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Random grousing and a random scribble
I am tired and cranky and have had a thoroughly non-productive week (or two). :P I've spent the past week and a half playing phone tag with support staff for two separate issues at work and still haven't managed to get ahold of the one guy directly, while the other could only offer excuses and a target date in September for when they might - maybe - have the issue fixed. Blech. Add in staff whining about a brand new keyboard because they don't like the angle of its design and the fact that it's white, not black, (in other words, it's *gasp* different, oh horror of horrors!!) and I'm ready to throw something at someone. Argh!!
At any rate, here I am, taking my afternoon break to post since I may not get around to doing so this weekend. I've been to Aquafit twice already this week and I'm going again tonight, I went to see Pirates of the Caribbean 2 one night (anybody know when 3 is due out?!), and I'm spending Friday, Saturday, and Sunday taking an intermediate glass fusing course, after which I will probably go home and collapse from exhaustion. The fusing course runs from 10-5 all three days. Yikes! It's not cheap, either - works out to about $100/day. Guh. All materials are included, however, as are the firings, and we're making at least three or four projects, so that's not too bad (a single firing is about $45); it's just a kind of big chunk of cash all at once. We're going to learn about glass compatibility and how to program the kiln's controller, not just make things, so it should be interesting. *crosses fingers* However, it all boils down to the fact that I'm really not going to have much writing time, nor have I had much at any point lately.
I promised myself that I'd try to post something fic-related every week or two, just to try and keep the muse going. Since I haven't gotten much accomplished on the writing front, all I have to offer at the moment is a chunk of another one of those random scribblings:
***
Note: Starts off slightly AU for Season 5 of BtVS: no Anya (she left Sunnydale after graduation and never looked back) and no Spuffy or Buffy-bot (Spike's too smart to set himself up for a repeat of the Dru situation by following in Angel's footsteps and falling for the Slayer; he has his eye on someone better suited to meeting his own needs (intense loyalty, for one) in a relationship).
***
"Shit," Xander swore under his breath, barely catching the phone as it slipped out from between his chin and shoulder. Cradling the phone against his shoulder again, he continued trying to clean weapons and take a call at the same time. Lately, there just weren't enough hours in the day to take care of everything. For some odd reason, dealing with a psycho stalker who just happened to be a Hellgod was playing merry hell with everybody's schedules.
Go figure.
Raised voices and a crash from the kitchenette drowned out the staticky voice on the phone again and Xander sighed heavily. "Umm, listen, I'd love to help, but... Well, the timing is really not good..." He gave up on the weapon cleaning for the moment as another crash made him jump, nearly slicing his hand open on the still-soiled axe blade. "Look, can I call you back? Things are... a little crazy around here right now."
And wasn't *that* just the understatement of the year? There was a vampire who'd just had a Hellgod practically beat the unlife out of him passed out on the sofa, a frustrated and bitchy Slayer and her overstressed Watcher arguing in the kitchenette, a rebellious teenager sulking behind the locked door of the bathroom, and a couple of witches busy 'practising spells' together in *his* bedroom. Xander couldn't imagine running off to England and leaving the other Scoobies to deal with Glorificus on their own. Hell, between research, Dawn-sitting, and patrol, he was having trouble even making it to work some days; he was already on notice that the next late punch-in or early punch-out would be his last.
On the other hand, he also couldn't imagine leaving his - what, second cousin? - to spend the summer with relatives who didn't want him and who, if he was reading between the lines correctly, also neglected and, at the very least, verbally abused him. Xander knew that scenario firsthand and he wouldn't wish it on anyone; the fact that the kid had survived it up till now was no excuse for allowing it to continue.
"All of your travel and living expenses would be covered and a place to stay will be provided while you're here. Think of it as a free vacation," the caller repeated a bit desperately. "I would simply get him myself but it's... complicated; only a blood relative can take him. He goes to boarding school, so it would only be for a couple of months.
"Your cousin's godfather finally tracked down your family just before he was killed in an accident; he never got the opportunity to follow up on the information. We hadn't even mentioned it to your cousin yet; he'd already had a rough year, and we didn't want to get his hopes up in case things didn't work out. Now - well, it would mean even more to the boy.
