Exasperated, Tess brushed past her and stormed back into the apartment. She didn’t continue until the door was closed tight. “If you’re looking for more pills, it’s gonna cost—”

“No, no, no,” Laurel jumped in. “Not pills—alcohol.”

“Go to a damn bar.”

“You and I both know that watered down crap isn’t worth a damn. I need something stronger.”

Tess had cocked an eyebrow. “For cleaning or drinking?”

In return, Laurel had shrugged. “Both.”

Despite her annoyance, that was an attitude Tess could respect.

That had started a long chain of transactions—booze for fresh socks, hygiene products for hidden pockets added to their clothes, medical supplies for rations that were actually edible…

“Yeah,” Laurel announced, inspecting the crappy onion Tess provided. “I can work with that.”

She put it aside and turned her attention to the rest of the food. One bag of jerky went back in Tess’s pocket while the other was emptied out into an empty coffee can, followed by the bottle of water. Laurel briefly climbed on to the counter, reaching over the kitchen cabinets and blindly searching until she found what she was looking for. When she hopped back to the floor, it was with a small jar of onion powder. Tess still wasn’t sure how she made it, but she really didn’t care. All she knew was that it masked the sickening taste of the FEDRA jerky, and that made it well worth a trip through the market.

Laurel added a dash to the coffee can, sealed it up, and gave it a quick shake. Then she placed it on the counter and held up her hands, wiggling her fingers for added effect.

“Thanks, Chef,” Tess scoffed.

The jab went unacknowledged as Laurel grabbed a hunting knife—previously provided by Tess—and stabbed it into the onion. She got a few slices in before her eyes flicked back up to her guest.

“Can you entertain yourself for half an hour?”

“Yeah.” Tess pulled a flask from her jacket and, this time, she did smile. “I can work with that.”

After that, the apartment fell quiet, silent expect for the rhythmic thunk of the knife and occasional turn of a page as Tess sat on the couch and leafed through one of Laurel’s books. She’d been expecting—well, she didn’t know exactly, but something to read for starters. There were some novels, sure, but most of them seemed more like workbooks, full of grids and pencil marks and mixed up letters. Tess flipped through it for a few minutes, reading the instructions, before she gave up.

“The fuck do you have this for?”

“Hm?” Laurel briefly looked up from her so-called cooking. “It’s a puzzle book.”

“Yeah, I know that. I’m not blind. I mean why do you have it?”

“What, just because it’s the apocalypse, I can’t have hobbies?”

“Sure, you can, but you already sew and stitch people up for kicks. I figured you’d want to double down on that instead of useless brainteasers.”

There was a moment as Laurel finished her dicing, scraping the bits of onion onto a scrap piece of metal and placing it on the window sill. When she turned back to Tess, it was with a thoughtful frown.

“I like having something else to think about on community shifts. Goes faster.”

Tess grudgingly tilted her head in agreement, but didn’t comment. Even living with Joel, smuggling high-demand goods, she had to work community shifts. Sweeping the street, shoveling shit, burning bodies, and starting all over again—it was bleak work. No wonder Laurel would rather focus on a riddle or code or some shit instead of the weight of a kid’s body.

“It keeps me sane,” Laurel said simply. “That’s not useless. I learned that real quick. When this all started, I used to—”

“Uh-uh,” Tess interrupted, raising a finger. “Nope. No backstories.”

Laurel huffed, but held up her hands in surrender, turning instead to pour herself her own drink.

No backstories. That was the rule they’d settled on. It was a rule Tess tried to live by, wherever she could. Knowing people meant understanding them, and that meant sympathy, emotional connection. That was a risk she couldn’t afford to take. She was already on a slippery slope living with Joel, knowing Tommy, their relationship, their past, Sara…

No. Tess had no intention of handing out the details of her weaknesses. And she wouldn’t risk getting attached to anyone else.

Laurel plucked the puzzle book from Tess’s hands as she walked past. “I like cryptograms, so shoot me. What do you do for fun?”

“I don’t know, just…”

Tess trailed off. The word “fun” felt a lot like the word “friend”—pointless. What even qualified as fun these days? A day she didn’t have to carry corpses? Getting to take a hot shower? Blowing off some steam in a fist fight?

Not that she’d ever say it out loud, but the closest thing she had to “fun” was Joel. Fun was listening to the two cassette tapes they had over and over again. Fun was breaking into a shitty bottle of moonshine and talking about nothing and everything for hours. Fun was trying to play poker with half a deck of cards when they knew there was no real way to win. Half their shared moments were things she’d rather forget, things that plagued them both at night and made it tough to sleep, but the rest…

“Nothing,” Tess said at last. “You’re right. I don’t do anything for fun.”

“Clearly,” said Laurel, without looking up from the page. “Maybe that’s your problem.”

“Yeah? You gonna prescribe me a crossword, Doc?”

Laurel almost managed to hide her laugh in her cup. “Sure. Five letter word for Tess.”

“Great?”

“Try again.”

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[nimble-stuff]

X. FORCED TO BEG || Donnie - Blue Raspberry, Part I Donnie gets kidnapped by the Purple Dragons. And this time, Kendra isn’t playing around.

Fandom: ROTTMNT

Also on AO3

Request a Prompt here!

@badthingshappenbingo​

CWs: - A character is creepy and flirtatious towards another character. The advances are clearly unwanted. Both characters are teenagers. It does not escalate beyond touching and implicit threats. Please take care of yourself if this subject matter makes you uncomfortable!

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Well, so far it was the most comfortable kidnapping Donnie had ever been through.

He was something of an expert on the matter, considering that Meat Sweats had once tried to cook him over a fire. At least the Purple Dragons were decent enough to give him a plush armchair to sit in and hadn’t bothered tying him up. Not being tied up would’ve been something Donnie would take advantage of, if it wasn’t for a Gatling gun mounted on the ceiling and programmed to shoot him if he tried to stand. Donnie watched it hissed and whir, plotting out the specs based on noise and visual observation alone. Impressive. As much as he love-hated the Purple Dragons, he admitted to the sound design of the gun.  If only his brothers would let him have one once in a while.

Of course, there was a downside to the kidnapping, because kidnappings generally had those. That downside came in the form of Kendra, getting all up in his face while Jase or Jeremy shone a flashlight in his face and filmed.

“Say it,” Kendra demanded. “C’mon, O’Ryan, I don’t have all night.”

“Okay, if you were really that busy, you wouldn’t have bothered grabbing me in the first place,” said Donnie. “Also, the answer is still no and the answer will continue to be ‘no’ until it gets through your head.”

“CUT!”

Jase lowered the phone, sharing a tense look with Jeremy. “Maybe we could try something a little more persuasive?”

“Nobody asked for your opinion, Jase,” Kendra snapped. She put her hands on her hips. “Why are you making this difficult? You want me to look like an ass?”

“Oh, Kendra, Kendra, Kendra,” said Donnie. “You didn’t need to ask my help to do that.”

“I’m not shitting around this time, Donnie!”

“Well, if you were, I’d be slightly concerned for your health.”

“Do you want to leave here alive? Just do what I ask, it’s not even that hard.”

“I’m not asking my brothers to come save me.”

“Why not?! Don’t you want a rescue?”

“I’d never hear the end of it! Leo will gloat for ages, and Raph will get that ‘I-told-you-to-be-more-careful’ stare. Do you have an older sibling, Kendra? I don’t want to get the older sibling stare, Kendra!”

“This isn’t about you. Jase, camera!…No, Jase, you idiot! Like this!”

Kendra seized Jase by the wrist and yanked him forward until the camera was right in Donnie’s face.

“Tell them,” Kendra ordered.

“Okay, okay,” Donnie took a deep breath. “Guys…there’s something I want you to know…Remember that time when we were kids and we tried to sneak out to see Jupiter Jim and the Zombie Space Vampires: Uncut Edition in theatres, but Dad somehow found us out and we could never figure out how he knew? Well, Mikey was the snitch. I told him if we saw the movie, we’d all become Zombie Space Vampires, so he tattled to Dad.”

“CUT!”

Donnie laughed.

-

The cycle repeated. Kendra came in with her phone and film him. Donnie resisted. The Purple Dragons left for a while, but they always came back. The quiet moments in between sessions felt dreadfully long and boring, so Donnie busied himself staring down the gun and formulating an escape plan. When that got boring, he moved onto potential upgrades for the Battle Shell. Rocket launchers. He’d really been meaning to develop Raph-unapproved rocket launchers. He mapped out the schematics in his head for later use, perfect and symmetrical and controllable.

It couldn’t tell if it was the second or third day when Kendra returned in a murderous rampage, a storm cloud threatening to obliterate Donnie under teenage-angst-fuelled hurricane-force winds. Jase and Jeremy wisely kept their distance, silent but obedient.

“My brothers giving you trouble, are they?” Donnie grinned.

“They DESTROYED my term project!” Kendra screamed, slamming her fist on the wall. “I’ve been working on that mech for three months!”

“Ho hum, what a tragedy.”

“Not another word out of you, Donnie! I don’t want to hear anything until you beg your brothers to come get you at the Tech-No-Logic computer repair shop on 5th.” She switched on her phone and waved it over his head. “Say it!”

“If you’re so determined to lure them into a trap, why don’t you say it?”

“Because you have no other way out of this. Because I want to see the great Donatello beg for help. Because I want you to live with the knowledge that you’re luring your stupid brothers to their doom. Now say it.”

“Barf. You’re so dramatic.”

Kendra actually shook with rage, and a darkness settled over her eyes. She turned the camera on herself, angling it to ensure Donnie was in the shot.

“Well, turtles, you heard it here first,” said Kendra. “Since Donnie is too stubborn to let you come save him, I’ll just let you keep running around fighting our tech. Who knows, maybe you’ll get lucky and hit the right place. In the meantime…he doesn’t eat, drink, or sleep until he cooperates.”

“Looking at you kills my appetite, anyway.”

“Tick tock, turtles! Get moving before you’re rescuing a skeleton instead of a brother.”

Donnie made a show of trying to bite her hand when her hand passed a little too close to him, however she flitted it out of the way with a smug smile.

“Let’s see how cocky you are later.”

-

The average human could survive three days without water. The statistics on mutant turtles was murkier. Theoretically, survival without food was possible for months, yet in practice he and his brothers experienced human-typical side effects of short-term starvation when they went without. One time, Donnie went three days without eating—an honest accident due to overworking—but he chugged Gatorade that whole time, Raph gave him a hell of a lecture after he passed out, and he never did it again. No sooner had Kendra made her little declaration than Jase and Jeremy stopped handing him dry energy bars and grape soda. He never thought he’d miss the taste of crappy grape soda.

Kendra never left him alone after that, just to make sure he didn’t sleep either. Whenever he tried to doze off in the criminally comfortable chair, one of the Purple Dragons would smack him or scream in his ear. Donnie knew there were three or four days before he started hallucinating, which was great, because at about that time he’d die of thirst. Convenient timing. At least it saved him the trouble of trying to discern fiction from reality.

“Why aren’t you telling your brothers where you are?” Jase asked. He and Jeremy were guarding him while Kendra was off doing Kendra-related things, which probably either involved sacrificing to the Devil or tormenting his brothers. Maybe both. “Kendra told you where we are. You could get rescued really fast.”

“This is the longest vacation I’ve gotten from my dumb-dumb brothers in a while,” said Donnie. “I’m okay with this arrangement except for the starvation, dehydration, and sleep deprivation.”

Jeremy made a long show of drinking his soda.

“Oh, that’s real mature.”

“I don’t think Kendra’s kidding around this time, Donnie,” said Jase. “I think you should just do what she asks.”

“Look, I know you make a career out of being a Yes-Man, but I have actual employment opportunities in the future, despite this whole situation.” He gestured to his whole…him. “You, in the meantime, can look forward to a life of working twenty-four-hour tech support, telling angry old ladies that technology needs to be plugged in to work.”

Donnie was so busy laughing that he didn’t see Jeremy’s fist swing in for the hit until it made eye contact with his face. He yelped and nearly flew off the chair, vision erupting in white stars. The gattling gun overhead clicked in anticipation, but he caught his balance in time.

“Jeremy, what’d you do that for?!” Jase asked.

“Only Kendra gets to bully you,” said Jeremy. “Besides, she said we could hit him if we had to and I’m bored.”

“You really didn’t have to do that.”

“We got robot fighting this weekend and I’m not missing that just cuz Jerkatello here’s being stubborn.“

“I mean…I guess…”

Donnie touched his tender eye. He was sure it was black underneath the mask and it hurt to open too much. Jeremy hadn’t held back.

He must’ve been still and quiet for a while, because Jeremy jostled his shoulder and smacked the back of his head.

“Don’t fall asleep,” Jeremy ordered him.

“Hard to sleep with you two clowns around,” said Donnie.

“You ready to do what Kendra wants yet?”

“Are you ready to develop sentience yet or do you prefer to be a robot who just follows his programming?”

“Fine, be that way. Kendra’s just gonna make your life difficult.”

Donnie rolled his eyes and ignored the gnawing in his stomach.

-

When his hands began to tremble, he gripped tight to the armrests to still them before the Purple Dragons came in the room. How long had he been here? Three days? Four? At least one without food, water, and sleep: the necessities of life. He was out of his mind with thirst, throat parched and dry, the saliva evaporating just as fast as it formed to stave off the instinctive need for moisture. Despite his resolve to not give into Kendra, his body leaned hard into the threat and the room felt horribly cold, twinging through his body in painful waves that made him shiver all over. Before, there was no fear, only stubbornness. Now, he couldn’t tell if the fear he felt was from his body giving in or a genuine reaction to the deprivation.

An air horn ripped through the still air every time his eyes closed, thwarting any attempts to sleep it off. Even when the Purple Dragons left him alone in the partial darkness, he sensed they watched through unseen cameras. Maybe there was even one mounted on the Gatling gun, which whirred and stared at him, like ominous whispers sprouting from the dark. Whispers that said, he wasn’t getting out of this. Kendra wasn’t kidding around. Donnie glared back at it for as long as he was able, but it was getting increasingly harder to keep his eyes open, and his head pounded with a combination of growing anxiety and his body giving up on him.

Donnie wondered what his brothers were doing. They’d all been kidnapped before. Afterwards, there were always jokes and banter and everything moved on like normal, a kind of familiar danger they grew accustomed to. Yet one of them had never been missing for this long. Raph was forever careful to control his anger, but Donnie pictured him giving into it, maybe getting a little rougher with the criminals that passed their way. Leo would hyper-fixate on the goal of saving Donnie, not taking breaks, not eating. Mikey would be have knee-jerk emotional response, tossing and turning with nightmares, a little weepier than normal. April would be goal-orientated like Leo and bottle up any worry behind a swing of her bat. Normally, Splinter was very much a hands-off parent, but once he realized Donnie had been gone for so long, he’d get up off the chair and join the search, too, which was the most worrying reaction of all.

