Sandman Sues

Death and Legolas have a baby. And it's a SLYTHERIN!!!

2004-04-01T22:31:55Z

STORY OR SERIES TITLE: The Birth of an Immortal (Sue-detecting alarm goes off....)
MORTAL AUTHOR: Rosy the Cat
FULL NAME: Blaise Zabini... or, her super-secret Sue name, Elessario
ENTITY TYPE: immortal elf/Endless hybrid, but will be raised as a human witch along with Legolas' great-grandchildren or some crap
HAIR: "dark"
EYES: "dark"
DISTINGUISHING FEATURES: OMG so kewl pointy elf ears!! But Death's hair and eyes!!
POSESSIONS: nothing... yet.
PATHETIC ORIGIN: apparently Death managed to comfort Legolas during her one-day-as-a-human-a-year thing, which just happened to somehow coincide with his wife's divorcing him.. and then on the anniversary of that occasion, she awoke in a hospital somewhere in England... giving birth to an IMMORTAL ELF BABY OMFG!!!!
WEAK CONNECTIONS TO CANON: which one? three canonical rapes have occured... she's a tri-foliate Sue.
SPECIAL ABILITIES: as a toddler, "an unusual amount of co-ordination for her age"

NOTES: Now, Death's chipper up-beat nature is all very well represented, but I didn't feel any of the eerie wisdom she usually instills in people. Legolas is presented as a cranky old man, which does and *doesn't* make sense... once again for all you LOTR fic-writers out there... Arda is not Earth. Middle Earth is not our Earth, waaay in the past. It's better to think of it as a mystical realm, another plane of existence, or even an alternate dimension. Technically I suppose the author had some kind of explanation worked out for Legolas' existence in the Potterverse, but didn't think it was necessary to talk about it.

SAMPLE THE WORST:

...Gah. Well, if my little romp through my baby brother's realm has anything to

indicate the over-all state of the Dreaming, here's hoping that Dream'll either

find a way out, or he'll get over himself and call for some help. The over-all

quality of REM sleep has gone down the tubes.

A few minutes of searching later, and I've found Legolas and Dallandra, the

latter of the two alternating between taking part in the conversation and cooing

over the baby. Legolas is mostly focused on some old guy that I don't know, but

he's noticed me and nodded me in. Well, let's see what's going on, shall we?

Old Guy (heh, I'm still older!) is speaking to Dallandra.

"...I agree, Dallandra, that this child will need to be cared for, but, as to

how we shall go about it, I don't know. Birth certification is rather simple

to procure, but keeping yours and your father's secret from the Wizarding

community when news of this gets out; that is the question. You know the

Ministry's views on non-humans."

"...And she's about as non-human as you can get, we know, Albus," Legolas' voice

interjected. "Both the Ministry and Voldemort would see her either as a tool to

be used, or a threat to be destroyed. Neither, however, will lay so much as a

fingertip on a fraction of her hair, if I have anything to say about it!"

Dang, he sounds all...I don't know what, but I like it...paternal, I guess...when

he's being protective! But, in any case, it's time to make my presence known.

"What he said. Anybody who messes with *my* baby is going to...Well, they

wouldn't be happy by the time I was done, dangit!"

Legolas just smiles at me, shaking his head in amusement. I'm not funny, dangit!

I'm all serious and...and...

Damn hormones.

"Albus, might I introduce you to Teleute, or Death of the Endless? Teleute, this

is Professor Albus Dumbledore. He is a former student of Dalla's."

"Hey, call me Didi." I wave absent-mindedly and I make a quick bee-line for the

baby, scooping her up. Dallandra is looking a bit wistful, which I suppose is

understandable, what with her daughter being dead and all.

Oh.

Oh!

I think I just thought of a way to, well, not *fix,* per say, since there isn't

really anything broken here, but at least make things easier. Dallandra gets a

cute-as-a-button squirt to raise, and Legolas can keep said squirt safe. Going

by the looks Legolas was sporting when he picked us up at the McDonald's, he's

too "old" to pass as the father of a newborn, unless he wants to get weird looks.