"His godfather is - was - my best friend; he really wanted to give his godson a good summer with people who cared about him. Your parents declined to help without even hearing me out; you're my only chance to fulfill his wishes. Please, isn't there anything I can do to make this happen?"
"Dammit..." Xander sighed heavily, raking a hand through his hair and trying to kick his weary brain into action to find a solution. "I really do want to help; it's just that I'm kinda needed here too at the moment. The mom of one of my best friends died recently, and I've been helping her with her younger sister and a, uh, sort of stalker they've, uh, been having some trouble with."
"Bring them with you," was the instant response. "Their expenses will be covered too, and the change of scenery might be beneficial."
Well, Xander knew better than to think that Buffy could just pick up and leave. Someone had to deal with Glory, and that someone pretty much had to be the Slayer. Even if Buffy *did* try to leave, the Hellgod would certainly try to follow, since Glory was convinced that Buffy knew how to find the Key. However, getting Dawn out of the country might not be a bad idea.
Glory didn't know that Dawn was the Key so they probably wouldn't be followed, as long as the Slayer wasn't with them. And, on the off chance that Glory did send some of her minions after them, maybe Spike could come along for backup; in fact, Xander was pretty sure that the vampire would refuse to let Dawn go anywhere without him. Sunlight wouldn't even be a problem after a quick trip to a certain safety deposit box that Xander had rented a while back. Since neither he nor Oz had been too thrilled at the plan to put the Gem of Amara in Angel's hands - 'cause, hey, remember Angelus, people? Jeez... - the two of them had decided that it would be best for Oz to 'lose' the Gem instead of delivering it to L.A. Xander had originally intended to destroy it after getting it from Oz but he'd had an odd little hunch that he should hang on to it, instead, and life on the Hellmouth had taught him not to ignore those kinds of impulses. Sure, giving the ring back to Spike now would be risky, too, but another of those hunches was urging him to do just that. After all, chip or not, Xander was pretty sure that the Master Vampire could have found some way to get them all killed by now if he'd really wanted to, and that little round of torture by Glory had proven just how far he'd go to protect Dawn.
Besides, while Spike might want to fight, fuck, or eat the world, only Angelus was stupid and crazy enough to want to *end* it; the Gem would be in - relatively - safe hands.
Xander bit his lip thoughtfully. Yeah, a little trip for the three of them might be just the thing to keep Dawn safe and give the rest of the Scoobies a chance to deal with Glory once and for all. "Listen, I'll have to talk to my friend, see what we can work out. Can I give you a call back?"
"Things are a bit... hectic... here as well, I'm afraid. There are... things... that need to be... taken care of..."
Xander winced as the caller's voice choked up with grief. That was a sound that had become all too familiar over the weeks since Joyce Summers had died; Joyce might have been Buffy and Dawn's mother but she'd also been surrogate mom to *all* the Scoobies. There was just something very special about Joyce; even Spike had been surprisingly close to her. "Right, of course. Sorry, I should have thought... Uh, when would be a good time for you to call me back, then?"
There was the sound of a throat being cleared. "Would, ah, tomorrow morning give you enough time to reach a decision?"
Tomorrow morning?! Jeez, next *week* might not be enough time, judging by the current ongoing dispute between Buffy and Giles. Then again, a shorter time-frame might actually work out better; the Scoobies had a habit of pulling their act together under pressure. "Yeah, okay. I'll have an answer for you by then." Maybe he'd start by talking to Willow and Tara. If he could convince Wills, a good dose of her 'resolve face' should take care of the rest; even the Buffster had trouble resisting the resolve face.
So, spill the whole thing to Wills and let her deal with the others. Except maybe he'd keep his mouth shut on the Gem of Amara bit; Xander kind of thought that could just stay between him, Spike, and Dawn, 'cause he was pretty sure that it would go over like a lead balloon with the rest of the gang. He'd just have to give the Gem to Spike after they were safely on their way.
And hope like hell that he wasn't letting his rather confused personal feelings towards the vampire influence him into making a major mistake.
***
There's a couple more chunks of this done, plus I've got a few other odds and ends that aren't too far from being ready for posting as a "random scribbling", at least. All I need to do is find a few minutes to work on them when I'm not too tired and distracted to concentrate.