Maybe Kendra really wasn’t kidding around this time, maybe Jase had a point. Nevertheless, Donnie was stubborn and he refused to give her the satisfaction of victory. His family would track him down. The Purple Dragons were smart yet careless, and it was a matter of him holding out long enough for them to find him. Plus, Jase was the weakest of the bunch, and Donnie was sure that if he could get him alone, maybe throw a few threats his way, he would crumble under the pressure. He just had to get to him. Somehow.

Kendra, Jase, and Jeremy finally waltzed in after a long time alone. Jase sported a fresh black eye. He was still in one piece, so it mustn’t have been one of his brothers that did the damage. Kendra seemed like a more likely candidate. Either way, Jase was quick to avoid Donnie’s glare.

“Oh, joy and rapture, you came back,” Donnie drawled.

“Just checking in on our favourite prisoner,” said Kendra.

“Well, as you can see, I’m still here. Could you at least put a TV in here so I have something to stare at aside from the wall?”

“Forget it, Donnie, you’re not in a position to make demands. Jase, camera! Jeremy, flashlight!”

Jase held up his phone with the camera. Jeremy turned up a bright flashlight and pointed it at Donnie’s face, making him squint. Kendra became a blurred, black outline that hovered in front of him.

“Tell your brothers to come save you,” Kendra demanded.

“Yes, please, save me from this poorly executed torture,” Donnie drawled, rolling his eyes. “Listening to Leo try to read is more torturous than this.”

“Like you mean it, asshole!”

“You know, I think this would be easier if you gave me a script so I could practice my lines. Do you have any cue cards?”

Kendra backhanded him, her sharp fingernails clawing into his cheek.

“Say it!” she shouted.

“Got nothing to say.”

“What exactly are you gaining from not cooperating? Say where you are so your brothers can come save you.”

“They’d know it was a trap.”

“Fucking duh it’s a trap! Just not one they would escape.” Kendra sat on the armrest, picking his skin cells out from under her nails. “Little Donnie cares a lot more than he’s letting on. He knows his brothers are too stupid to escape any trap we set for them, so he’s sparing them from the trouble by not sharing with the class. You really think your brothers are that incompetent. It’s kind of pathetic.”

“So, what I’m getting from this is…I’m not getting any cue cards.”

Kendra let out a heavy sigh, drawn out for effect. She grabbed Jase’s wrist and aimed the camera at herself. “Well, you heard it here, boys. Donnie thinks you’re too stupid to come save him. If he starves to death, it’s his own fault.”

“I’ll die of thirst before then,” Donnie pointed out.

“You’ll never find him in time if he doesn’t give up the info. Do feel free to keep looking if you want though. The Purple Dragons have lots of tech to spare. Kendra out.”

She pat Donnie’s cut cheek.

“You’ll give it up soon,” said Kendra. “I’m asking for so little from you.”

“Well, I’m more motivated by not giving you what you want, but sound off, I guess.”

Her lip curled in a wicked scowl. Her lipstick was stark and bright in the dim lighting, or maybe Donnie’s vision was just fading a little.

-

Donnie’s chest hurt.

The pain started right in the middle and radiated outward. His fingers felt numb and clumsy. Despite wanting to move, he lacked the energy stretch out his limbs, and his knees ached from sitting for so long. Donnie tried sitting in every way imaginable: upside down, across the armrests, curled up with his feet on the seat, and nothing was comfortable anymore. No matter where he sat, nothing eased the unsettling discomfort running laps up and down his nervous system.

He started wondering where his brothers were, how long they would take to get there. They had to know by now, right? There were only so many places in New York the Purple Dragons could reliably hide him and they weren’t that smart.

At least…they weren’t that smart compared to him. He hated admitting Kendra was right about something. Donnie could outsmart the Purple Dragons. The Purple Dragons could outsmart his brothers with terrifying ease.

The door swung open again and Kendra, Jase, and Jeremy were back. Jase now had two black eyes.

“What now?” Donnie asked.

“No more smart remarks?” Kendra asked.

Donnie refused to look at her, one leg folded over the other. She wasn’t worth his time.

“Ugh, c’mon, stop messing around. I’m asking you to do something so simple and you can’t even do that?”

He let the silence speak for him. It screamed at Kendra where he didn’t.

Kendra was silent for a long while, thumbing her chin in a way that he knew meant she was considering her options.

“Jase, Jeremy—lights, camera, action,” Kendra said.

Both Jeremy and Jase got into position, an automatic response. At least Jeremy had the decency not to shine the flashlight into his retinas.

Kendra slammed her hands on both the armrests, pinning Donnie in place. He flattened his body as much as he could into the armchair.

“Alright, enough games,” said Kendra. “Do what I want or I’ll kill your brothers. I won’t even need a trap to do it.”

“I can see right through you, Kendra,” said Donnie. “You’re pissed because my brothers have destroyed so much of your tech already. Maybe you can fool Tweedledum and Tweedledee over there, but my IQ is much more impressive than all of yours, you try hard.”

Kendra backhanded him again, deepening the cut already there. Donnie remained stoic.

“Give it up!” Kendra yelled.

“Or what?” He asked coolly. “You’re the one backed into a corner, not me.”

Kendra’s face turned dark. It was an evil, horrible look that made Donnie’s skin feel like it was moving over his muscles.

Her seized him by the legs. His body wrenched forward, lying flat on the seat. Donnie couldn’t suppress the surprised gasp, the one that made Kendra’s grimace morph into a satisfied smirk. Kendra loomed over, far too close, encroaching on his space, arms reaching over his body to sink into the back of the chair above him. The long, uninterrupted line of her body overtook his vision.

She smiled. “Or. Else.”

Donnie’s heart thudded hard in his chest. He didn’t know what that meant, but he didn’t like the way she looked, like a monster possessed her.

Or maybe this was the real Kendra he was seeing for the first time. Beyond the bullying, beyond the smug assholery, she was actually just cruel. Things he’d attributed to her just being a temperamental teenager were recoloured and re-contextualized in an instant. Kendra was so close that the ends of her hair tickled his flesh and he could smell her scented lipstick blowing on his face. Blue raspberry.

“Think about it, Donnie. That’s all I ask.”

Kendra pulled away, slow and languid. She looked right into the phone Jase held with shaking hands.

“Keep trying, boys. Your efforts to find him are pretty amusing.”

Kendra swept her hair over her shoulder, gave Donnie a haughty look full of meaning, and left the room with her two cronies trailing behind her. Donnie didn’t dare to move until she was finally gone and he scooted as far up as he could on the chair, setting his feet on the seat to protect himself as much as possible.

-

Donnie was halfway to insane. Everything was closed in, there was no light, he was in a dark void and he wouldn’t escape. Kendra was serious. She was really going to let him die of thirst, to twist his fingers and ruin his mind. All because she wanted the satisfaction. Her motives made no sense, they were driven by emotion, even if she hid behind her cold facade. Donnie was beginning to think she really was a psychopath.

Despite his best efforts, Donnie thought about it. It was all he thought about because the only other thing he could think about was the insanity of his thirst and hunger and the desperate need to lie down and shut his eyes for a while. He felt strung out and stretched thin, moulded like dough Mikey was pounding into submission. Crazy. He was going crazy. He would be a blubbering mess in the moments before he was dead. And Kendra would watch it all, smirking. She would win, in the end. The more time passed the more he realized his brothers weren’t going to get here in time. They’d find a body by then. Did he want to put them through that? All because he was too stubborn? Would she livestream it? Send them a video with cheesy effects and music overtop? Turn his death into a joke?

But if he gave up the location, then they’d fall into the death trap the Purple Dragons had planned, all because he cracked and gave in.

Donnie held his face in his hands. It was so cold in the room.

The door opened again and he tried to settle into a neutral position, arms folded definitely to look defiant and definitely not to keep warm.

Kendra was a lot calmer than she had when she left, eye half-lidded and calm. She gave him a condescending smirk as she ran her hands along the back of the chair. Then down the armrests. Then his knee where she just held with the slightest bit of pressure.

“Well, Donnie, gotta admit,” Kendra perched on top of the armrest. “You might actually be just as smart as you say you are. You got me.”

Donnie didn’t answer. Her hand travelled to rest on her shoulder, squeezing just enough.

“Uh, Kendra—” Jase said in a shaking voice.

“Shut up, Jase! Nobody cares what you think.” She smiled sweetly at Donnie. “You’d really much rather that they watch you die on camera, wasting away. You’re just that selfish.”

Her hand raised again to stroke his head. Donnie leaned away from her touch.

“What’s wrong? Never been touched by a girl before? I guess I shouldn’t be surprised when you look like that. I don’t know how people at school didn’t run away in terror when you waltzed right in there…You know, I could sell you on the dark web for big bucks. Ship you off to another country, make millions, and you’d be out of my hair on top of it all.”

She leaned down and whispered into his ear.

“Or I could just keep you here and watch you squirm.”

Donnie refused to look at her.

“Jase, camera.”

Kendra snapped her fingers and the phone was in his face again.

“Go on,” Kendra ordered him.

Donnie stayed quiet for as long as his willpower allowed him, but he was feeling so many things at once, and Kendra was…touching his shoulders. She wasn’t holding hard. That almost made it worse, that she was capable of gentleness.

This time, Kendra waited. It felt like they waited endlessly, forever, an eternity, until Donnie dredged up his voice from the pit of his stomach.

He took a breath. “We’re at the—”

“No, Donnie,” Kendra cooed. “Beg for help.”

“I thought you just wanted—”

“I want to see you beg. Do it properly or it doesn’t count.”

The silence continued. Kendra’s pointer finger ran up and down the back of his neck. The sensation travelled through his whole spinal cord. Whisper-quiet, he said, “Please…”

“Go on.”

“Please come help me.”

“Who are you talking to? I just can’t seem to tell…”

“Raph, Leo, Mikey—please come help me.”

“Not good enough.”

“I’m trying!”

“Try harder, act like you mean it.”

“I don’t even know how you want me to say it!”

“I want you to beg, Donnie! I don’t want you to act like you’re reciting a damn script, I want you to plead for your brothers to come save your pathetic, ugly hide!”

“You can’t just dictate tone like that—”

“No, but you wanna bet I know how to force it?”

Her hand touched his thigh.

It triggered something. A confused panic Donnie didn’t know he was capable of enough, slicing through the levelled calm and control he’d tried to drown himself in ever since the Purple Dragons had picked him up.

"Okay!” Donnie blurted out. “Okay, okay! I’m sorry, I’m sorry—I can do it.”

“Then try again.”

“Guys, please come get me. Please. We’re at the Tech-No-Logic computer repair shop on 5th, please come get me. I don’t…I don’t want to be here anymore, I don’t want—please, I know it’s a trap, but please, I can’t—I don’t want to be here. Please come get me.”

Kendra smirked and caressed his head. “There. Was that so hard, Donnie?”

She sliced a finger across her throat and the camera lowered. The light was out of his face.

Kendra laughed and stretched. “Wow…you really haven’t been touched by a girl before! It wasn’t like I was gonna do anything to you, dumbass, but I guess I can’t argue with results.”

She grimaced and retracted her hand. He felt like it had burnt an imprint into his skin he couldn’t wash off.

“Ew, now I gotta wash this hand,” she said. “I hope you’re not contagious.”

Donnie curled up his legs on the chair and turned away from her.

“Don’t pout. You did good. Jeremy, go get him something to eat and drink, can’t have him dying before his brothers get here. Jase, send that video and get our defences ready for our guests while I drown my hand in a few litres of hand sanitizer.”

Jeremy exited with a bemused, ugly smirk on his face, while Jase avoided looking at Donnie and left at a speed-walking pace. When they were gone, Kendra stroked Donnie’s head, and despite trying to turn as far as possible away from her, there was no escape.

“I told you that you wouldn’t be cocky for long,” said Kendra. “I’m gonna enjoy rewatching that for years to come. Now just sit tight, and if you play nice, I’ll livestream your brothers’ gruesome deaths to you.”

She laughed wickedly and blew him a kiss with her exit. Donnie settled himself as deep into the chair as he could, listening to his raspy breathing in the silence. And if he cried a little, no one had to know except him and the armchair.

[askinkiskarma]

ANDRAAAA how are you today <3 i'm finally back from vacation and catching up on all the new content posted!! pls i was dying at the beach every night/morning i would try to go on tumblr only to be interrupted im so happy to be home but also the beach was so relaxing maybe i was in awa'atlu actually? 😭

ANYWAYYY i just read the first chapter of monster in me and im so excited for you and the new series!! the first chapter was so good. i love how the dynamic between neteyam and y/n is so different from cardigan and cruel summer!!! bby you are so versatile when it comes to writing pls i was so shocked when i read it b/c THE LAST SCENE WAS INTENSE!!!! this will be a TRUEEEE enemy to lovers fic--DIRTY, MEAN, GRITTY, AND SEXYYY. your whole writing universe (andra writing universe...AWU?) is just amazing you have done it again queen

(i just know monter in me neteyam is a moody baby boy and needs to get over himself fr, hope the reader kicks his ass and makes him realize)

additionally, I CANT WAIT FOR THE CRUEL SUMMER ONE SHOT its gonna hurt sooo bad but soo good at the same time. i was driving home with my friends today and we were listening to folklore and i had to do it to them and explain the whole cruel summer series while listening to august and the 1.

i think you posted a drabble too??? not sure, i will have to find it haha but these are all my thoughts for now. you'll probably see this in the morning so GOOOD MORNING <3

Hey kendra my love!!! I love seeing you in my inbox so much 😩😩😩 how was your little holiday?? Did you enjoy the beach??

Thank you so much for reading monster in me 😭 i’m so excited for a new series, you know me, I thrive off series hahahaha. Yes, i tried really hard to make sure the dynamic and relationship is very far removed from what i’ve written so far, but i’m not super comfortable with this trope yet so i really hope i do it justice🥲 AND YES, i needeed them to truly be enemies, and for the stakes to be high, but now i am worrying about redeeming neteyam cause wow he’s a dick HAHAHAH

The cruel summer one shot already is making me sad and i barely wrote anything, i’m so excited for it omg, can’t wait for you to read it!! The Andra writing universe comment took me out you’re too amazing hahaha omgg i can’t believe you told your friends, i hope they enjoyed the story!

I saw you commented on the drabble, that is just pure smut so enjoy my love 😉😂💕

Ily, have an amazing day and week 💕💕💕💕

[johnhardinsawyer]

Because I Met You. . .

John Sawyer

Bedford Presbyterian Church

4 / 21 / 24 – Fourth Sunday of Easter

Psalm 23

1 Thessalonians 1:1-10

Acts 17:1-9

“Because I Met You. . .”

(Person to Person)

Happy almost-Earth-Day to all who celebrate!  On Earth Day, I do think about the ways we are called to care for God’s creation.  But also, I always think of my friend, Ryan Triesenberg.  I may have told this story before, but almost 30 years ago, on Earth Day, Ryan called me to see if I wanted to go to an Earth Day concert, down by the Ocmulgee River, in Macon, Georgia.  We took Ryan’s little sister, Kendra, with us.  