But, then again, we run into the little problem that is Elves and their speed of

development. No half-elf could be passed as a mortal, even with that spiffy

glamour that the Elves have. The kid's mind and body wouldn't be able to compete

with those of its human contemporaries for centuries, and then the point would

be moot.

Hmm, I think there are a few deities who owe me favors...

While I'm looking at the big picture, the others are mulling over the immediate

problems, which, hey, I've already got the answer to!

"Guys...?"

Still yakking.

"Guys?"

More yakking.

*very LOUD, very SHRILL whistle!* "YO! PEOPLE WHO ARE YOUNGER THAN ME!"

Well, that got their attention.

They look at me, but only the guy with the beard...Dumbledore?...and the kid

are looking amused. The two Elves are looking rather irritated.

"Look, nobody but us know that Legolas' grandkid is dead, right?"

Nods all around. Looks like progress, but Dallandra looks like she's gonna

start up an Old Faithful impression.

"Hokay, well, Dallandra, just as a rough estimate, do you think my kid could

pass as your husband's?"

Quick peeks from everybody else, a short round of "Aww, look at the baby!", and

they were back, everybody nodding. I nod, then continue.

"And, since you're both sisters, she'll probably end up looking enough like you

to pass for yours. Your husband knows you're an elf, right? Could you tell him

about all of this?"

Nervous shifting from the other female, then, "No, he does not. I was planning

on telling him after we married, but things became...complicated."

"...Riiiiiiiiiiiiiight. Anyway, here's my idea. The baby stays with you, and

you make sure nobody ever suspects she's not yours. Once she's old enough, we

tell her everything.

"As for the whole aging problem," which, going by the sheepish looks on the

others' faces, they hadn't considered, "There're some people I know who owe me

favors, and can take care of that. She'll probably stop aging again when she's

in her early to mid twenties, but by then she'll be able to handle herself."

Legolas was obviously going over the plan in his head, making sure that there

weren't any flaws to it. Coming to the conclusion that there really weren't

any, he nodded his agreement, turning to Dumbledore.

"Albus, if you could see to the legal formalities...?"

Dumbledore nods, then heads out of the room towards the front door.

"Well, that's settled! So, Legolas, what're we going to name this munchkin of

ours?"

Groans abound.

ON BLAISE-SUES: I'm tired of all the Blaise-Sues out there. Blaise Zabini is only mentioned once as going into Slytherin House, and no more information is known about the character, including gender. Blaise became a popular character when Cassandra Claire, a very good 'fic author (although admittedly all she did was re-characterize J.K. Rowlings' in terms of people from the BtVs series, thus transforming them into interchangable pretty teenagers that hurt one another's feelings like you'd find in any WB drama), decided Blaise would be a pretty girl with red hair who had a thing for Ron and would take polyjuice so she'd look like Hermione and, well... go read the

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STORY OR SERIES TITLE: The Birth of an Immortal (Sue-detecting alarm goes off....)
MORTAL AUTHOR: Rosy the Cat
FULL NAME: Blaise Zabini... or, her super-secret Sue name, Elessario
ENTITY TYPE: immortal elf/Endless hybrid, but will be raised as a human witch along with Legolas' great-grandchildren or some crap
HAIR: "dark"
EYES: "dark"
DISTINGUISHING FEATURES: OMG so kewl pointy elf ears!! But Death's hair and eyes!!
POSESSIONS: nothing... yet.
PATHETIC ORIGIN: apparently Death managed to comfort Legolas during her one-day-as-a-human-a-year thing, which just happened to somehow coincide with his wife's divorcing him.. and then on the anniversary of that occasion, she awoke in a hospital somewhere in England... giving birth to an IMMORTAL ELF BABY OMFG!!!!
WEAK CONNECTIONS TO CANON: which one? three canonical rapes have occured... she's a tri-foliate Sue.
SPECIAL ABILITIES: as a toddler, "an unusual amount of co-ordination for her age"

NOTES: Now, Death's chipper up-beat nature is all very well represented, but I didn't feel any of the eerie wisdom she usually instills in people. Legolas is presented as a cranky old man, which does and *doesn't* make sense... once again for all you LOTR fic-writers out there... Arda is not Earth. Middle Earth is not our Earth, waaay in the past. It's better to think of it as a mystical realm, another plane of existence, or even an alternate dimension. Technically I suppose the author had some kind of explanation worked out for Legolas' existence in the Potterverse, but didn't think it was necessary to talk about it.