Yeah, right. :P
Will post pics of the glass fusing projects at some point, hopefully. *makes mental note to take and post pics of glass beads from torchworking class a couple of weeks ago, too*
At any rate, here I am, taking my afternoon break to post since I may not get around to doing so this weekend. I've been to Aquafit twice already this week and I'm going again tonight, I went to see Pirates of the Caribbean 2 one night (anybody know when 3 is due out?!), and I'm spending Friday, Saturday, and Sunday taking an intermediate glass fusing course, after which I will probably go home and collapse from exhaustion. The fusing course runs from 10-5 all three days. Yikes! It's not cheap, either - works out to about $100/day. Guh. All materials are included, however, as are the firings, and we're making at least three or four projects, so that's not too bad (a single firing is about $45); it's just a kind of big chunk of cash all at once. We're going to learn about glass compatibility and how to program the kiln's controller, not just make things, so it should be interesting. *crosses fingers* However, it all boils down to the fact that I'm really not going to have much writing time, nor have I had much at any point lately.
I promised myself that I'd try to post something fic-related every week or two, just to try and keep the muse going. Since I haven't gotten much accomplished on the writing front, all I have to offer at the moment is a chunk of another one of those random scribblings:
***
Note: Starts off slightly AU for Season 5 of BtVS: no Anya (she left Sunnydale after graduation and never looked back) and no Spuffy or Buffy-bot (Spike's too smart to set himself up for a repeat of the Dru situation by following in Angel's footsteps and falling for the Slayer; he has his eye on someone better suited to meeting his own needs (intense loyalty, for one) in a relationship).
***
"Shit," Xander swore under his breath, barely catching the phone as it slipped out from between his chin and shoulder. Cradling the phone against his shoulder again, he continued trying to clean weapons and take a call at the same time. Lately, there just weren't enough hours in the day to take care of everything. For some odd reason, dealing with a psycho stalker who just happened to be a Hellgod was playing merry hell with everybody's schedules.
Go figure.
Raised voices and a crash from the kitchenette drowned out the staticky voice on the phone again and Xander sighed heavily. "Umm, listen, I'd love to help, but... Well, the timing is really not good..." He gave up on the weapon cleaning for the moment as another crash made him jump, nearly slicing his hand open on the still-soiled axe blade. "Look, can I call you back? Things are... a little crazy around here right now."
And wasn't *that* just the understatement of the year? There was a vampire who'd just had a Hellgod practically beat the unlife out of him passed out on the sofa, a frustrated and bitchy Slayer and her overstressed Watcher arguing in the kitchenette, a rebellious teenager sulking behind the locked door of the bathroom, and a couple of witches busy 'practising spells' together in *his* bedroom. Xander couldn't imagine running off to England and leaving the other Scoobies to deal with Glorificus on their own. Hell, between research, Dawn-sitting, and patrol, he was having trouble even making it to work some days; he was already on notice that the next late punch-in or early punch-out would be his last.
On the other hand, he also couldn't imagine leaving his - what, second cousin? - to spend the summer with relatives who didn't want him and who, if he was reading between the lines correctly, also neglected and, at the very least, verbally abused him. Xander knew that scenario firsthand and he wouldn't wish it on anyone; the fact that the kid had survived it up till now was no excuse for allowing it to continue.
"All of your travel and living expenses would be covered and a place to stay will be provided while you're here. Think of it as a free vacation," the caller repeated a bit desperately. "I would simply get him myself but it's... complicated; only a blood relative can take him. He goes to boarding school, so it would only be for a couple of months.
"Your cousin's godfather finally tracked down your family just before he was killed in an accident; he never got the opportunity to follow up on the information. We hadn't even mentioned it to your cousin yet; he'd already had a rough year, and we didn't want to get his hopes up in case things didn't work out. Now - well, it would mean even more to the boy.
"His godfather is - was - my best friend; he really wanted to give his godson a good summer with people who cared about him. Your parents declined to help without even hearing me out; you're my only chance to fulfill his wishes. Please, isn't there anything I can do to make this happen?"
"Dammit..." Xander sighed heavily, raking a hand through his hair and trying to kick his weary brain into action to find a solution. "I really do want to help; it's just that I'm kinda needed here too at the moment. The mom of one of my best friends died recently, and I've been helping her with her younger sister and a, uh, sort of stalker they've, uh, been having some trouble with."