Since we were in Macon, Georgia – not far from the resting place of members of the Allman Brothers Band – some of the music we heard at the concert that day had that kind of Southern-Rock flavor.  And, for the most part, it sounded really good.  But then, as the sun set, a different kind of band took the stage to close the show – kind of a Goth-Heavy Metal-Sludge-Industrial-Screamo band – not exactly what many folks think of when they think “Earth Day Concert.”  But hey, don’t judge a book by its cover.  Anyway, at one point, the singer (or, rather, front man) of this somewhat-baffling Earth Day Concert closer screamed into the microphone, “Is everybody having a good time?!?!?”  “Um. . . Yes!” we yelled back, somewhat hesitantly.  “Well,” the front man yelled, “I don’t like any of you!!!!”  He actually used language that was a bit more rude than that, and if I’d had my wits about me, I would have yelled back, “And also with you!” or “And Happy Earth Day to you, Sir!”  Before the band played its next song, the front man said, “Umm. . . we have some cassette tapes for sale back at the soundboard, so. . . thanks!”  

[Now, just in case you’re wondering, a cassette tape was this plastic thing with two spools of magnetic tape inside that you could use to listen to music on your Sony Walkman.  It was cutting-edge technology.]  And, just in case you’re wondering, I did not purchase a cassette tape at the soundboard that night.  

Tomorrow being Earth Day, chances are that either I will call Ryan, or he will call me and will ask one simple question:  “Is everybody having a good time?!?!?”

Because I met Ryan Triesenberg, I have this silly memory and crazy story to tell.  And, because it’s almost Earth Day, of course, I’m going to think of my friend, Ryan.  My experience with Ryan on that long-ago Earth Day did not really change the trajectory of my life.  But knowing Ryan did.  Because I met Ryan and his loving parents,  they helped me through some rough times in my college years.  Even though I was suffering through a bout of debilitating depression, I was able to be myself around them.  When life was overwhelming, Ryan’s parents, Paul and Lee would sometimes come by the dorm and pick up my dirty laundry – returning it to me, folded and smelling fresh.  They would have me over for dinner, and give me rides around town, and treat me like another son.  Oh, how blessed I was by their Holy hospitality.  God changed my life.   

Many of you can probably point to a relationship that has changed the trajectory of your life.  Because you met someone, your life turned out different from how it might have.  For example, because I met Karl MacMillan when we were in the 7th grade band at Miller Middle School, he introduced me to Amy Wolfe, a fellow student at Miller Middle School and the trajectory of my life changed dramatically.  Many years later, Amy Wolfe and I will be celebrating our 15th wedding anniversary next month.  Because I met Amy, and teachers, and choir directors, and professors, and certain friends over the years – oh, and my own family, of course – my life has turned out the way it has because the Holy Spirit has been at work through people.  Many of you could probably name people who have had a similar and significant impact on your own life because God was working through them, too.  

Today, as we settle back in to the overview of the Bible through the Narrative Lectionary that we began, together, back in September, our two scripture readings are all about how the Holy Spirit has been at work, changing lives, in a city called Thessalonica.  

Now, before we arrive in Thessalonica with Paul and Silas, it is important for us to explore just how it is that the Holy Spirit connects and works through a community of people.  Jürgen Moltmann, a theologian from Germany, writes that the Spirit is the one indispensable element for human survival and that, 

. . . God the Spirit creates the network of social relationships in which life comes into being, blossoms, and becomes fruitful. . . Life comes into being out of community, and wherever communities spring up which make life possible and further it, the divine Spirit is efficacious. . . The creation of community is evidently the goal of God’s life-giving Spirit in the world of nature and human beings.[1]

In the beautiful mythic account of creation from Book of Genesis, God says,“It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper as his partner.”  (Genesis 2:17)  God has always been at work, creating and building community between human beings through the life-giving movement of the Holy Spirit.  

The early ministry of Jesus is a beautiful example of this kind of community – how Jesus calls and draws people together from all walks of life and how the disciples live together and support one another along the way.  All of this occurs after Jesus is baptized and the Holy Spirit is poured out upon him and hovers over him.[2]  At some point, this community surrounding Jesus attracts a man named Silas, who becomes a leader among the followers of Jesus in Jerusalem.[3]  We don’t know whether Silas has joined the community before or after the death and resurrection of Jesus (there is no mention of Silas in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John) but after the day of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit has arrived in full and Silas is serving in Jerusalem, an apostle named Paul comes to town. 

Now, Paul’s reputation precedes him.  Paul did not start out as a follower of Jesus.  He actually violently persecuted some of the followers of Jesus.  But then Paul met Jesus.  And because Paul met Jesus, Paul’s life was changed in a powerful way – sending him on a different trajectory, out into the non-Jewish world of the Gentiles to proclaim the good news and found new communities of faith with the Spirit’s help.  

Prior to this, the disciples who have been in Jerusalem and are all Jewish, by birth and faith, have been of a mind that the good news of Jesus Christ is just for the Jews.  But Paul has been out in the non-Jewish Gentile regions of Asia (present-day Turkey) and has seen what the Holy Spirit has done in the lives of all who hear and receive the good news of Jesus.  Adding to this, Peter – yes, that Peter, the sometimes-bumbling disciple of Jesus – has also been among the Gentiles and has become convinced that the good news is not just for the Jews.  

By the time Paul and Silas arrive in Thessalonica, the city is about 400 years old.  The city – named after Alexander the Great’s sister – is the second-largest city in Greece and, for centuries, served as almost a co-capital of Greece with the city of Athens.[4]

When Paul and Silas get to town, Thessalonica is a pretty happening place, culturally speaking, where there are a lot of ideas – old and new – being discussed.  But when Paul and Silas start to share this “new idea” that God’s love in Jesus Christ is for all people arguing this in the Jewish synagogue there for three consecutive weeks, they meet some resistance.  In today’s reading, we find that Paul persuades some of the people in the synagogue, but that he also persuades “a great many of the devout [Gentile] Greeks and not a few of the leading women.” (Acts 17:4)  

Some of the “unpersuaded” members of the synagogue get jealous.  Imagine that your spouse suddenly starts thinking and believing things that you find unacceptable.  “Is everybody having a good time in Thessalonica?”  No, people’s spouses have started thinking and believing the same things as the Gentiles and these upstart folks from Jerusalem.  Jealousy often leads to sore feelings and sometimes leads to violence.  So, these unpersuaded jealous people form a mob in the marketplaces and begin to cause an uproar in the city.  

They go to the home of someone named Jason – a man who had opened his home to Paul and Silas, letting them stay with him – and the mob attacks the house. 

There is so much going on in this story.  Imagine this strange – yet spiritual – sequence of events:  Because Paul and Silas meet Jesus, their lives change and they carry the good news of Jesus with them on a long journey – meeting a lot of people along the way.  And because Paul and Silas are led by the Spirit to the city of Macedonia and to the synagogue there, all of a sudden, Jason’s house is being ransacked by an angry mob who then drags Jason and some others before the city authorities where they are accused of going against the Roman empire.  Apparently, according to Paul and Silas, (and these local troublemakers like Jason), there is another empire. . . the kingdom of God, that is at work through the Holy Spirit – alive, and at work, and moving in and through the people of God.  Person to person.  Spirit through person.  Spirit through people through history.  

This is what Paul highlights in his letter to the Thessalonians, written in the months and years after his visit to the city.  

“. . . [O]ur message of the gospel came to you to in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit. . . in spite of persecution you received the word with joy inspired by the Holy Spirit, so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia [and beyond]. . . For the people of those regions report about us what kind of welcome we had among you. . .” (1 Thessalonians 1:5-9)[5]

In other words, “Everyone has been talking about you Thessalonians and your courageous hospitality.  This would not have happened without the Holy Spirit at work among you.”

“Because we met you,” Paul is saying, “you also met Jesus.  And, because you met Jesus, you met the Holy Spirit.  And, because you met the Holy Spirit, evidence of the Spirit has been seen in your gracious actions under difficult circumstances.  And, because of your gracious actions (which are a fruit of the Holy Spirit in your life), the Spirit is ‘turning the world upside down’ because it is changing the trajectory of peoples’ lives – turning them toward the kingdom of God and all that comes with it.”

Just because we meet Jesus and the Holy Spirit is at work within our hearts and minds, it doesn’t mean that life will always go our way.  In fact, history has shown that people who are led by the Spirit are sometimes led into and through difficult – even dangerous – circumstances.  They sometimes take risks for Jesus – speaking truth to power, welcoming the outsider, making the gracious choice, the generous choice, the loving choice, the more difficult choice.  And yet, they believe – we believe – that we have a loving God who is with us through it all – through death’s dark valley, all the way to the table in God’s kingdom.  

How has Jesus changed your life?  How has the Spirit led you to unexpected places?  How is God – even now – leading you forward in life?  Who is God working through – even now – to make a difference in your own life?  How is God working through you – today – to make a difference in the lives of others? 

May the Spirit open our eyes, and ears, and minds, and hearts to see, and hear, and know, and live the good news of Jesus Christ.  May the Spirit make us vessels, conduits, carriers, sharers of grace to all people, at all times, and in all circumstances.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.  

......

[1] Jurgen Moltmann, The Spirit of Life: A Universal Affirmation (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1994) 219.

[2] See Matthew 3:13-17, Mark 1:9-11, Luke 3:21-22, and John 1:29-34.

[3] See Acts 15:22.

[4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thessaloniki.

[5] Paraphrased, JHS.

[fasa-umich]

Five, Six, Seven, Eight || Ash Nunez, FASA's 2023-2024 Co-Performance Chair

Five, six, seven, eight. And it begins.

I started my journey with Filipino culture in high school. I auditioned for the Filipino club at my school, “Kapamilya Habang Buhay”. I practiced and practiced and practiced every day after school preparing for our school’s International Night. 2 hours, 5 days a week, I danced until my shins trembled with pain. And I loved every second of it. I didn’t know anything about Filipino culture before I joined this club. But through the members and the practices, I learned so much. At family parties, I always ate the eggrolls. After a year in Filipino club, I realized I always ate the lumpia. Never before have I felt so connected to my culture. I started calling myself Filipino proudly.

My final performance with Kapamilya Habang Buhay was Battle of the Bamboo. While I was here, performing the biggest, best performance I’ve put on so far at this stage, I watched colleges perform their dances. They told stories and myths from Filipino folklore through dance, something that I never got the chance to do. Tinikling was all I ever did in dance. By this time, I didn’t know I was going to Michigan at this point, but I looked at the names on the back of the shirt I bought at the merch stand, FASA’s name nowhere to be found.

Freshman year, I find myself in the diag staring at a Filipino flag and a bamboo stick high in the sky. I learned about FASA, attended the events, and joined a dance. Another notable thing was hearing the Tinikling music live at an SEAS event - something I’ve only ever heard from a recording on Spotify. I was flooded with emotions, so much so that it almost flooded down my face. This was important for later. In the dance, I impressed the  choreographers (my boy and best friend B-sone included), and they knew it all made sense when I said I came from KHB like Christine (shoutout her). I made some of my closest friends through dance and after every practice I looked forward to the next. Practices also helped me grow into a person that I never thought I’d be. Before FASA, before college, I was never this comfortable with who I was and sharing that with everyone else. Performance was how I grew my love for FASA and deepened my love for Filipino culture. I loved the practices, the bonding, and the pounding of my heart as I prepared to step on stage. I continued into FASA as an intern, and after that, I decided to run for board. Before I was on board, I wrote a message to myself at the “IAmFilAm” event. 

Dear me, 

In the past, you didn’t know a lot about Filipino culture, but over the years, you have learned a lot more. You are growing your cultural identity. I hope you are continuing this growth and meeting your new people. I hope you are doing well and hopefully on board. Did we win Battle? Did you make a new dance group within FASA? Solidify your legacy.

Five, six, seven, eight. And it continues.

It started with PCN. I went back to my roots and taught Tinikling. Not Modern Tinikling. Tinikling. I taught the dance the way it was taught to me. Except this time, not with the music from Spotify, but with live music from PACEMI (shoutout them oh my I don’t know where I’d be without them). I fostered a community within my dancers that allowed them to express and learn about their culture in a way they could be proud of. It also served as a way for me to see just how much I’ve grown.

The largest feat of my tenure was placing third at Battle under the name “FASA Pamana” (legacy (solidified)). When I first ran for board, returning FASA to competing at Battle of the Bamboo was my vision and most ambitious goal. I couldn’t have done it without Kendra (shout the [redacted] out to her). We choreographed, practiced, planned, and studied for hours on end preparing for our dance. If there was anyone who poured their heart, soul, passion, blood, time, and culture into FASA, it was us. Battle was my medium in which I showed what FASA really meant to me - what being Filipino really meant to me. I love being Filipino. 

Culture is really a performance in itself. You find yourself in your dance, in your culture. You take every step with intention. You lose yourself in your dance. You express yourself in your dance. And after that, you watch yourself and see all that you’ve done. But the thing that’s different about culture and a performance is that the performance is on stage. Culture is like a performance that you put on for an empty audience. For a crowd that consists of your reflection on the mirrors made of only your own being. Something only you need to be proud of. 

In these words, I’m painting a picture on what my internal performance looks like. This is the one dance I will never finish choreographing.

Five. Six. Seven. Eight. And counting.

Thank you, FASA. 

There was one more thing I wrote in the letter to myself: 

And it’s still true.

[cjsmalley]

The Scoobies and Danny against the Watchers' Council:

“As the Council has made a stupid decision,” stated a new voice and the Watchers turned to find a new being in their midst, “we’ve elected to ignore it.”

“And who, or rather, what are you?” Quentin Travers demanded as they readied their stakes and crucifixes.

“Danny Phantom, Ghost King and Dawn Summers' other guardian,” Danny said with a bow.

“Slayer!” Travers blustered but Buffy scoffed.

“Yeah, no. Danny’s family,” she rolled her eyes, “’sides, even if I wanted to slay him, he’s too powerful for me. Spike?”

“Don’t think I could take him either, Slayer,” Spike admitted with a frown, swaying with Hope on his hip, “don’t think we could even working together with your little merry band of misfits.”

“Oh, don’t worry,” Danny told the Watchers’ Council, “if I really wanted, I could wipe life on this planet out—or well, my army could. Anyways. So you want to make Buffy pack up and move to…Cleveland? Now, from what I’ve heard, you don’t pay her enough, or at all, to leave Sunnydale life behind. As far as I know, they’re using Dawn’s and Hope’s child support and the Magic Box profits to stay afloat. Xander Harris is also paying some of Buffy’s bills from his construction jobs.”

“Buffy can’t keep a job,” Willow voiced, “none of us really can.”

“Because you all have to be ready to go at a moment’s notice, I know,” Danny sighed, “therefore, and to further make sure Buffy does not have to rely on the Watchers’ Council, where they fail her anyways, I’ll be personally paying all the so called Scoobies for their time.”

“WHAT?!” everyone chorused.

“Open a bank account each,” Danny instructed, “and I will deposit, monthly, enough to cover your costs. In return, you continue Slaying, protecting Hope and Dawn, and occasionally be on call for me.”

“Uh…I’d like to see the contract,” Buffy ignored the spluttering of the Watchers’ Council, “but I think we’ll agree. Anya?”

“I’ll handle the money and contracts,” the former demon agreed happily.