SAMPLE THE WORST: <lj-cut text=Now-to-consult-Albus-For-No-Apparent-Reason!>

...Gah. Well, if my little romp through my baby brother's realm has anything to

indicate the over-all state of the Dreaming, here's hoping that Dream'll either

find a way out, or he'll get over himself and call for some help. The over-all

quality of REM sleep has gone down the tubes.

A few minutes of searching later, and I've found Legolas and Dallandra, the

latter of the two alternating between taking part in the conversation and cooing

over the baby. Legolas is mostly focused on some old guy that I don't know, but

he's noticed me and nodded me in. Well, let's see what's going on, shall we?

Old Guy (heh, I'm still older!) is speaking to Dallandra.

"...I agree, Dallandra, that this child will need to be cared for, but, as to

how we shall go about it, I don't know. Birth certification is rather simple

to procure, but keeping yours and your father's secret from the Wizarding

community when news of this gets out; that is the question. You know the

Ministry's views on non-humans."

"...And she's about as non-human as you can get, we know, Albus," Legolas' voice

interjected. "Both the Ministry and Voldemort would see her either as a tool to

be used, or a threat to be destroyed. Neither, however, will lay so much as a

fingertip on a fraction of her hair, if I have anything to say about it!"

Dang, he sounds all...I don't know what, but I like it...paternal, I guess...when

he's being protective! But, in any case, it's time to make my presence known.

"What he said. Anybody who messes with *my* baby is going to...Well, they

wouldn't be happy by the time I was done, dangit!"

Legolas just smiles at me, shaking his head in amusement. I'm not funny, dangit!

I'm all serious and...and...

Damn hormones.

"Albus, might I introduce you to Teleute, or Death of the Endless? Teleute, this

is Professor Albus Dumbledore. He is a former student of Dalla's."

"Hey, call me Didi." I wave absent-mindedly and I make a quick bee-line for the

baby, scooping her up. Dallandra is looking a bit wistful, which I suppose is

understandable, what with her daughter being dead and all.

Oh.

Oh!

I think I just thought of a way to, well, not *fix,* per say, since there isn't

really anything broken here, but at least make things easier. Dallandra gets a

cute-as-a-button squirt to raise, and Legolas can keep said squirt safe. Going

by the looks Legolas was sporting when he picked us up at the McDonald's, he's

too "old" to pass as the father of a newborn, unless he wants to get weird looks.

But, then again, we run into the little problem that is Elves and their speed of

development. No half-elf could be passed as a mortal, even with that spiffy

glamour that the Elves have. The kid's mind and body wouldn't be able to compete

with those of its human contemporaries for centuries, and then the point would

be moot.

Hmm, I think there are a few deities who owe me favors...

While I'm looking at the big picture, the others are mulling over the immediate

problems, which, hey, I've already got the answer to!

"Guys...?"

Still yakking.

"Guys?"

More yakking.

*very LOUD, very SHRILL whistle!* "YO! PEOPLE WHO ARE YOUNGER THAN ME!"

Well, that got their attention.

They look at me, but only the guy with the beard...Dumbledore?...and the kid

are looking amused. The two Elves are looking rather irritated.

"Look, nobody but us know that Legolas' grandkid is dead, right?"

Nods all around. Looks like progress, but Dallandra looks like she's gonna

start up an Old Faithful impression.

"Hokay, well, Dallandra, just as a rough estimate, do you think my kid could

pass as your husband's?"

Quick peeks from everybody else, a short round of "Aww, look at the baby!", and

they were back, everybody nodding. I nod, then continue.

"And, since you're both sisters, she'll probably end up looking enough like you

to pass for yours. Your husband knows you're an elf, right? Could you tell him

about all of this?"

Nervous shifting from the other female, then, "No, he does not. I was planning

on telling him after we married, but things became...complicated."

"...Riiiiiiiiiiiiiight. Anyway, here's my idea. The baby stays with you, and

you make sure nobody ever suspects she's not yours. Once she's old enough, we

tell her everything.