"Bring them with you," was the instant response. "Their expenses will be covered too, and the change of scenery might be beneficial."
Well, Xander knew better than to think that Buffy could just pick up and leave. Someone had to deal with Glory, and that someone pretty much had to be the Slayer. Even if Buffy *did* try to leave, the Hellgod would certainly try to follow, since Glory was convinced that Buffy knew how to find the Key. However, getting Dawn out of the country might not be a bad idea.
Glory didn't know that Dawn was the Key so they probably wouldn't be followed, as long as the Slayer wasn't with them. And, on the off chance that Glory did send some of her minions after them, maybe Spike could come along for backup; in fact, Xander was pretty sure that the vampire would refuse to let Dawn go anywhere without him. Sunlight wouldn't even be a problem after a quick trip to a certain safety deposit box that Xander had rented a while back. Since neither he nor Oz had been too thrilled at the plan to put the Gem of Amara in Angel's hands - 'cause, hey, remember Angelus, people? Jeez... - the two of them had decided that it would be best for Oz to 'lose' the Gem instead of delivering it to L.A. Xander had originally intended to destroy it after getting it from Oz but he'd had an odd little hunch that he should hang on to it, instead, and life on the Hellmouth had taught him not to ignore those kinds of impulses. Sure, giving the ring back to Spike now would be risky, too, but another of those hunches was urging him to do just that. After all, chip or not, Xander was pretty sure that the Master Vampire could have found some way to get them all killed by now if he'd really wanted to, and that little round of torture by Glory had proven just how far he'd go to protect Dawn.
Besides, while Spike might want to fight, fuck, or eat the world, only Angelus was stupid and crazy enough to want to *end* it; the Gem would be in - relatively - safe hands.
Xander bit his lip thoughtfully. Yeah, a little trip for the three of them might be just the thing to keep Dawn safe and give the rest of the Scoobies a chance to deal with Glory once and for all. "Listen, I'll have to talk to my friend, see what we can work out. Can I give you a call back?"
"Things are a bit... hectic... here as well, I'm afraid. There are... things... that need to be... taken care of..."
Xander winced as the caller's voice choked up with grief. That was a sound that had become all too familiar over the weeks since Joyce Summers had died; Joyce might have been Buffy and Dawn's mother but she'd also been surrogate mom to *all* the Scoobies. There was just something very special about Joyce; even Spike had been surprisingly close to her. "Right, of course. Sorry, I should have thought... Uh, when would be a good time for you to call me back, then?"
There was the sound of a throat being cleared. "Would, ah, tomorrow morning give you enough time to reach a decision?"
Tomorrow morning?! Jeez, next *week* might not be enough time, judging by the current ongoing dispute between Buffy and Giles. Then again, a shorter time-frame might actually work out better; the Scoobies had a habit of pulling their act together under pressure. "Yeah, okay. I'll have an answer for you by then." Maybe he'd start by talking to Willow and Tara. If he could convince Wills, a good dose of her 'resolve face' should take care of the rest; even the Buffster had trouble resisting the resolve face.
So, spill the whole thing to Wills and let her deal with the others. Except maybe he'd keep his mouth shut on the Gem of Amara bit; Xander kind of thought that could just stay between him, Spike, and Dawn, 'cause he was pretty sure that it would go over like a lead balloon with the rest of the gang. He'd just have to give the Gem to Spike after they were safely on their way.
And hope like hell that he wasn't letting his rather confused personal feelings towards the vampire influence him into making a major mistake.
***
There's a couple more chunks of this done, plus I've got a few other odds and ends that aren't too far from being ready for posting as a "random scribbling", at least. All I need to do is find a few minutes to work on them when I'm not too tired and distracted to concentrate.
Yeah, right. :P
Will post pics of the glass fusing projects at some point, hopefully. *makes mental note to take and post pics of glass beads from torchworking class a couple of weeks ago, too*
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As for the "pretty glass things" - well, the glass beads are stumping me in the photography department; I have yet to figure out how to get good pictures of them that show off the colours nicely. I'll figure something out eventually.
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