“Know we can count on you, demon girl,” Spike nodded.

“Excuse me?” Travers roared.

Buffy sighed, rolling her eyes, “We’ve been over this, when Glory was running around. Which Danny helped with, no thanks to you. I don’t need you; you need me. My team’s been with me through thick and thin, yes, including the vamp.”

She began pacing, “See, the way I see things, we could work together but you’re too stuck in ye olden days to do it. You see me and every Slayer as a weapon, not a person. But I am a person and you hate that I wasn’t brainwashed by Giles or the Council or whoever to not be one. I’m supposed to be like Kendra—”

“Who?” said one of the Watchers.

“See, you don’t care about the Slayer,” Buffy pointed accusingly, “Kendra was the Slayer called after I died to the Master. My friend CPR’d me back. Kendra was the Perfect Slayer and you don’t even know her name.”

“You…died?” A Watcher asked dumbly.

“Has the Council read none of my reports?” Giles demanded sharply, “I dutifully reported her death and resuscitation by manual means. I reported that she drowned and that Alexander Harris—one of her cohort—used skills learned at school to revive her.”

There were murmurings and some looks of shame.

“Unbelievable. Did you not notice the activation of a second Slayer or did you just ignore the Sunnydale situation completely?”

A damning silence and Buffy threw up her hands, “So, Giles was a good Watcher for the, as far as you knew, only Slayer, and you don’t even glance at his work? Did you look at Wesley’s or no?”

More silence.

“Wow,” Danny spoke up, clapping slowly, “just, wow. You know, when I took on Dawnie, I was read in. I actually did my homework about the situation. Giles, can you send me copies of all your reports? Going forward? I promise I’ll read them. I’d like to be kept informed of the situation.”

“Of course, Your Majesty,” Giles bowed his head briefly.

“Same with Buffy,” Danny added.

“What?”

“I’d like after-action reports from you.” Danny explained, “that way we can maybe catch another hellgod or Master situation early.”

“Fine,” she huffed but nodded, “Giles will have to teach me how though.”

“Of course I will,” Giles agreed.

“This is highly irregular!” exclaimed another Watcher.

“This’s Sunnydale, mate,” Spike handed off Hope to Xander.

“Now,” Buffy said firmly, “get the hell outta my town. I’m not moving. You really want a Slayer, try Faith—”

“Who’s Faith?”

“Unbelievable.”

Wished Away 7:

Happy Thanksgiving (Early, I Know, Shut up):

“Father, Mother, and Uncle Tucker wish to invite you to our Thanksgiving meal,” Damian said.

“Are you sure?” Bruce asked, “we’re a lot.”

Even without Damian, Bruce had many children and cooking for all of them was sometimes a tall order.

Damian smiled, “We are aware. You are not the only family we are inviting. Every child Father, Mother, and Uncle Tucker has taken in we have invited along with their remaining family if they have any. Even the non-Americans have been invited.”

“We’d be delighted to come,” Alfred said for his family, “should we bring anything?”

“You may,” Damian agreed, “however, the chefs and cooks of the Palace will be preparing the main meal. It will be mostly meatless. Seitan mostly, in observance with mine and Mother’s dietary needs and our beliefs. It will also be made in-line with kosher regulations.”

“Cookies,” Jason said, looking at Alfred, “we can make vegan cookies.”

“Very well, Master Jason,” Alfred nodded, already planning for such a large batch, or several batches.

Damian grinned.

Thanksgiving Day arrived and the portal opened.

They filed through and were greeted by Sam, the younger Sam on her hip, “Happy Thanksgiving.”

Sammy just waved shyly, gaining fond chuckles.

They all echoed the sentiment and were led through the palace to one of the ballrooms, “Not even the large dining room is big enough to hold our horde,” she said with humor.

“Oh?”

“Everyone invited came,” Sam explained before visibly remembering, “Oh, and any red wine you see? Not red wine; we have a vampire in attendance. He eats human food but not really.���

“Of course,” Bruce nodded; only Dick was of age to drink, of his children, but neither one really drank. Still, it was good to know.

“’m assuming the vamp’s friendly?” Jason voiced.

“Friendly as in doesn’t eat humans anymore, yeah,” Sam nodded, “but, well, Spike’s Spike. You’ll understand once you meet him. Don’t go after his humans and he’s nice enough.”

“Fair enough,” Stephanie nodded.

“Also in attendance are a Vampire Slayer, several witches and wizards, two magic superheroes…basically everyone you met at Damian’s birthday party’s here. I know Spike wasn’t there; he had to babysit the Hellmouth that day, so he’s really the only new face. Him and his daughter, Hope.”

“Vampires can have—”

“She’s adopted, from a separate dimension. Danny brought her to the Hellmouth group to hide her. She’s being raised by Buffy and Spike.”

“Oh.”

They finally made it to the ballroom; the doors were wide open; servants rushed forward to relieve the Waynes of the platters of cookies they carried before they entered the room.

Most of the room was divided down the middle by a cartoonishly long dining table, bench seating on either side of it. Settings were already in place.

In one corner was a padded and gated off area where Anakin and the baby that could only be Hope played. Well, played as only young babies could, which wasn’t much.

Dotted around the room were small clusters of regular chairs and beanbag chairs, some of which were already occupied, surrounding small tables with pitchers of water and juices and, yes, blood.

Spike the vampire was easy to pick out from the masses because he had a glass of what looked like red wine in hand. Nobody else did.

The Waynes spread out, first finding Damian to say hello, then mingling and visiting with the friends made at the birthday party.

Bruce made his way towards the vampire.

“’Lo,” Spike greeted lowly over his drink, Buffy at his side.

“Hello, Buffy,” Bruce said before smiling with a closed mouth, “and you must be Spike. Bruce Wayne.”

“Not an ape, mate,” Spike snorted, “won’t attack if you smile at me. Sit down, take a load off. Hear you’re Batman. The real deal one.”

“I am,” Bruce took a seat, reaching to fill a cup with orange juice, “where did you hear it from?”

“Dawn was excited; her little brother’s bio-dad is Batman,” Buffy explained, rolling her eyes fondly, “one of my friends, Xander, is a big comic book nerd.”

“Ah. I assume there won’t be any problems?”

“Not from us,” Spike agreed, nudging Buffy with a smirk, “my girl here’s a superhero too. Won’t be any trouble from our lot. Right, Slayer?”

“Yep. No problems from us. If Danny and Sam are good with you being…you know, you then we’re good,” Buffy nodded, “just as long as you don’t put Dawnie or Hope in a suit.”

“I don’t want them out there,” Bruce grumbled, “but if I didn’t help them, they’d all be dead by now.”

“We get it, honestly,” Buffy assured, “Dawn’s given us enough gray hair,” she grinned mischievously at Spike, “she’s even given Billy Idol here some.”

“Slayer, you know that pissant stole—”

Bruce laughed.

Everyone mingled and chatted for a few hours before the meal began; servant after servant carried food and drinks to the main table as everyone found seats on the benches.

Spike and Danny placed the babies into highchairs.

By the time everything and everyone was ready, the table was fairly groaning with the meal.

Danny gained everyone’s attention, standing and grinning, “Welcome to Thanksgiving Dinner at the Palace. Thank you all for coming, even our non-Americans for putting up with our silly traditions.”

The non-Americans laughed fondly, nodding; even Alfred cracked a smile.

“For those who’re probably wondering,” he continued, “our essential living staff celebrated at lunch and most will have the day off tomorrow. Everyone else had the day off today. Now, normally we’d go around and say what we’re thankful for but we’d be here forever if we did that tonight. So, while we eat let’s just think about what we’re thankful for and enjoy the food and the company. Oh, and just so you know, everything’s kosher and most of the ‘meat’ is actually Seitan. Real meat is on the green platters. But before we begin, let’s give a round of thanks to the kitchen staff for making the food!”

Everyone applauded.

“Now, tuck in!”

They all did so with gusto; the meal was magnificent and it was clear the Palace staff had put their all into it.

Most of the Seitan was shaped into meat product appearances, looking indistinguishable from the real turkeys and hams. And it tasted almost like the real things too.

The meal lasted well into the night and everyone went home stuffed and with leftovers.

[boopsterliv]

What’s up bitches, it’s essay time.

I rewatched ‘School Hard’ again today because my younger sister and I are obsessed with Spike and wanted to watch it with our mom. I loved the Bronze scene today just as much as I did yesterday. Namely, because of the expressions and body language exercised by Buffy and Spike.

Spike studies Slayers. That much is obvious. It also ties into the fact that William was a dutiful student and total nerd, which, I mean, same. While Spike is shown to be very impulsive and impatient, he knows when to wait and study his future victims before attacking. We’re told many times how being a slayer takes a serious toll on mental stability, not to mention relationships of any kind. When he seeks out Buffy for the first time at the Bronze, he’s most likely expecting some nervous wreck, or a girl drunk out of her mind to cope with being the Slayer.

Instead, he sees a girl having a good time dancing with her friends. But most importantly, she’s in her element. Buffy is a natural in every sense of the word, and her fighting is definitely like a dance. She knows the moves and when to do them. Not to mention she’s confident in them. She doesn’t like being the Slayer, far from it, but she knows if she has to do it then she’s going to be the best one in history. Buffy is also an extravert, which Spike might’ve expected would make her worse for wear. Instead, she improvises and ties her social needs in with her duties as the Slayer, which makes her a better one in the process.

The looks Spike makes in this scene are also very telling. You can try to tell me he’s only hunting, but he looks awed. We later see how genuinely impressed with her he is. Slayers only last one to two years on average. All the preparation in the world couldn’t keep even Kendra from dying, and she was a potential and raised from a young age to be a strong fighter. Spike can instantly see Buffy is on a whole level. Later on, when watching the video of her fighting, he sounds so genuinely excited that Buffy is resourceful.

Spike sets up the whole alley scene, wanting to get a look at Buffy’s abilities more closely, since he knows she’s gotta be skilled. And she is, and the expression on Buffy’s face shows this isn’t one-sided. She looked genuinely stunned, which makes sense since this dude just showed up out of the darkness and slow clapped her killing one of his kind. But it’s that same sort of awe he had towards her, and I think it’s because she didn’t notice him until he wanted her to, even if the vamp she just dusted called out for his help.

The school scene is the final nail in the coffin (pun entirely intended). True, Spike is not a patient person, but to attack before Saturday when every vampire would be more powerful? He just wanted to fight her because there’s that spark of chemistry between them. On the flip side, Buffy has never met another vamp who’ll banter with her. Who’ll give her a strong challenge, one that she can spar with. The dance is more fun because her partner is on the same page as she is. That fight was probably long compared to the last two battles Spike’s had with the Slayers he’s killed. Buffy’s expression says it all. She’s scared but intrigued.

The debut episode also works well with underlying chemistry. They have a lot more in common than I’ve seen people give them credit for. They’re both incredibly compassionate, feeling individuals who hide their own emotions in order not to worry anyone around them. They're people pleasers to the ones they really want to keep around. They both snark and banter to avoid talking about their feelings. They know how serious the fighting is even though they’re trying to have some sort of fun with it.

They’ve both been burned before. While they’re in steady(?) relationships, both Buffy and Spike have felt wronged by their partner in the past. Buffy wants Angel to be honest with her and stop running away. Spike wants Drusilla to love him as he is instead of using him. They’re both scared of love at the end of the day. You have to imagine Spike’s surprise at the fact a woman he was battling to the death seemed to have more respect for him than Drusilla. Buffy treated him as an equal even if he was a threat. They’re always on the same wavelength it seems. 

Did this make sense as it kept going? I don’t know, you be the judge of that. Did I have fun writing it? One hundred percent, absolutely. My babies get done so dirty by canon. Let them be fluffy, emotional, and horny please! I also didn’t get around to mentioning the soulless part, but I’ll save that rant for another time.

[aerinsfables]

Never Have I Ever

The Fablehaven gang plays Never Have I Ever. Not really shippy, but will tag for relevant ships.

---

“Never have I ever become an albino courtesy of a revenant,” Seth announced. His face expressed glee as Warren and Tanu each lowered one finger in response. He was down to three fingers left, himself, and Kendra thought he seemed determined to remain in the game.

“Well, never have I ever held Vasilis,” Tanu retorted. The smile dropped off of Seth’s face as he lowered one of his remaining fingers with a quiet ‘nooo’, and Kendra laughed a little as she also lowered one of hers.

“Never have I ever broken my leg by jumping off a roof,” Dale said, which prompted Warren to roll his eyes and lower another finger. 

“It’s hard to play this game with people you actually know,” Warren protested. “I was nine at the time, yes it was a stupid choice, thank you for reminding me, now let me think for a minute.” He tapped his chin with the side of his hand and seemed to think for a moment. “Never have I ever… had a body double,” he said as he winked at Kendra, who stuck her tongue out at him and lowered one of her fingers. She had the most points left in the group thus far, so she’d been expecting some targeted statements, but still.

“That’s a cheap shot,” she said as she clicked her tongue in disapproval.

He shrugged. “Hey. There’ve been three of you. It’s not my fault that you’re the only one here who’s experienced that.”

“It’s not as fun as you’d think it is,” she replied.

“My turn,” Vanessa said. “Never have I ever spoken with the Fairy Queen.”

Seth let out a loud, “HA!” and gave Vanessa a high five. Warren applauded. Kendra sighed as she placed another finger down. Bracken followed suit as well. “Clever,” he said, sarcasm laced in his tone.

“Always,” Vanessa responded. “It’s your turn, Kendra.”

Well. Two can play at this game, Kendra thought. And, really, she’d meant for her next statement to be a jibe at Warren and Vanessa anyway.

“Never have I ever been engaged to marry anyone,” she said with confidence.

She’d expected the narrowed eyes from Warren and Vanessa as they each lowered a finger. She’d expected Seth’s guffaws and Tanu and Dale’s smiling eyes.

She had not expected for Bracken to lower one of his fingers, too.

Kendra turned her attention to the young man to her immediate left, who cleared his throat in an obvious - and vain - attempt to move the conversation forward, his face a lovely shade of pink. “Excuse me?” she asked, probably sounding about as shocked as she actually was. She wasn’t the only surprised one, though. Seth shouted, “What?!” at the same time that Warren announced it was story time while positively everyone’s eyes turned to Bracken, whose face flushed a darker shade of pink.

Bracken opened and closed his mouth a few times, unsuccessful at producing any words. “I… it was a long time ago, and an accident,” he said. “I didn’t mean for it to happen.”

“How do you accidentally get engaged to someone?” Dale asked. One eyebrow was pointed upward, and he appeared to be rethinking his entire opinion of the young man in question.

Kendra, for her part, was speechless. She didn’t know what to think. It was most definitely story time indeed.

“I… there was… it was…” Bracken cleared his throat again and scratched the back of his head, his gaze firmly fixed upon the table in front of him. “I was younger then. Still getting used to human socialization, still wandering between the wilderness and civilization. I’d decided to spend some time closer to towns, was low on human currency, and desired to reside inside an inn for a time. There were people in the street who advertised a sword-fighting competition, which offered a cash reward, so I decided I’d participate.”