"As for the whole aging problem," which, going by the sheepish looks on the

others' faces, they hadn't considered, "There're some people I know who owe me

favors, and can take care of that. She'll probably stop aging again when she's

in her early to mid twenties, but by then she'll be able to handle herself."

Legolas was obviously going over the plan in his head, making sure that there

weren't any flaws to it. Coming to the conclusion that there really weren't

any, he nodded his agreement, turning to Dumbledore.

"Albus, if you could see to the legal formalities...?"

Dumbledore nods, then heads out of the room towards the front door.

"Well, that's settled! So, Legolas, what're we going to name this munchkin of

ours?"

Groans abound.

</lj-cut>

ON BLAISE-SUES: I'm tired of all the Blaise-Sues out there. Blaise Zabini is only mentioned once as going into Slytherin House, and no more information is known about the character, including gender. Blaise became a popular character when Cassandra Claire, a very good 'fic author (although admittedly all she did was re-characterize J.K. Rowlings' in terms of people from the BtVs series, thus transforming them into interchangable pretty teenagers that hurt one another's feelings like you'd find in any WB drama), decided Blaise would be a pretty girl with red hair who had a thing for Ron and would take polyjuice so she'd look like Hermione and, well... go read the <a href="http://www.schnoogle.com/authorLinks/Cassandra_Claire/Draco_Dormiens/"Draco Dormiens">Draco Dormiens</a> series if you care that much about it. (Or was it <a href="http://www.schnoogle.com/authorLinks/Cassandra_Claire/Draco_Veritas/"Draco Veritas?)">Draco Veritas?)</a>

So the world is full of female Blaises now, even though the <a href="http://www.hp-lexicon.org/wizards/wizards-v-z.html">Harry Potter Lexicon</a> people have decided Blaise is more likely to be a boy (see also the boy-girl ratios during the book version of The Prizoner of Azkaban, the Boggart incident.)

SUE RATING (ONE BEING OKAY AND TEN BEING EXCREMENTAL): 5/10
Why? Although the Sue promises to be hideous, she never grows past toddlerhood, so I don't have to see her get paired up with any canon characters. Also, despite the horridness of the Sue, most of the 'fic is done in first person through Death, whom I like. Even when slightly mis-characterized. Plus, the author can obviously spell, understands basic principles of grammar and has a good knowledge of Gaiman, and spells Rowling's name properly.

Yet another fake Crossover-Sue!!

2004-03-30T03:52:51Z

I think pretend Crossover-Sues are going to be this week's theme, folks! Today's is a Harry Potter Crossover, and I bet you can't guess what the pairing is! I don't know what scared me more about this author's introduction: the fact that she starts not with her disclaimer or with a short summary but with her own self-proposed

The soundtrack for this particular piece of madness is Sarah Mclachlan's "Fear" and Tori Amos' "Bells for Her" also, U2's "With or Without You." None of the lyrics have anything to do with the lyrics really, but the music itself is what inspired me.

Thank you and enjoy the show.

for the fic, or the fact that she then decides that before getting down to the (thankfully short) story she should throw in a few completely unrelated

I own nothing. All character you recognize belongs either to JK Rowlins or whatever the hell her name is, Or Neil Gaiman.
Quotes of the Day:

Clotho- "What was it, in the end?"

Lachesis- "What it always is. A handful of yarn; a little weaving and stitching; some embroidery perhaps. A few loose ends, but that's only to be expected..."

Clotho and Lachesis, in The Kindly Ones
You people always hold onto old identities, old faces and masks, long after they've served their purpose.

But you've got to learn to throw things away eventually.

Death, in Dream Country
Surfacing.

. Nothing, however, can top her none-too-gracious disclaimer:

"All character you recognize belongs either to JK Rowlins or whatever the hell her name is, Or Neil Gaiman."
Oh, no.
Oh, no no no no no. You did not, just do that, Suethor. Tell me you did not just do that.

