herotypical | voice + action ✪ there must be some way to bring the hero home

[ after a week of agonizing combat, buffy summers returns home with only exhaustion on her mind. despite all the excitement and crisis, there's little left to do other than collapse onto her bed and fall into a sleep fit for a weary, worn-out soul. morning sees her feeling no less -- shudder -- zombieish. the horror of the last week is bone-and-marrow deep and has yet to fully make itself known in her system. the slayer is running on auxillery humanity, stringing herself along from second to second until she can find a friendly face. find willow and...

and all she finds is an empty room. an empty closet. empty drawers. her best friend is gone. deported while she wasn't even looking. come the afternoon, after she's gotten the first onslaught of emotions out of her system, buffy sits alone on the empty bed. she addresses her journal: ]

Willow and I have this game we like to play. Willow Rosenberg. She was in town...but now she's not. [ a pause allows buffy to catch her breath. to stay strong. ] We call it 'Anywhere But Here' -- self-explanatory, really. Pick a fantasty-elsewhere to be and a fantasy-someone to share it with. I'm not talking about the obvious ones: home or family or anything even remotely whiffing of responsibility. I'm talking about fun. I'm talking about pure escapism. I'm talking Daniel Craig on the beach or Amy Yip at the waterpark.

I'll go first. Show you how it's done. [ but which escape route from reality should she take? ] The '88 Winter Olympics. The Saddledome. Calgary, of all places. Brian Boitano is taking the time to personally skate me through his gold medal routine. Perhaps there's hot chocolate involved. I, being made entirely of my own imagination, copy each move perfectly.

Got it? Good. Because now it's your turn.

[ when her broken little tribute to an absent friend is finished, she'll be searching out her injured pirate (wherever he may be convalescing) and it's off to good spirits, where she can be found working a shift behind the bar. ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

There's a saying about that, y'know. Many hands make light work.

Because it's more fun together, right?

[ a ghost of a smile. ] Lookit you, having learned so well. But--

How about I grab those treats and free you up for the day, huh?

Oh, of course! You can take as many as you want. I guess I kinda made too many while grandpa was gone.

In that case, I'll just...I'll pack up a few.

[ buffy -- presumptuous perhaps -- sets her basket on the counter and stores a few apples away in its considerable depth. ] And I'll owe you one.

[ Ikki doesn't appear to mind, shrugging. ] You don't owe me anything; I liked making them! And I think everyone should get to try some.

...And I think I'll take an extra one. I'm visiting someone in the clinic, after this. He'd love a little pick-me-up. I'll be sure to let him know who made them.

I hope he feels better soon! ...Um, whoever it is. Candy apples are good for you when you're sick!

[ no they're not ]

...You know what they say about apples, right?

...They're delicious?

One a day keeps the doctor away, Ikki!

What about Katara? They wouldn't keep her away, right?

Nah. Not the doctors you're related to and-slash-or would like to see socially. Just the ones that would've given you needles.

Why would they give me needles? I don't sew! Well, anyway.

Not sewing needles. Medical needles. Injections. Awful things. Don't ever get sick.

Oooooooh. I'll have to get lots of needles when I get my tattoos someday, though.

...Tattoos? You're -- you're already planning on getting tattoos?

Yeah! Like grandpa's? Those are mastery tattooos, for airbenders.

...You mean, the arrows? [ a slight frown. ] That's a considerable amount of ink, Ikki.

Yeah, I know. There's a whole big ceremony that goes with it, too. I can't get them yet, though; I haven't mastered all the forms.

Grandpa actually got 'em younger than anyone else in all our history, you know! He made a new form.

Oh? And just how long do you think it'll take you to master'em?

[ ...Well. Ikki does look a little less gung-ho about that, although she's not exactly discouraged. Just. Fairly reasonable about knowing how many forms she still has to go. ]

Yeeeeeears. I'm nowhere near getting 'em all done! Even if I made up my own form, I'd still need to know more of the ones already done. I mean, I'm still in training! Grandpa teaches me. Daddy said it usually took monks and nuns 'till they were Korra's age or older to get their tattoos, back when there were more of us.

There you go, then. You don't even gotta worry about any tattoos for a long time, yet. They're no walk in the park.

No, they'll probably hurt and stuff! But I don't think that's a bad thing. I mean, it'll be okay when I'm ready for it.

[ And then a curious look. ] Have you got any tattoos?

I have one. [ hmm. ] Wanna see it?

(no subject)

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