Fics for 2025 #003 ~ Dear Mama, (BtVS)
Feb. 12th, 2025 02:23 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kerk_hiraethTITLE: Dear Mama,
AUTHOR: kerk hiraeth
FANDOM: Buffy the Vampire Slayer (FemaleHusband!verse)
CHARACTER: Buffy Summers
LENGTH: 300,
RATING: PG-13,
A/N: This is set some time after the setting up of Slayer HQ (around 2005) and the time the first of the various Slayer facilities started becoming operational (between late 2006 and the summer of 2008), with the facilities in Tibet & Scotland mentioned.
The title originates with one of the episodes of Jet Wolf's Buffy continuation where Kennedy & Tara are on a road trip; discovering a mixtape of Tara's, and also discovering that Tara's music taste is far removed from what she assumed. It's also the fourth, or fifth, different title that I considered and, quite literally, decided upon when I was looking for the final line.
I was trying to find the landing for this story and, from somewhere in my head, this song popped into my head. Given that the, original, two paragraphs were about Tara & Buffy's Moms; 2Pac's Dear Mama www.youtube.com/watch not only reduced that to a single line, but also gave me my title.
Shonen Knife were playing in her ears as she made her spidery notes in the margins of reports; drinking the Jamaican Mountain Blue, sent her by Kendra's old watcher. A bottle of Japanese Whisky was on it's way in reciprocation.
She smiled behind her cup; knowing full well they were commenting.
She didn't need to hear them.
~~~
The table, both private and public; peaceful as the old library making love to the Espresso Pump at midnight, was a tiny alcove in the never quiet commissary.
Making herself a cup of tea; sent from the Tibetan facility by Oz, she started reading the training reports; much easier task now that the Slayers trained by Giles and Olivia were in charge of typing them up.
She smirked at the highly inappropriate lyrics TLC were uttering.
~~~
Her belly warmed satisfactorily by some deliciously spicy Solangon chicken soup; prepared by their brand new Filipina Watcher-cum-Chef, she relaxed with some Korean desserts; Japanese sodas; sent her by Satsu, and a gorgeous ice cream made by an old friend, and fellow refugee from Sunnydale, she began looking over the names of Slayers who had passed their...
The Junior Slayers insisted on calling it Cruciamentum
… except these kids were over eighteen; returning from deserved vacations, and needing to be assigned.
And nobody had died.
She liked the sound of that.
After pencilling in a couple of names Buffy rose; deciding she needed some more tea. As the water boiled she relaxed by reading the label on the mixtape Tara had given her; some eighties Japanese band was doing a Doors cover.
''That'll Show-ya.'' Chuckling at the thought of Satsu's groan when she heard her chief's terrible joke she returned to the table with the hot water.
~~~
As the fates were wont to do, just as Buffy was about to start on the progress reports for the trainees, the authors returned from a night out; Kennedy, who was leaving for Scotland in the morning, came in to the Commissary and, spotting her, stopped Vi and Rona from invading her personal sanctuary.
Feeling an uncharacteristic warmth for the woman they were all convinced would have succeeded Faith, Buffy opened up the report folder again.
Just then 2Pac turned up as the last artist on the mixtape.
She grinned and shook her head at Tara's amazingly unpredictable musical taste.
Buffy slowly made a silent, and invisible, toast her Mom.
May the Goddess watch over you and those you love in these dark time,
kerk hiraeth
no subject
Date: 2025-02-12 07:45 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2025-02-12 08:27 pm (UTC)As often happens when depression starts to get the better of me I can't always control my sleep pattern.
Actually I never have learnt that trick.
kerk
no subject
Date: 2025-02-13 03:33 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2025-02-15 10:41 pm (UTC)I think this is my favourite line. Just a beautiful, poetic turn of phrase. <3
Love the snippets of life, the glimpses of how everything is unfurling, how they are making it all work, in this new life; how they are making it better.
All tied together with the eclectic music. And then the grace-note of the Joyce mention at the end. Just lovely.
no subject
Date: 2025-02-15 11:13 pm (UTC)If I hadn't have needed to do that I wouldn't have discovered Show-ya, or their Doors cover; nor remembered the perfect title and end line for the story.
I forget sometimes how long it's actually been since even the comics started.
Should really go back in and change a couple of punctuations and tenses, but I'm not spotting any terrible errors; gratifying at least.
kerk
no subject
Date: 2025-02-16 06:15 pm (UTC)Ah, WHY is the 90s so long ago?? (Don't answer.)
Should really go back in and change a couple of punctuations and tenses, but I'm not spotting any terrible errors; gratifying at least.
Happy editing. Let me know when you are happy and I can upload to AO3.
no subject
Date: 2025-02-16 06:30 pm (UTC)Songs I started with were all late 2,ooo & noughties to mid-2010s...
*cackles evilly, or WTF-ly ;-)
As for editing for A03; might as well do it as per usual as either way any mistakes will need to be corrected, and necessary word order changes ditto. Both of us should catch everything.
I just wish more people didn't feel constricted in pointing out errors, as most are just typos.
kerk
no subject
Date: 2025-02-16 08:29 pm (UTC)Well for fic purposes I have recently been listening to ska from the 80s.
As for editing for A03; might as well do it as per usual as either way any mistakes will need to be corrected, and necessary word order changes ditto. Both of us should catch everything.
Mostly what is needed is summaries...
I just wish more people didn't feel constricted in pointing out errors, as most are just typos.
I think it feels rude, so people focus on actual feedback.