STORY OR SERIES TITLE: Before I Wake (gags)
MORTAL AUTHOR: Altagracia (I'll give you *grace*, you little....)
FULL NAME: H... (I can barely say it) Hermione Granger (::dies::)
ENTITY TYPE: human witch
HAIR: not mentioned--pity, I'd love to have seen if it was movie!blonde or book!brown....
EYES: not mentioned--once again I am dissapointed!
DISTINGUISHING FEATURES: none--no brains, no frizzy hair, no books, I keep on seeing her name everywhere, but where did Hermione go?
POSESSIONS: Professor Snape's Heart. (Awww. Isn't that realistic, children?)
PATHETIC ORIGIN: Hogwarts (sigh)
WEAK CONNECTIONS TO CANON: she's stolen the comatose schtick from Preludes and Nocturnes, only with a TWIST!! She must be healed out of her self-induced, not-quite-a-coma by LURVE!! GUESS WHOSE?!?!
SPECIAL ABILITIES: Manages to exist between the realms of ALL of the Endless instead of being stuck in any particular one. Also seems to be able to get away with trying to order Death around and being incredibly rude to Destiny. For some reason both the twins are nice to her and don't mess around with her at all.

NOTES: Rule number one when writing risky pairings in any fandom, is if you want people to take your 'fic seriously, always, always, always have a backstory. I've read cross-generational pairings in the Harry Potter fandom before, but this has to be the first one that just stuck Hermione and Snape together, without any warning or explanation, and expected the audience to overlook the twenty-three year age difference. Meanwhile, Hermione, for the most part, isn't. She seems to know things about the Endless that many people in Rowling's universe wouldn't, which could be explained with the insertion of a few book titles in the girl's memory, but aren't. There's also something intrinsically disingenuous about this Hermione!Sue... instead of making intelligent conversation or attempting to do something constructive in order to help herself and those around her she instead obstinately WANGSTS on about her tragic past in the war against Voldemort and how she had to see Ron and Harry die, boo hoo. She "doesn't want to live anymore", and she's "afraid to love", and only getting pep talks from ALL the Endless, WHILE being pampered bodily by her (former?) Potions Master, AND getting a kiss from Dream at the end can help her see "the truth." What's more, she doesn't even *act* like she's in a coma--she keeps on waking up to look at Snape while he's sleeping, and then going back to sleep of her own volition. That's not a coma that requires you to be carried around and bathed by someone else, that's a nasty case of depression.

SAMPLE THE WORST: Snape's diction (when he's speaking) is in character, but then the prose unexpectedly segues into

"Hermione? "

Him again. Why does he insist on trying to bring me back? I like it here. The darkness is close.

"Wake up."

If death is your friend then you have nothing to fear

"I miss you"

Hold her close and you have no reason to be afraid of anything.

"I love you"

I don't want to be afraid anymore.

SUE RATING FROM ONE TO TEN (ONE BEING OKAY AND TEN BEING AWFUL): 7/10
Her spelling, grammar, and lack of respect for Ms. Rowling who created Snape and Hermione by the way, explain why this Sue-thor has only one review.

sandmansues @ 2004-03-29T03:21:00

2004-03-29T11:22:11Z

At first I thought I'd have problems finding my first Sue; the Pit Of Voles is bad, but surprisingly less horrible in the Sandman section than it is in, say, the Harry Potter section. And then I saw the summary: "Destiny has a daughter, and he is confronted with a choice." And so I was thinking: 'Now I know that Desire is transgendered...?' And then it hit me: that was a split infinitive! She means *Destiny* has to make a choice, not the daughter...! And then I read the story and wanted to puke.

STORY OR SERIES TITLE: Endless Moments: Destiny
MORTAL AUTHOR: darkmagicwillow
FULL NAME: Tara (but she's really Mary Sue in a lesbian costume)!
ENTITY TYPE: mortal? half-mortal? I'm confused.
HAIR: brown with majorly blond highlights, I'm guessing?
EYES: er... brown? blue? whatever they are in the television series, I guess.
MARKINGS: a bullet wound that doesn't happen, changing the entire Buffy series!
POSESSIONS: Willow's cha cha, Destiny's balls.
PATHETIC ORIGIN: Destiny and Tara's mother apparently ~~did the nasty~~ were informed by a three-fold goddess (the fates?) that they would have her "without touching"?? So what, Tara was created through immaculate conception, now?
WEAK CONNECTIONS TO CANON: Destiny's daughter.
SPECIAL ABILITIES: apparently, Destiny is willing to take Death's hand and eradicate his existence for her.... (insert incoherent swearing here)

NOTES: This is written fairly well, but I still don't know why on earth this author can make the argument that Tara from BtVS would be Destiny's daughter. Ooh, right. The thing where her father's abuse towards Tara and her mother made her think she was a demon. And yes, I know the endless can mate with mortals (Morpheus did at one point)... I guess this *was* fairly well thought-out, and yet... I just don't see it happening, y'know? There's a terrible feeling of *wrong-ness* to this picture.