Still unsure of what to think, Kendra furrowed her eyebrows. Where was this going? 

“I’ve… I’m good with swords. The competition wasn’t particularly difficult to win, although the last human I faced that specific day was quite skilled. I digress. I won the contest, was given a large sum of money in a very nice bag, and was also told at that moment that I’d won the hand of the local princess.” 

His face burned red. Kendra didn’t know whether to laugh or smack him upside the head. Maybe both? She refrained from reacting for the moment.

Seth, however, was not so well-controlled. He laughed heartily.

“‘The local princess’? When was this?” Warren asked.

“Shhh, he’s still telling the story,” Tanu said. “I want to hear this. Wish we had some popcorn.”

Bracken looked like he was marching toward his death. “A long, long time ago,” he said, “Somewhere in Ireland. Her name was Aoife MacMurrough.”

“So… did you marry her?” Dale asked.

His eyes grew large. “No!” he nearly shouted. He made eye contact with Kendra, who found it awkward to look at him right at that moment, so she diverted her attention to her hands, which still displayed the five points she’d managed to maintain.

“I tried to tell them that I thought this was a competition solely for money, and that I wasn’t interested in marriage, but the king and his vassals wouldn’t take no for an answer. The rules were apparently clear, although they’d somehow flown over my head. I snuck out of town that night and stayed far away from humans for quite a long time after that. I never found out what happened. Of course, I’d also fled to Greece and other countries and did not return to Ireland for a couple hundred years, but that’s a different story.” He reached toward Kendra and lightly touched her shoulder. “I don’t even know what Princess Aoife looked like.”

“How did you not know that you would wind up promised in marriage to a princess?” Vanessa asked, disbelief and disapproval very much evident in her statement. “Did you not listen to the rules? Did the people announcing the competition not make that clear? How is it possible to enter into a contest like that and not know what you’re fighting for?” 

Kendra didn’t entirely appreciate the tone of voice Vanessa used, but she was incredibly grateful that her friend had been able to voice even just some of the questions she had on her own mind.

Bracken narrowed his eyes. “I was new to Gaelic, and it was mostly still a spoken language at that point in time,” he replied. “I still don’t know how I missed that bit of information. I blame my empty stomach and longing for a soft bed to sleep in for the night.”

“He was - he was hangry,” Seth said, then rolled off into laughter again. Warren and Tanu joined in a bit as well, the earlier looking up something on his phone.

“It was a poor decision. I know. Go ahead and laugh,” Bracken stated. He once again reached for Kendra. “I’m sorry,” he said in a quiet voice.

Sorry for what? Why should he be sorry? Should she be upset? Did she have a right to be upset? Was she upset? All of those questions and more buzzed about in Kendra’s brain, but she refrained from voicing any of them. 

“Wait. Aoife MacMurrough?” Warren asked, his eyes practically bulging out of his head.

“Yes…?” Bracken responded.

Warren chuckled as he read from his phone. “Red Aoife. Married off by Saint Patrick himself. Warrior princess. That Aoife?”

“I don’t know!” Bracken insisted at the same time that Tanu said, “Saint Patrick, huh?” 

“Bracken almost married a leprechaun?!” Seth cried out before yet more raucous laughter escaped from his body.

Dale spoke next, after a brief pause to allow for excess joviality from the company who sat around the table.

“Well. That is an odd circumstance,” he said. “I’ve bailed Warren out of quite a few odd circumstances over the years, but never anything like that. Right, Warren?”

Warren laughed. “Nope.”

“Alright then. I think my next move is to say, never have I ever been accidentally engaged to marry someone,” Dale continued. He innocently blinked at Bracken a few times, who looked dumbfounded and then lowered another finger.

“I’m never going to live this down, am I?” he asked.

Everyone shook their heads while Kendra finally reacted in laughter. The rest of the table followed after her example.

“Are you upset with me?” he asked her.

Kendra let laughter take over her body for a minute, then wiped a tear from one of her eyes. “Upset?” she asked as more giggles escaped from her lips. “Bracken. You are the only person I know who could have done that.” Giggles. Somehow, this didn’t seem out of character for him. The poor, oblivious unicorn. 

“What other secrets are you hiding?!” Seth demanded.

Bracken folded his arms across his chest and refused to entertain that particular train of thought. “Nope. One story is enough for tonight,” he said. “Come on. Surely all of you have made poor decisions in your young lives as well.”

“Sure, but I never wound up promising myself to someone else by accident,” Vanessa shot back.

Bracken only rolled his eyes at that comment. “I believe it was my turn, next, before Dale stole it from me,” he said as he leveled Vanessa with a cool glare. “Never have I ever controlled someone in their sleep.”

Vanessa ran out of fingers at that one. “Very funny.”

“Always,” he retorted, copying her tone of voice from earlier on in the evening.

Kendra opened her mouth to interrupt them before they could launch into one of their infamous arguments, but Tanu beat her to the punch.

“Never have I ever been near Zzyzx,” he said.

Everyone else at the table groaned and lowered a finger, except Dale, who simply smiled. Warren ran out of points, Seth only had one left, Bracken had two, Tanu and Dale were each down to three, and Kendra still held onto four.

“Your turn again, Seth,” Tanu said once the damage had been assessed.

“Never have I ever… um…” he looked at his sister. “Never have I ever written letters to a dragon prince.”

Kendra could feel her face grow warm as she lowered a finger. “Warren and Vanessa are out, so it’s my turn,” she announced.

“A dragon prince?” Bracken asked. This time, his eyebrows were raised in surprise.

“I knew him as Gavin in his human form,” she said with a sigh. “He was actually Navarog.”

If Bracken’s eyes could have grown larger, Kendra was sure that they would have at that statement. “Excuse me?” he asked, in much the same tone as she’d asked him earlier. “I feel that another story time is in order.”

“Nah, we all know that story already,” Warren announced. “You two talk about that one between yourselves later. It’s Kendra’s turn now.”

“But-“

“Never have I ever drank an enlargement potion,” Kendra interrupted.

Bracken narrowed his gaze at her, but dropped the subject. For the moment.

Tanu lowered one finger. “Ouch, Kendra. I feel like I’ve been singled out.”

“Sorry, Tanu,” she replied with a smile.

Bracken huffed. “Never have I ever been duped by a demon dragon,” he stated.

He was astonished to find that everyone except Dale put their fingers down. Seth ran out of points, Tanu had one left, Kendra was down to three, and Dale and Bracken were still at two.

“All of you?!” he asked.

Dale shrugged his shoulders. “I never met the guy,” he said. “They all went adventuring with him.”

“Except me,” Vanessa elaborated. “I probably would’ve caught on if I had been there, though.”

“Let’s not start this up,” Warren said at the same time that Dale announced, “Never have I ever been in prison.”

Just like that, Tanu was out of points, Kendra had two, and Bracken had only one left.

“Never have I ever been trapped in a barn,” Kendra said. Dale laughed and lowered a finger. One left.

“Never have I ever had coffee,” Bracken said. 

“Really?” Dale asked as he ran out of points. “Never?”

“Not once,” Bracken replied. 

“How-?”

“You were in prison when coffee as a drink was invented, weren’t you?” Kendra laughed.

Bracken’s ears turned pink. “Maybe,” he admitted.

“You’re getting a cup in the morning,” Dale vowed. “I’ll make it for you.”

“Thanks…?” Bracken asked, sounding unsure whether or not he even cared. He turned toward Kendra, who still had two points left. “No coffee for you?”

She shook her head. “I don’t like the smell.”

“Who doesn’t like the smell of coffee?” Dale asked, sounding utterly flabbergasted.

“Kendra,” Seth, Warren, Tanu and Vanessa all replied in unison.

Dale stared straight at Kendra, who laughed when he whispered with so much melodrama that he could only be Warren’s brother, “But. You were my favorite.”

“Hey!” Warren protested. “I’m your favorite!”

“Well, you might be now,” Dale said. His gaze turned back toward Kendra. “How can you not like coffee? Coffee is life.”

“I… I didn’t realize you liked it so much,” Kendra replied.

“The way into Dale’s heart is a healthy serving of coffee every morning,” Vanessa said.

“She makes the best coffee ever,” Dale confirmed. “No other woman will ever take her place.”

Kendra wasn’t sure what was happening. This game was getting ridiculous. Whose turn was it, anyway? She recounted the latest movies and realized that this game was down to just her and Bracken, he only had one point, and it was her turn. 

She smirked. “Bracken,” she began.

“Yes?” he asked.

“Never have I ever won a sword-fighting competition,” she announced.

Bracken lowered his pinky, while Kendra waved her two remaining fingers in his face. “I win!” she taunted.

“That’s not fair,” he playfully complained.

“Totally fair,” Warren insisted.

“I lost three points from one story!” he exclaimed.

Seth shrugged. “It be like that sometimes.”

“Kendra survives the night,” Tanu stated. “Now we all know who to target in the next round.”

Vanessa raised her eyebrows in a somewhat threatening manner which made Kendra wonder what other embarrassing material was going to be paraded about that evening. She looked around to find similar expressions on most everyone else’s faces, too, and laughed when she realized that she would be running out of points very quickly. “No repeats from this round,” she said.

“That’s fine with me,” Tanu said. Everyone else nodded and voiced their agreement.

“Great! I’ll go first!” Seth announced. “Never have I ever run away from a fiancée!”

Bracken planted his face into the palm of his hand while everyone at the table enjoyed a solid laugh.

[refairy]

Good morning Ash 🥰 I have a concept for you–solely based on that comic strip you sent me:

Teaching Peter how to drive.

You had no desire to play Drivers Ed instructor, but you and Peter had a road trip planned, and you weren't going to be the only one driving. Something about that super spider bite made it so Peter could function properly on low amounts of sleep anyway. He should've been the designated driver off top.

When you brought the idea to Peter, he immediately got flustered. Once he heard your reasoning he gave the excuse, "you know...it may be cheaper to fly after all."

But that wasn't the point! You both wanted to see landmarks on your way to the final destination. You knew Peter was scared of driving (for some reason...he was spider-man, but who knew getting him behind the wheel would cause him so much anxiety?), but you didn't want him living in fear of something that was so simple once you got the hang of it.

You took him to the suburbs of New York to practice. You couldn't handle the crazy streets of New York with Peter behind the wheel–that just spelled bad luck. There was a large parking lot next to the Walmart that you started him off in. Even though he was far away from the other cars on the lot, he still slammed on the breaks every few moments as if someone darted across the street.

You wish you had a Xanax to take beforehand.

Eventually, you get him to relax a little and keep his foot off the break so often (you also got him to stop flooring it–pedal to the metal lol). Peter cruises around the lot, taking directions better than the first hour and a half of driving. He was doing well.

That was until you tried to get him to go onto the streets.

The traffic wasn't too heavy, but it's like Peter regressed as soon as you instructed him to drive to a nearby residential neighborhood. Suddenly, ole steel foot was back and you were holding onto the grab handles as he sweared onto the street.

You'd never been so nervous in your life. "Use your mirrors!" "Blinkers, Peter, please!" You didn't mean to shout at him either, but it was the only way he started to listen to you lol.

What should have been a three minute drive turned to ten, but you eventually made it to the neighborhood. You were almost home free–instructing Peter to park on the road near one of the houses. Now that you were off the street, Peter calmed some, but he still wasn't paying attention as he rear ended the back of the car parked on the street in front of said house.

You didn't think you had to tell Peter when to stop, but here you were...surely with a dent in your car and listening to the alarm of the vehicle in front of you.

"Yeah...maybe we should fly after all." You told Peter, reaching for your insurance papers from the glove compartment. "Or maybe invite some of our friends. You don't need to be behind the wheel."

"I told you." Was all he said, settling back into the drivers seat as you sent him a glare.

*I didn't proof read this so sorry babes sksksks

good morning kendra 🥰💘

this entire thing has me ctfu, we really changed our road trip plans so fast & we only spent a short while in the car with him.

peter forgetting that he has to stop: “i-“

reader, frazzled: “how about majorca? y’know, on a plane. majorca sounds great. who wants to drive around america anyway, let’s go to majorca. i love majorca. and planes.”

no bc imagine you don’t even give him specific directions at first. you tell him a general location & tell him to go there. the literal first exit he forgets to turn left like “peter turn left, wyd?” & there’s this horrifying screech of brakes before he locks the wheel all the way left — which you then have to unwind & say he doesn’t have to do it all the way.

he even tried to warn us that him driving would mean that we’d be a subplot of a final destination movie.

[firewolf-pyro]

Episode four: The cash pot that was a pond

Enter scene- to see a multitude of diggers working in the muddy pit that used to be the pond. Left to right shows workers digging, pulling up alien tech, sifting through mud. Camera stops on mud covered boots and a muddy brown body length jacket of the investigator.

JONES- “This pond is the gift that keeps on giving.”

Camera- moves back and away as investigator speaks eventually stopping at his full body.

JONES- “We’ve got nearly three whole cyberman, bits and bobs from other alien tech- even a Santarin’s helmet. And we continue to find more - it’s like this is the alien’s local dump!”

Actions- states loudly with a massive grin. Hands are on his hips showing his proud status.

OLESIA- “I can’t wait to get all of this back to my lab- it would be interesting having some of that tech to play around with.”

Actions- Science woman is knee deep in mud looking at what could be a gun of some sort.

HENRY- “Don’t be so happy, now we won’t be able to leave this man’s property alone until we’re sure every last piece of alien tech is collected.”

Actions- at the edge of the pond shouts down to the two.

Camera- turns to their front so we can see the depth of the pond whilst looking up at them. See also mostly blurred in the background the dome light of a buried Dalek.

OLESIA- “As if I cared about some old rich coot’s property! I just want to get my grubby paws on all of this neat tech!”

Actions- cackles madly as she lifts another piece that could have been just some random piece of ship.

Scene cuts to- all members in their spots of their office. All are busy analyzing and processing different pieces of alien technology.

Camera -moves from left to right watching each member look over and write/type down what they have.

JONES- “So far?”

Actions- walks in from entrance towards their office.

HENRY- “So far we’ve found everything from Axon gifts to Keys of time pieces. But we haven’t found any sign of the missing police officer nor that package that delivery man tossed into the pond.”

Actions-cackles while setting what they are looking at down on the table.

OLESIA- “I still believe we should forget that pond and figure out where that orb wants us to go.”

Actions- pipes up from her desk.

JONES- “I already told you, we can’t leave that pond unattended. Who knows what else could be buried in that cash pot.”

Actions- stares down at her with arms crossed.

KENDRA- “Whatever is down there could be far more dangerous than a little glowing orb that occasionally makes people disappear.”

Actions- Sarcastically young man says from behind investigator.

OLESIA- “Everything we’ve found so far has been trash! Literally and figuratively alien trash.”

KENDRA- “I’d have to agree with Olesia on this one, Jones.”

Actions- pipes in spinning around to face the group.

HENRY- “What about the cybermen pieces? Or the gun shards?”

OLESIA- “War trash, it’s just as exciting as finding old tanks from World War Two in the middle of a cow field.”

Actions- rolls her eyes.

JONES-“Well like it or not, until we are absolutely sure every piece of alien technology is out of that pond- we can’t go forwards with that device.”

camera- follows him into his office. Door closes behind him roughly and camera swings back around to look at the trio.

OLESIA- “Okay, well if you two aren’t going to be doing anything interesting~”

Actions-stands and proceeds towards the door.

Scene cuts to- science woman sitting at the edge of a dock overlooking the sea. She is comparing traditional drawings of the orb signed by young woman to digital media - looks like blueprints and such of the orb.

OLESIA- “None of this makes sense.”

Actions- sets the images down on her lap.

Camera- looks out to the sea as the sun sets in the distance. Slight whirring noise can be heard in the distance similar to the TARDIS landing noise.

OLESIA- “If that ship crashed… and it crashed here, why aren’t there more relics from it?”

Actions- takes out her phone and begins to search up old technology relics. Scene shows a notification from investigator pop up on phone interrupting her search.

JONES-‘Get some rest. Big move tomorrow at the pond.’ Is what it would read.

Scene closes fading to black and opens with science woman in her room shifting from side to side with a nightmare perhaps.

Camera- moves in closer to her face fading to a scene with science woman in place of a reptilian.

Area- smoggy cooradoors with emergency red lights and a scary alarm blaring in the distance. Dreamy filter and tilting camera follows science woman down the hall as she hugs the orb to her chest. Two people run down the hall towards her.

PUPPET 1-“Stop! Wait for us!”

PUPPET 2- “Don’t leave! We know you have that orb! We need it! How else will we escape?!”

REPTILIAN- “No! I know who you are, what you are!”

Actions-backs away from them.

REPTILIAN- “I saw you! I saw you with that thing!”

Actions- She shouts continuing to back away as camera watches the two approach her from over her shoulder.

PUPPET 1- “You do?”

Actions- They both look at each other,

PUPPET 2- “That doesn’t matter, you need to escape too. We’ll all die down here if you don’t hand us that drone!”

Actions- first puppet screams and lunges at science woman. She backs up against the wall and swings- landing a heavy handed punch across the first puppets face face before running to the side.

PUPPET 2- “Don’t leave us here!”

Actions- screams running towards her. Camera stays focused on the one doubled over from the punch. Their forehead looks damaged, a piece opening up a bit as an eye stalk peaks out.

REPTILIAN- “I knew it! Stay away from me! You’ll never get this technology! Never!”

PUPPET 1- “We won’t be buried! Not again!”

Actions- yells back and charges her.

Scene snaps back to- Olesia sitting up straight in her bed, panting and shivering badly. The screams of the Dalek puppets echo through the room. Camera sinks into the floor to credits.

[olivarryprompts]

Fanfic Friday #11

Welcome to Fanfic Friday! Each Friday I post a new here and on A03. Enjoy x

Read and save it on A03 here https://archiveofourown.org/works/33567529

{fancy suits from dad}

Ships: Peter Stark & Tony Stark, Pepper Pots/Tony Stark

Warnings: swearing, just fluff otherwise :)

Wc: 2,319

Here’s the thing, Peter Parker grew up in Stark Tower, which eventually became Avengers Tower of course. So whilst his whole class was buzzing about their field trip, all he could think was, “shit, shit shit.” His dad was going to embarrass the hell out of him. His Aunts and Uncles were going to endlessly tease him.

So, no Peter was not looking forward to the field trip. Not in the slightest. He still wanted to go, though. He knew that the rumors of his internship being fake were started by Flash, the annoying teen. He also knew that Flash had not once said his real name, preferring the name Penis Parker. It didn’t bother him as much as it used to. Also since highschool began, Flash had calmed down with his bullying. Well, maybe Flash hadn’t calmed down and high school was just bigger and he had thicker skin. And a new support system with plenty of people to go to.

Peter had been adopted by the Starks when he was a mere ten years old. At first, he was terrible at receiving any gifts or even too much attention. Slowly but surely, he got more and more used to it. Now, he wouldn’t not know what to do if any of that was taken away. Plus, he really did find a liking for expensive suits, however shallow. He looked good in them, and his father always insisted on buying him more and more. Tony would always find an excuse to spoil the kid a little more, however much Pepper tried to stop him.

“Peter, please see me after class regarding an urgent matter.”

Brough out of his thoughts, Peter swiftly nodded his head.

He looked at the board to see the words from before still written on them, “Field Trip to Stark Industries!” It might as well have said, “Dig Peter Stark’s Grave!”

“So, let’s get started with today’s lesson, graphing imaginary numbers on the complex plane!” He’d done this one a while back with his father. Something about not only learning applicable science and engineering. Peter tapped his glass, and the episode of Arrow he’d been watching on the car ride over began playing. He’d be ever grateful for his father’s gift of EDITH to him. Pepper had tried to ban him from wearing them to school, but hastily gave up when Peter pulled the spiderman danger card.

“Alright, class dismissed. Please remember to do this homework pages 11-18 on this unit’s homework handout.”

Peter, forgetting his teacher's previous request, was very glad to be on his way home. He was one foot out of the door when the teacher called his name. Now, his day had gone pretty well up to that point. Bucky made pancakes for breakfast, which were delicious. There was wayyy less traffic on the way to school. He’d aced an essay and a couple of quizzes, and then he even participated in PE effectively. But alas, all good things had to come to an end.

“Mr. Parker? The discussion.”

“Right,” Peter thought, joining the teacher at his desk.

“Peter, you are truly a great kid. I know you’ve been through a lot recently and in your life, but it is no excuse to make up an internship. We both know that it is not real. Now, acknowledging that you have a bright future, the administration and I have come forward with an offer. If you agree to write an apology, expressing that you understand what you did was wrong and immoral, you will both be allowed to come on the trip and no punishment will be given to you. If you choose to not take this opportunity, you will be banned from the trip and will be chastised.

Peter just stood there, not really comprehending. Apparently Flash’s little rumors were a lot bigger than he anticipated.

“I-i-I’m not lying,” was all he could manage. He had filed all the right paperwork and proved his internship.

“I’m sorry to hear that you will not come forward with the truth. You have up until the day before the trip to hand in the letter if you change your mind. Goodbye Peter.”

Peter just let his legs take him out of the classroom, then out of the school, and then to the road, a couple blocks away, where his dad picks him up from.

“Hello mini-me.”

“Hey,” Peter said, jumping into the passenger seat.

“‘Hi Dad, thanks so much for taking time out of your busy schedule to pick me up each and every day. Sick new car by the way! I’d love to drive it sometime!”

Peter just rolled his eyes with a smile, “Car looks great dad. McLarren’s are superior yet.”

“Ungrateful, so so ungrateful. What’s got you in a mood then?”

“Nothin,” Peter said, pulling out his phone.

“Oh come on, tell me. Tell me or I’ll call Ted.”

“Ned, Dad. We’ve been friends for like three years.”

“Not the point.”

“Just something at school.”

“Wow how very descriptive. You know I’m trying to do the whole feelings thing here, and you should appreciate that coming from my emotionally stunted self.”

“You’re so dramatic. Basically we’re having a field trip to your tower, and I’m not allowed to go because the teacher doesn’t think I really have an “internship.” Which, to be fair I don’t but that’s on you and not me.”

“Nah na na. I offered you an internship, and you said I’d be bored.”

“It would be. Doing a project for your company under strict supervision of some person would be sucky. I mean I can do anything I want from the lab you built me.”

“I know, but remember technically you are my intern. Remember we did that whole personal intern bullshit for the school.”

“Oh right. Is that why you keep harassing me about submitting all my completed projects.”

“No, that’s all your mother. Something about not wanting a lawsuit over a fake internship.”

“Make sense. She tends to be a lot smarter than you.”

“Ah, I feel so attacked. The abuse I suffer.”

“You’re terrible.”

“I am internally crying, kid. Sobbing.”

“Shut up,” we laughed.

“Who’s home?”

“You saw Buck and Sam this morning. Nat and Steve came back from their mission this afternoon. Thor and Loki are back for dinner tonight.. Strange might be coming round, not sure though. Cliff and the family aren’t back for at least a couple weeks. Oh and Bruce is wholed up in his lab as usual.”

“Shit. Everyone staying till the end of the week.”

“Yeah, oh the field trip. You’re screwed. You should have not told me.”

“Ughhhhh!!!”

“I love your life Petey.”

Peter walked into the kitchen and saw Steve reading a newspaper.

“Uncle Steve! Your back!” he smiled, dropping his bag off near the sofa. Steve got up to give the smaller boy a hug.

“Yep. Mission completed.”

“Nice. Can you tell me about it?”

“Yeah, it was nothing too interesting. We just needed some more intel into a terrorist organization stationed in the US. Most of the mission was recon. The next steps are being taken in a couple weeks.”

“Good to know there’s an active terrorist organization out there,” Peter said lightly.

Steve just smiled, not quite understanding the modern humor.

“Where is everyone else?” he said, realizing the living room was not in it’s normal chaotic state that he’d come to love. The chaos was his favorite reminder that he had so many people. He liked having lots of people, even after all this time.

“Nat and Buck are training, they invited you to join if you want. Bruce is in his lab, and dont worry he slept and ate last night. Not sure about the rest.”

“Right, thanks. I think I’m going to go train.”

Before he knew it, it was Friday morning, and his school was coming to his home. He was going to try very hard to ignore them. To do so, he asked his mum to let him sit in on some meetings. He had an easy in to the R&D and mechanical side of the company via the other interns. He was actually planning on hanging out with some of the “other” interns later that day. They were always happy to let Pete in on their projects and let him give them a hand. But he was always interested in getting more detail about the business side of the company, and he liked to get a window into it. Pepper was always happy to show her son the ropes. I mean he was heir to the company after all, even if he didn’t know yet.

He asked his mum to only schedule meetings after 12 as he requested a sleep in. Pepper was always happy when Peter slept as he was a little too much like his father. So, he woke bright and early at 11:00 o’clock.

After a scroll through his phone and a quick shower, he was ready to pull on his far too expensive Brunellio’s custom suit. It was one of his favorites. His father had got it custom made when he was in Italy, and told him he simply could not resist getting one for the kid. Pepper just smiled.

He had a large breakfast (enhanced metabolism) and headed towards the 34th floor where his first meeting was located. He’d been shadowing his mum for almost a year now whenever it was convenient, so he had the rointine down. He was almost sure he could take over a few of her meetings.

“Hi honey,” Pepper said, giving the boy a quick kiss on the cheek on the way to her own chair beside him. Peter blushed before resuming his professional posture and facial expression.

“Good morning everyone, as you can see Peter will be joining us today. I want to talk about some of the services we provide for our employees and their feedback. I’m aware we have a large portion to talk about so Kendra please take it away on that front.”

The first meeting went smoothly as planned. It was a discussion on the progress of the internal services, aka the IT department. Peter hadn’t learned much about their IT department, so it was good to listen in to. Pre these meetings, he, of course, does research into the background stuff, so he’s not completely lost. Pepper’s assistant usually provides him with a packet of info about the Stark Industries side of things. He is also given a list of key words and concepts he might want to make sure he understands. The research is fun for him, it makes him feel all professional.

Usually he spoke during the meetings, asking a couple questions and suggesting some ideas, but for this one he just learned and took in. The next meeting, however, was very much so his field. He’d spoken a lot with advertising, becoming very interested in the data analysis behind it. He even took a stats class so he could keep up. In that one he asked questions Pepper was on the verge of asking twice. He also contributed to the analysis of data once. Pepper usually liked him to participate as it was good for him, but he always felt bad suggesting stuff to the senior adults. He usually spoke to his mum or dad about projects for the company, preferring that.

They hung back in the room of the second meeting.

“Good job in this one Pete. Took two questions right off my tongue.”

“Thanks ma,” he said, always appreciating some approval.

“That’s all I’ve got for you today, kid. Rest of the stuff is, ya know.”

“Course. Thanks for these two. It was good to learn about internal affairs a bit more. Have a gap of knowledge there.”

“Yeah. Was that the first time meeting our CIT?”

“I believe so.”

“Well, next time we have a broader IA meeting, I’ll pull you outta school,” Pepper suggested.

“Really? That’d be epic.”

“Course, hun. Jarvis, sort that out please.”

“Of course Mrs. Potts.”

“Thanks J,” Peter yelled.

“Anytime mini-boss. No need to disturb the entire floor.”

“Are AI supposed to be so snarky?”

“Dad programmed it, what else would it be?”

“Valid point.”

“Right, got to run. See you later.”

“Bye, love you mum!”

“Love you too, Pete.”

“Jarvis, could you send me the tour plan for the visiting tour today?”

“Absolutely, sir. They’re on your phone now.”

“Thanks J.”

Looking at the plans Peter smiled. He had successfully avoided them the entire day. It said they were supposed to head back to school at 2:30, and it was about to be three. Smile on his face, he trotted down to the lobby to grab a coffee before going to meet Loki at the arcade. Don’t judge them, it was their thing. Taking the private lift down, and then walking straight to the coffee stand and ordering.

“Mr. Parker!” he heard the angry voice of his teacher, “How dare you show up here aft-”

Shit. shit. Shit.

“Edith, call dad, and tell him it’s urgent in the lobby.”

“Of course Peter.”

“Peter, are you listening to me! You are going to face extreme consequences for this.”

“Your coffee,” the man said, not realizing it was Peter, level ten personal of the tower, that was being yelled at.

“Thanks.”

“How dare you get coffee! In this building! Security!”

Tony arrived spotting his son instantly.

“Kid this best be impor- I see.”

“Hey Mr. Stark,” Peter said weakly.

“Mr. Harrington is it? Please stop harassing my intern.”

“H-he, he is y-your intern?”

“Yes. My favorite. Please exit the building and never question him again. You will be hearing from me.”

Let’s just say, Monday was an interesting day. At least Flash backed off, he was definitely an intern at SI, and no one embarrassed him on the trip.

[korra-the-red-lion]

Lonely.

I will forever be salty that LoT doesn’t let Sara explore her grief a bit more, it seems. Anyway, enjoy some angst with a happy ending!

---

Sara put down the make-up brush and stared at herself in the mirror. It wasn’t a lot, but she felt confident in what she did for herself. Lightly, she put on the finishes touches to her lips and was ready for the big event.

In just a few short hours she’d be marrying the love of her life.

But why did her heart feel so heavy? Shouldn’t she be overjoyed that she was marrying Ava? But it only took one quick glance to the photo sitting her in locket to remind her why she felt this way. Laurel and Oliver smiled up at her, their faces alive and happy. Sara picked up the locket, holding it gently in her hand. At least Oliver got to marry the life of his life, Laurel never even got that chance. Both men she loved were tragically ripped away from her, before her own life was as well.

Although Laurel told her it was the right decision, Sara couldn’t help but still feel guilty that she didn’t use the Loom of Fate to bring her back. Why did someone like her get so many chances at life yet her sister didn’t? It was a cruel thing, fate was. Sara would have gladly given one of her several returns to life in exchange for Laurel to be here on her wedding day.