SAMPLE THE WORST: "Hello, Tara," Death said.

"Hello, Aunt," Tara answered, trying to keep her voice from shaking without complete success.

"So you know who I am?"

Tara nodded, swallowing a lump in her throat. "Can I-can I at least say goodbye?" she asked. Though her choice had led her to this moment, she wouldn't take it back. Willow was her heart. Her destiny. She couldn't have made any other decision. All she wanted was one more moment in her beloved's arms to say farewell.

"I'm sorry, Tara," Death shook her head sadly. "I can't let you do that."

"It's not fair," Tara protested, tears beginning to trickle down her cheeks. "We had so little time together." There were so many moments that she was going to miss. Graduation. Moving into their first home alone together. Children. All the tiny moments that made up a life.

"It's never fair, Tara," Death said softly. She held out her hands. "Just take my hand."

"What will happen then? Where will you take me?"

"You'll find out."

"Why can't I just tell her goodbye?" Tara's voice was full of anguish.

"Too much weighs in the balance in this moment for me to change how you die."

"How I die?" Tara asked softly, then whirled to face her father. "Why does that matter?"

Destiny looked down at his book for guidance, as he always did in those rare instances when he felt uncomfortable with a situation. "Your death-" he began in his usual impassive tones, then broke off, looking down at his book again. There was a long moment of silence where no one spoke before he began again, sounding more human than she had ever heard him.

"There are consequences," he said, his voice full of pain. "This time Willow will go deeper into the dark magicks than she did when Glory sent you to the realm of my youngest sister, and the world will hang in the balance."

"But-then I need to speak to her, let her know that..." Tara started, her eyes flooded with urgent worry and need. She didn't know what she could tell Willow that make her death seem okay; she could barely face this moment herself, but she had to do something. "I mean ... I've got to change this."

"You cannot," Destiny said. "No matter what you do in this timeless span between moments, you will find yourself in front of that window where you started when time resumes."

"But why?" Tara cried. "Why me? Why now?"

"The bullet was just an accident, but its results are essential to the Story."

"So it's meaningless?" Tara said bitterly. "My life was just a way to force Willow to follow what's written in your book."

"I am Destiny. I am what is-"

"I know what you are," Tara shouted. "But you're also my father. I'm your daughter, not a fictional character following a meaningless, predestined path. How do my choices mean anything if they come to this?"

"We cannot control every aspect of our stories, my daughter," Destiny said. "But your life is not meaningless. I remember seeing you the day you were born. It changed my existence forever-"

"But you weren't there," Tara protested. "You're never there when I need you."

"In a sense, I'm everywhere," he said, quickly continuing before Tara could interrupt again, "but I know that is not the same for you. Nor for me. I read the stories about you in my book over and over, from your first steps and first words to your discovery of Willow, knowing that I'd have to wait to see you directly and always stopping before the end I knew must come."

"That doesn't do me any good," Tara said harshly. "If you love me, change this."

"I loved you the moment I saw you, seeing what your mother and I had created together," Destiny continued as if she hadn't interrupted. "Yet you also made me uneasy as I saw all the potential for change you contained within yourself. I am Destiny, first of and apart from my brothers and sisters; I do not sleep or dream, and without dreams, neither desire nor despair have a hold on me. I have not the luxury or tragedy of delirium, and I know when and how I must die."

"But somehow you taught me to dream, to know desire as I wanted you to live and to feel despair when I saw how short your time was, and your life and inevitable death have tempted me to the edge of delirium to avoid experiencing what I knew must happen. You brought me change, and that was unexpected for all that I had read in my book. Of all my siblings, only one have I ever dreaded: Destruction, for he governs change and that is one thing I cannot do."