And Oliver too, who would never see his daughter grow old. How was it fair that someone who gave so much and rarely asked for anything in return was not allowed this once in a lifetime opportunity. At least Mia had Felicity, who was one tough cookie. It just felt like some cosmic joke to her. Oliver wasn’t perfect, but he deserved to grow old with his wife and children.

Sara blew a frustrated breath through pursed lips. She needed to stop thinking about this. About them. Today was supposed to be about her happiness, her love. About her and Ava finally retiring from saving the universe and enjoying life. It wasn’t an easy decision for them to make, especially for her. Sara had been fighting since she was teenager. What would the domestic life feel like? Going for walks with having to watch your back? Talking about that silly thing the neighbours did with Ava? Sara honestly couldn’t even picture it in her mind.

There was a knock at her door, startling from her thoughts. Sara put on a brave face and called out, “Come in!”

Nyssa walked into the room with a smile adorning her face. Sara smiled back, but Nyssa was not fooled. She had known Sara for a very long time and knew when she was hiding her feelings. Nyssa closed the door softly before turning to face her former love.

“What is wrong, Beloved?”

Sara smiled softly at the familiar expression. “It’s nothing, really. Just got thinking.”

“Thinking about what?”

“How much I miss them,” she said, looking down at the locket again.

Nyssa nodded in understanding as she came to sit next to Sara. “I miss them as well. I cannot imagine how difficult this must be for you.”

Sara clutched the locket, holding it to her heart. “I wish they could be here to see this. I want to let them know that I only got this far because of their support. Especially Laurel’s…” the tears welled up in her eyes, but she refused to let them fall.

“Sara…” Nyssa reached for her hand, squeezing it in comfort. “They may not be here physically, but I know Oliver and your sister. They’re watching from wherever they are currently. They would be so happy for you, so happy that you found the love they wished for you. Do you understand that?”

“I do,” said Sara with a small voice, “but that doesn’t make me miss them any less.”

Nyssa hugged Sara tightly. All she could hope was that Sara could feel her emotions through the hug. That it was okay to grief those you’ve lost, you just cannot let it consume you. Sara hugged back just as tightly, wondering when the emptiness in her heart would finally feel a little more whole.

Another knock at the door broke the pair apart. Ray stuck his head into the room, his smile instantly dropping when he saw Sara. He wasted no time in walking across the floor and scooping the tiny assassin into a bear hug.

“I have no idea what’s upsetting you, Sara, but I’m not going to let it ruin your wedding day,” he said firmly.

“Ray…”

Ray put Sara onto the floor before getting to work straightening out her wedding dress. “Sara, I’ve known you for a very long time. Heck, I think you’re my oldest friend at this point. You were there for me when Nora and I tied the knot. We were there for each other through all the hardships that we’ve face. I would never let you do this alone.” Ray stepped back to make sure there wasn’t a single wrinkle left. With a satisfied nod, Ray placed a gentle hand on Sara’s shoulder.

“You deserve happiness and peace, Sara Lance,” said Ray with watery eyes. “I believe that more than anything else in the world.”

Sara swallowed thickly while blinking out tears. “Thank you…” She fanned at her laugh with a wet laugh. “Oh God, my make-up. Ava is going to freak out if I don’t get a move on things.”

“I believe I can help with that,” said Nyssa with a smirk. She held up the eye make-up with a fire in her eyes. “I am quite good with my hands, after all.”

Sara burst out into laughter while Ray looked pleasantly confused. Together, Ray and Nyssa got Sara ready to walk down the aisle.

XXX

Quentin looked like he was trying his hardest not to cry as he walked his daughter down the aisle. Sara squeezed his arm tightly as they did, trying to keep her raging emotions in check.

“I’m so happy for you, baby,” he said in a choked whisper.

“Thanks, dad.” Sara sniffled slightly. “I’m really happy too.”

He gave her a kiss on the cheek as he left her at the alter. He joined his wife in the front row. Sara took in the crowd. Jax and his wife were here with their kids. Thea and Roy were in the crowd chatting quietly to Dinah. Sara couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow when she noticed that Dinah had her pinkie finger linked with Laurel 2.0. That was unexpected. Barry and Iris were sitting next to Kara, Alex, Lena, and Kelly. Ray waved to her, his arm linked with a very happy looking Nora, who was also waving. Mona was seated next to Gary, who was already ugly crying. Nate was on Ray’s right side, and he was beaming up at Sara, Zari holding his free hand. Charlie was with her band, providing the music for the wedding. Amaya came from the past to also watch her former captain and friend tie the knot. She was seated next to the Hawks, which they had been hard to track down, but Kendra had been Sara’s first friend aboard the Waverider, and there was no way she was going to miss this for the world. Nyssa sat with Sin, who was looking so much older than Sara last remembered.

All her friends and family were here, and it was a wonderful sight to see.

Charlie looked up towards the doorway and motioned to her band to start playing the music. Sara’s heart was beating like crazy with anticipation as the doors swung open.

Ava walked out from behind the curtains. Her smile was wide and there were already tears in her eyes as she walked towards Sara. Her dress was nothing fancy, but that’s exactly what suited her best. Mick was walking her down the aisle. They had an unlikely friendship, but Ava had helped Mick with so many things in his life, he felt it only fair to return a favour. There were tears in his eyes as he helped her up the steps. He gave Sara a quick nod before clomping back down to take his seat next to Spooner, who was sitting with Astra and Behrad.

“Alright,” said Diggle with a clearing of his throat. “Sara and Ava both asked that this not be fancy. Sara said to me, ‘I already have enough drama in my life, I don’t need it at my wedding too,’ and I couldn’t agree more.”

This drew laughs from the crowd.

“So, Sara, do you have anything you want to say to Ava?” asked Diggle.

Sara nodded quickly. “Ava, I just want to say that you’ve made me the happiest girl in the world. You just get me, and that is so important. We’ve had our rough patches, but we always got through them together. You’ve been with me through thick and thin. I love you so much that it makes me lie awake at night thinking about it. I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with you.” She smiled brightly, ignoring the tears that flowed freely down her face now.

“Ava, do you have anything you want to say to Sara?”

“Yes.” Ava took a deep shaky breath. Sara could feel the tremors in her hands as she spoke. “I hated you the first time I saw you.” Everyone laughed at that, including Sara and Ava. “But you slowly broke down my walls and taught me how to really live. If it wasn’t for you, I probably would still be working for Rip, without ever realizing the person I could have been. You helped me because the best version of me, because that’s what’s being a person is all about. Helping each other grow. I hope that we can continue to do just that, because you’ll be spending every moment with me, and I can’t wait.”

Diggle smiled at the two of them before saying. “Okay, well, go ahead then!”

Sara dipped Ava and gave her the most passionate kiss she could muster. It would take some time, but she was hopeful that Ava would help her fill the hole in her heart. She already had, in some way. Because Sara knew that this right here meant that she was no longer lonely. She would always grieve the death of her Laurel, her wonderful and beautiful sister, and her best friend in Oliver. But she also knew that Ava would always be there for her, every step of the way.

And she was ready to see where that path led.

[prose-for-hire]

Me and You

Pairing: Faith x fem!slayer!reader

Request: Hi, could you write a faith x female reader (maybe also a slayer) story where the reader is like Faiths opposite, really responsible and serious (sorta like Kendra) and her and Faith keep squabbling but end up falling for each other? If not I completely understand, its your call, thanks :)

Requested by: Anon

A/N: I absolutely love Faith, I want her to hold me lol 💖🖤

As soon as you had been called, your life had completely slotted into place. You were a Slayer. One of the chosen ones. You had perfectly crafted a ten-point plan and highlighted all of the goals you wished to reach now that you were on this path.

You took studying very seriously, you read more than the watcher that you had been assigned. He was actually pretty hopeless, you wondered why he had been assigned to you.

But, you did respect those in authority. So, you assisted him and somehow the correct tome made its way to his desk as if by magic. You respected the status quo for the most part. The way that everyone had their place and yours was to fight vampires and other kinds of demons.

You had arrived in Sunnydale, having been told there were already two slayers there. You weren’t really used to friends and so you didn’t know what to make of them. Faith had taken one look at you and decided she knew everything she needed to know about you.

“Slayer?”

“Yes! Isn’t it a gift?”

“Yeah, the kind you return” She had rolled her eyes at you and dipped. Not needing to hear you recite the entire Slayer manual to her backwards.

As time went on, you got on with Buffy although you felt she wished you would switch off as well. But you had a duty, it was what you had trained for. You couldn’t relax for a moment, you didn’t want to.

However, you entirely didn’t get along with Faith. You were always squabbling. You infuriated each other. You never agreed. Especially not on slaying. But it ended up bleeding through into all parts of you lives.

You just couldn’t stop arguing. Sometime sit was heated and one of you had your hand curled into a fist. Other times it was stupid and petty and you both knew it, but it didn’t mean you would stop.

However, as this continued, you began to find yourself becoming increasingly attracted to her. It confused you and you hadn’t understood at first. But soon you were watching her lips as she spoke. Imagining kissing her. Having those toned arms wrapped around you.

You only snapped more at her when you realised. Didn’t want anyone to notice, much less her, the way that you felt. You had never even considered that she felt the same. And she really did.

Buffy had said you needed to patrol. There was a nest of vamps and she needed you to take the west and you would meet your patrol partner there.

She had chosen to have her actual friends with her so that she wasn’t bored and decided to pair you and Faith up on the far side from where she would be. 

“You?!” You squeaked, your voice higher in pitch than you had expected it to be.

“Yep. Just me and you” She grinned at your expression walking past you her stake in hand. You exhaled, sighing audibly in frustration as you stalked after her to catch up.

You were going to be alone together. You didn’t know if you were annoyed or elated. You couldn’t help imagining what it would be like to be her girlfriend.

It took about three steps before you began to squabble again. As you usually would. Your voices had carried across the cemetery you had been walking through. It wasn’t your usual stealth. Because of how much attention you were paying each other and how engrossed in the interaction you were, no matter how heated it was getting, it meant you hadn’t noticed the vampires that were beginning to surround you.

You walked for a while until you made a left turn and suddenly found yourself surrounded. A nest of vampires were apparently a whole army of vampires.

But they had a mastermind behind them. They had rushed you, you managed to thin the herd slightly but not by enough. You and Faith retreated into an old tunnel system. You fought hard, but it was no use. You were strong but there was too many.

You had began fighting in-sync but you had soon ended up as if you were fighting your own battle. Getting in each other’s ways. You shouted at each other but it was no use.

Suddenly as more vampires could be heard running to join the fight overhead, there was a loud cracking sound above your heads. The foundations weren’t solid in this area. The ground above had caved in and left the concrete crumbling into the tunnels.

Luckily, you and Faith had been left in one half and the vampires in the other. Unluckily, you had hit a dead end and had been sealed in.

Now you were trapped. Together. Because you had been paying more attention to each other rather than the threat.

“Well, that’s one threat gone” She shrugged as you just stared incredulously. You hadn’t taken out the nest and now you were trapped. There was no good side.

“Oh yeah, well done. I could have handled it”

“You and what army, huh? You’re kiddin’ yourself” Faith shook her head at you. At the way you were so self-assured you were giving her a run for her money.

But despite her faults, of which you had pointed out many to her as she had to you, she was perceptive. She noticed something about you. She wished she could pretend she hadn’t been taking notice of you on purpose. Because of that guilty affection she harboure for you. The one she couldn’t dare name. She didn’t want to get hurt, she would rather stick to relationships with guys she didn’t care about. She only had to pretend to care for a night.

With you, it was different. To be vulnerable with you and to have you reject her. To not be affectionate with her the way she was embarrassed to admit she had dreamed about.

She didn’t usually do this. Let you see that she took notice of you, but she couldn’t help saying it.

“Not everything is you havin’ the whole world on your shoulders y’know?” she asked, her tone had changed. Almost… softened. You didn’t take care of yourself at times, she had noticed. Sacrificing yourself for your duty.

“Yeah you wouldn’t know” You snapped back at her despite the tone you had thought you caught from her. But your voice was wavering. Every second you spent trapped you began feeling worse and worse.

Faith didn’t take your snapping personally, she never did. In fact, she found herself enjoying it. Finding herself noticing the absence if you hadn’t interacted that day. Even if it was just you at each other’s throats.

It had been hours. You had both barely spoken since. You had to take your jackets off as the room began to heat up. You were beginning to sweat. Your breathing irregular. You were pacing.

“I-I can’t do this!” You suddenly shouted, “I need to get out of here!”

“Hey, y/n/n-”

“Help!” You screamed, pounding on the wall. Hoping that someone, anyone would hear you. But Faith, as you usually would, knew that this could bring threat. You were panicking so Faith clasped a hand over your mouth, muffling your shouts. You missed the way her other hand lingered on your shoulder in your panic.

She expected you to push her off but you just sort of let her hold you there. The proximity to you was agonising and your breathing was heavy. From the fear. From the way her skin felt against you.

But rather than argue, you just stopped. She moved her hands away and you moved against the wall, sliding down it to sit at the bottom on the floor.

You put your head in your hands. You didn’t like this. You were truly scared. She had never seen you this way. You were always cool. Taking everything as it came at you. You took on every duty that was expected of you.

But now you just couldn’t handle it. Couldn’t follow protocol. You didn’t want to be stuck here. Didn’t want to have to wait it out. To possibly never see the light of day.

She saw that you were scared. Genuinely scared in a way you would never usually let her see. She presumed you were so cool all of the time. A robot. Y/n the slayer-tron.

You were visibly worried. Expecting the end. She watched you for a moment, debating whether to comfort you. Before her mouth decided for her.

“Hey, don’t freak okay? B knows where we are. Her and the others’ll come” She shrugged, sitting down beside you on the floor.

But she wasn’t as sure of herself as she came across. She was being strong. For you. She had never seen you be this vulnerable before. You would never admit you were scared. But being confined here it made you rethink everything. Your very purpose.

“What if we die down here?”

“Hey, don’t sweat it, huh? It’ll be cool” she said firmly.

She looked at you for a moment, wanting to put her arms around your shoulder. Provide some kind of comfort. She couldn’t explain it. She cared about you, she had just never known how to show it. Arguing and working up a lot of sexual tension was so much easier.

“B-but it’s real, isn’t it? That we could die. That we will die… sooner than later” You never allowed yourself to think of it, much less discuss it. But this situation had gotten to you somehow. Had made you question your resolve. Your duties. How you just listened to the rules without questioning them.

This also made you incredibly guilty. You prided yourself on how seriously you took your duty. On the way you were a watcher’s dream. How you had saved the world.

It shocked her, that you would include her in your thoughts. Gave her this strange feeling. Hope. Or, a feeling that you trusted her in some sense. Could rely on her in the way she wished you would sometimes.

“Look, I don’t know about you but I’m here for the long haul. We’re good at this, we’re survivors” She offered, talking of you both as a unit. As something that appeared to meant she was by your side. That you weren’t alone in how you felt.

“Yeah, when we’re not getting ourselves trapped” You berated yourself more than her. You didn’t want to be stuck here, but you would be lying if you hadn’t imagined having her to yourself this way. In a conversation that was kind.

“Accidents happen. Me and you, we’re, uh, the ultimate team. We’re- we’re gonna get through this, right?”

“Me and you” you repeated and she nodded, smiling. As if telling you ‘that’s the spirit’. But her smile dropped a little when she saw the look you were giving her. Your lips were parted slightly and she couldn’t help scanning your face. You were so close she could map out every feature so clearly. She was making a mental picture so that she could submit it to memory.

The temperature had been rising the entire time you had been stuck there. The proximity of the way that you were sitting made those words feel intimate. You had wordlessly shifted closer as you spoke.

The meaning growing as you both leaned in. Agonisingly slowly. Heat rising around you, but you still reached for her weaving your fingers through her shiny brunette hair. She felt so good under your hands it propelled your forwards her lips were waiting. She had waited so long for this moment.

Driven herself wild with want. With the lust she had, the thoughts she had drove her crazy. That she wanted all sides of you. Even your stick-by-the-rules nature. She was fond of you. She had such deep feelings.

Your lips met. Crashing against each other in your haste. In your innate need to connect with her. Through the arguing. Through the frustration. Focusing only on her lips, the way her tongue entered your mouth urgently.

You couldn’t get over how good she tasted. How you never wanted to stop. You were addicted to her touch. To her.

But of course, you knew this already. You were only confirming it. And this was no mere kiss. Not to either of you. This was Earth-shifting. Ground breaking.

You had kissed her. She was surprised at the way you had initiated this. She didn’t expect you to actually feel the tension the way she did. But she fucking loved it.

You were hungry for more. For her. In that moment, you were willing to forget your situation. Hell, you were ready to forget every responsibility. Your very destiny. Just to keep her lips on yours. To have her reciprocate your feelings even if it was only physical for her. But it wasn’t just physical to her. This meant something.

Suddenly you heard something. A spell had broken through the barriers that had blocked you in. A flash of light and you had sprung apart. Both breathing heavily, trying to catch your breath. Chests heaving. Eyes glancing towards the other, making sure it wasn’t dream.

Some guilty secret. Somehow, you both knew that wasn’t the last kiss you would share.

Your rescuers all pretended they hadn’t seen anything. But your friends were all as relieved as you, it had been about time.

[thecagedsong]

Forgotten Light: Chapter 3: Staged

A/N: Here’s the next one. I hope you like it. Don’t hate me. I’m trying to handle these themes with respect while still remaining in character. 

1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9 / 10 / 11

Chapter 3: Staged

Kendra woke up with a start, blinking at her surroundings. She was lying in the center of a bed, big and round, with nice sheets, still in her dirty clothes. Bad for the sheets, good for her. Except for a heavy necklace, that was new. She cast it onto the bed beside her. Better safe than sorry.

Itching, icy cold started to crawl into the blankets with her. She pulled the covers over herself and hunkered down, trying to remember.

The first thing she remembered was the door. Unlocking it had done something to her memories. Then Ronodin showed up, and he spent the time arguing with Seth, who claimed to be her brother. They were trying to get the shiny stone.

Was she a jewel thief?

 No, Humbuggle, the dwarf guy, probably actually a demon, kept going on about a contest. Okay, she, her brother, and Ronodin were all in a contest for the shiny rock. So was the gold guy, who was also a dragon? He seemed perfectly human to her, if ridiculously loud. Maybe he was part of a gang called ‘the dragons’? But she did know that dragons could take human form.

Why did she know that? When did she learn it? She was sure of the information, like she was sure that the sky was blue, even if she hadn’t seen the sky since her memory was wiped. She also knew that knowledge about dragons wasn’t common information. But she couldn’t imagine herself reading that information, or seeing it happen, or someone telling it to her. She just knew.

What did she know about amnesia? Two main kinds: can’t recall the past, and can’t make new memories in the future. She had the first kind, thank goodness, a single reset. Ronodin, Seth, Celebrant, and Humbuggle all seemed to accept that she had given up her memories voluntarily, and it was an enchantment. They came in at different times and didn’t seem to like each other, so all of them agreeing on something probably meant it was true.

It had only been her and Seth, after she gave up her memory, so she had probably done it so that her brother wouldn’t have to. At least she was a good sister, whoever else she had been.

Kendra’s teeth started to chatter, the cold coming despite her blankets. They all seemed to agree on her name, so that was also probably true.

The cold was sinking in now, brushing her skin, her bones.

She had to get somewhere warmer, or she’d die before she figured out what was going on. Kendra poked her head out of the cocoon she had made, eyeing the door. It was a heavy black thing, with spiraling designs. Black and red seemed to be the motif of this place. She was wrapped in crimson sheets, there was a desk with a picture of an island hanging above it. A vanity. A door that opened to a bathroom, a closed closet. No windows.

Overall, just as unfamiliar as the bedroom in the castle that Humbuggle sent her to. She hoped this wasn’t her real home, she had a major heating problem.

The big black door creaked open, and Kendra tightened her grip on her blankets.

“Love, you’re awake,” Ronodin said, eyes softening as he saw her. Blue sconces lit up the room, turning the light colder as he walked in.

“You keep calling me that, but my brother said I was in love with your cousin and not to trust you,” Kendra said.

Ronodin sighed, looking down, “It’s a long story. I’ll explain it to you now that we have time. Can I at least help you get warmed up?”

Kendra glared suspiciously, forcing her teeth to keep from chattering.

“All I’m going to do is put this necklace on you,” he said, picking up the necklace she had tossed aside when she woke up. It was a ruby pendant, set in silver. “Its magic, it will help you with the unnatural cold. Then you can stay wrapped up, I’ll sit at the desk, and answer all your questions.” His voice was pleading, “Please let me help you first.”

It was cold enough that she wasn’t going anywhere. The worst that could happen was the pendant was cursed, but if he wasn’t telling the truth about it warming her, she’d freeze to death anyway. She knew she could remove it at least.

“Fine,” she huffed, and her breath condensed in front of her face.

Ronodin looked relieved, and she immediately felt bad. Seth had said that Ronodin was lying, and she was in love with his cousin. That meant they still had a relationship, in both versions of the story. It probably hurt him to have her treat him like a stranger, no matter who was telling the truth.

Because Kendra was swaddled in the middle of the circle bed, Ronodin had to kneel on the bed to put it on her. He did every action slowly, trying not to scare her. As the necklace settled, his fingers barely brushed her collar bone in a way that was somehow extremely intimate.

It made her shiver, and when she stopped, she realized it was indeed from the touch, because she wasn’t cold anymore. He scooted off the bed and took the chair, just like he promised. She let the blankets around her relax a bit. The necklace left her perfectly comfortable either way.

“Where do you want to start, Darling?” Ronodin asked. “You trust the word of your brother; do you remember him?”

Kendra shook her head. “No, but the four of you disliked each other back there. You were in competition, that means that if you four agreed on something, it was most likely true. I was alone with him, and he tried to protect me, so I was on the same side as my brother. All of you called me his sister, and you all agreed that I gave up my memory voluntarily. I hope that’s something I would do for my brother, so those two facts check out.”

“You really are clever,” he said, propping his elbow on the desk and staring at her, “You have always been modest about it, but I bet no one else would have been able to pull together so many things in the minutes after loosing their memory completely. What else do you know, so I know where to start?”

“Not much,” she admitted with a blush, “We were part of a competition. I’m under an enchantment that is blocking my memory. I probably have a boyfriend. Celebrant doesn’t like me. Humbuggle is annoying and rigged the contest. The only real prize was amnesia. We freed a bunch of people that were cursed inside the castle. And I have some kind of magic sight. Oh, and I was taken from wherever Humbuggle sent me by this scary puppet thing, and got knocked out along the way.” Wait, that was right. The storm, her brother shouting, being carried, getting knocked out somewhere along the way.

Ending up here.

Kendra narrowed her eyes suspiciously at Ronodin.

Ronodin sighed, “Not a lot to work with, but a good base of things I don’t have to convince you about. First thing you should know is that you begged to come here. No kidnapping involved.”

Kendra raised her eyebrow, “Really now, cause that felt a whole lot like kidnapping.”

“You didn’t count on your own amnesia when you wrote the plan,” he said drily, “but you wanted it to look like a kidnapping.”

“That’s convenient for a kidnapper to say.”

“I can prove it,” he said with a smile. His dark tousled hair fell into his eyes as he leaned forward with a grin.

“Let’s see it then,” she challenged folding her arms.

“The puppet’s name is Mendigo. He only follows your orders. You told him to bring you right to this room, through a magic barrel you hid for exactly this plan. Say his name, he’ll come when you call.”

“Mendigo?” she asked, raising her eyebrows. Wood jangled beside her bed, making her jump away. Her hand jumped to her chest, trying to calm her heart. The puppet had been standing in the room, beside the head of her bed. She hadn’t looked there. Or maybe she had thought it was just a coat rack in the dim light, she hadn’t gotten a good look at it during the kidnapping either. The puppet was facing her, a smile painted onto its block head. It was held together with golden hooks, and was much creepier than anything else she had seen so far. Including the turning-to-ashes bit with the stone.

Ronodin started laughing.

“I’m sorry, but you should have seen your face!”

“Not funny,” she huffed, folding her arms.

“It was a little funny,” Ronodin said, “He only obeys you, he’s protected you, and he makes you jump when he moves. Tell him to do something simple.”

“Mendigo, go, um, close the door.” The puppet did exactly what she said.

“Now I’m going to tell him to come back,” Ronodin said, “Watch. Mendigo? Pull Kendra’s hair.”

Kendra glared at him, but the puppet didn’t move. It was a bit too easy. What if the puppet was really under Ronodin’s orders, and he told the puppet to only obey her for this demonstration? The puppet couldn’t exactly vouch for himself. She had to figure out what control Ronodin had over it, and she had to do it before they went any farther. It was the difference between sure kidnapper and maybe boyfriend.

“Mendigo, choke Ronodin.”

The puppet surged forward, catching Ronodin in a headlock. He started gasping, and Mendigo pulled tighter.

“Stop!” she yelled, hands up, “Mendigo stop! Let him go.” Ronodin collapsed, missing the chair and slumping to the floor. She scrambled to the edge of the bed to see him cough in a lungful of air.

“Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry.”

He rubbed his throat, “I did not expect that from you,” he said, voice raspy, “Hell, that hurt.”

“Are you going to be alright?”

He nodded, “It wasn’t deadly, so I’ll live. I’m just glad you didn’t test your control by asking him to snap my neck. Believe me yet that you’re the only one who controls him?”

She nodded, face red over her stupid test. “I really am sorry. I thought for sure you were the one he was taking orders from.”

He sat back in the desk chair, but she didn’t put herself back in her blankets, clearly he was telling the truth. And he was kind of at her mercy with Mendigo at her control. No real reason to be defensive.

He started chuckling, “I’m sorry,” he said, still rubbing his throat, “But that was so much more extreme a command than I was expecting.” His dark eyes turned appreciative, “I love it when you’re fierce.”

There was far too much in those words, that gaze, and she didn’t understand exactly what it implied, but it made her flush.

“How did I end up with a creepy magical puppet under my command?” she asked, looking at Mendigo to avoid his gaze.

“I believe you got it off a witch you defeated when you were thirteen,” he said. She had been trying to ignore it, but it needed to be acknowledged that Ronodin was hot. Dark hair, pale skin, chiseled features. Piercing black eyes with folded eyelids common to those of Asian descent. Korean, if she had to guess. He dressed in a dark robe with vibrant embroidery around the collar and sleeves, and wore it with confidence. His voice was ridiculously easy to listen to, even after being strangled. Actually, his voice added a little, gruff edge to it, the little imperfection improving it.

If she was going to keep her wits and figure out who she was and where her memories were, she could not afford to be dazzled by him.

“Right,” she said, blushing, “And how did I defeat a witch? Magic eyes?”

“Innocence,” he said, “That has real power in our world, and when you were thirteen, you kept all the rules, didn’t hurt anyone, and the witch couldn’t touch you. You asked for help from the Fairy Queen, and your innocence made her grant it, for the first time in hundreds of years. She made you something called Fairy Kind.”

“And Fairy Kind have magic eyes?” she scoffed. “You do realize how ridiculous this sounds.”

“Hmm, that knowledge must be too specific to you, you can’t retrieve it around the block,” Ronodin said, looking her up and down, “You don’t really have magic eyes. At least, no more magic than mine. You can see the light of fairy magic. It’s never really dark for you, because you’re always emitting your own light, wherever you go. But it’s actually really bright for down here, you’re kind of blinding me. Can you turn it down?”

“Oh, uh,” Kendra blushed, “I don’t know how.”

“Something else you’re going to have to relearn,” Ronodin sighed, “Okay. For the sake of my eyes, I’m going to teach you how to dim it like you used to. Ready?”

“Uh, okay,” Kendra said.

“You have this light, and you can only see it reflecting off everything else,” Ronodin explained, “That’s the normal state. But it’s awfully annoying for anyone trying to talk to you, and can make it hard for you to sleep. Imagine you’re holding a candle. The candle is the power inside of you.”

“I don’t know what the power inside me feels like,” she said. “I don’t feel powerful.”

“It’s part of your essence, of who you are,” he explained gently, “It’s not connected to memory, but the things about you that memories can never change. I’m going to turn off the lights, so you can see if its working. It’s okay, this is how we did it the first time.”

“Okay,” she said. He made the blue flames in the sconces vanish, but the room didn’t really dim. She tried to feel for her ‘essence’, but that was really hard when she didn’t know what that looked like. Was she a warm person? An angry and combative person? Did she like music? Which ones?

“You’re spiraling,” Ronodin said, “You don’t have to think about what you don’t know, focus on what you do. Focus on the feelings in your heart. You are kind, you gave up your memories for your brother. You take charge, like you did when telling off a dismissive Celebrant and bringing yourself here. Focus on where your strength came from in those situations, what takes over when there’s nothing else you can give. You have nothing else to give right now, what is guiding you?”

Kendra focused inward, and she thought she felt it. Who she was, the core of herself, it felt warm and bright inside her chest, behind her heart. She wouldn’t have ever found it if someone hadn’t told her to look, but she felt herself there.

“I think I have it.”

“Okay, imagine you’re holding that core of yourself in your hand. It’s a candle, burning, giving off light and energy.”

She did as he asked, and nodded when she thought she had it several minutes later.

“You’re going to pull that close, and cover it with your hand. Not putting it out, just dimming it. Fingers blocking the light, like you would a candle.”

Kendra blinked, “You want me to dim my soul?”

He shook his head, “It’s not your soul, it’s the expression of your magic entwined with your essence. And you’re just covering it up a little to make things more bearable. You’re taking your heart from your sleeve and putting it back in your chest for a little while.”

The room slowly dimmed as she worked through the imagery. It didn’t become completely dark, but it went from a dimly lit room to a room with a small nightlight.

“Is this better? I don’t think I can make it any dimmer,” Kendra said, brow creased

“Wonderful,” he said. And with her dimmer light, she could barely make out the white of his teeth.

“How do you know all this?”

He relit the sconces with his own magic. And he looked different in the blue light that didn’t mix with her own. More…glacial.

“Kendra, I’m your fiancé. I know this because I taught you this before.”