"Yet he has left his realm behind, wild and ungoverned, leaving the choice to change within each of us, human or Endless."

Destiny looked down, seemingly exhausted after his speech. It was more than Tara had ever heard him say about himself, and she didn't know what to make of it. She sensed something important in his words, something that might save her from this moment, though she wasn't sure what it was.

"Big brother," Death said, placing her slender hand on his arm. "You cannot change the future."

"But I can," he said softly, his gaze unreadable as he turned from his sister to Tara. He took a pen from Willow's desk; the modern instrument looked anachronistic in his ancient hands as he used it to savagely strike out a passage from the yellowed page of vellum to which the book was open. "It's all I can do."

Tara, her heart pounding, felt vaguely uneasy at her father's words, watched as Destiny scribbled words in the book to replace those he had struck out. He held the pen awkwardly as he wrote, as if he had never written anything before. Then he was done. He dropped the pen back to the surface of the desk, the sound echoing eerily in the silent, timeless moment wherein her fate was being decided.

"It is done," he said. "Goodbye, Tara." He hugged her awkwardly.

"But you-" Tara began, completely confused. What had happened? Was she going to live or die?

"I don't know your future any longer, Tara," he said. "Or anyone's. It's all changed. But you won't die today."

"Thank you," she said, hugging him tightly. Her gaze was still uncertain. "But w-what did you do?"

"It's over, Tara. I wish there could have been another way, but there was nothing else I could do." He disentangled himself from her embrace, leaving her still uncertain of what was happening. He slowly unlocked the manacle that secured the book to his arm. Holding it open, he stared at it for a long moment, then dropped it to the desk upon which he also laid down his book with a curious mixture of reluctance and relief. When he stood again, he seemed straighter, taller than Tara ever recalled seeing him, as if he had been freed from a terrible burden. "It's over," he repeated.

"Destiny," Death said. Her voice was gentle, but sad. "Take my hand."

"No!" Tara shouted, still not comprehending but realizing that something was wrong. She ran to cross the room before he could take her hand.

As Death drew her brother close, her touch full of compassion, Tara felt like she was running in a dream, pumping her arms and legs as fast as she could without getting anywhere. Darkness hid what happened next; all Tara could hear was the beating of mighty wings. Then he was gone, and Death stood alone.

"What did you do?" Tara demanded.

"Nothing. He made his choice."

"And he died for it?"

"I didn't want to take him, but Destiny was the book, all the paths, past and future. He couldn't make a choice that violated that without unmaking all of that, unmaking himself."

"But-"

"I-I have other people to see." Death said. "And you have a life to return to." She vanished, leaving behind a dark silhouette, a hole in reality shaped like a young woman that faded after a moment as if it had all been a dream.

Tara instinctively threw herself to the floor even before she heard the crack of the window shattering behind her. She lay on the floor for a moment, her heart pounding with reaction, wondering if she was alive or dead, until the steady rapid beat of her heart and the panting of her breath told her that she was alive.

Fate wasn't immutable after all. Destiny had changed. For her, and for Willow.

"Tara!" Willow said, almost sobbing as she knelt beside Tara, frantically pulling her close. "Baby! Are you okay? Did you get hit?"

"No, I-I'm-" Tara began, looking down at her unblemished blue shirt. "I'm fine," she said, bursting into tears.

SUE RATING FROM ONE TO TEN (ONE BEING OKAY AND TEN BEING AWFUL): 4/10
Why? As much as I hate the plot, this author can spell, she understands the basics of grammar and punctuation, and she manages to blend the worlds of BtVS and Gaiman's Sandman series with adequate attention to detail. But why, oh why, would a mortal, even one Destiny was fond of, cause him to sacrifice himself? Also I felt Tara's characterization was way off--she seemed like this wimpy, pathetic noodle falling down on her hands and knees to worship at the pillar of super-awesome Willow-ness (see the author's penname). Oh! And furthermore, it "Could you return to Willow today?" he asked calmly, sipping from his glass of wine.

"No," Tara said. "I mean, I could. I love her, but I haven't forgiven her and she hasn't changed ... or at least, I can't trust that she has yet."

"See--your choice flows out of who you are, what you have become through past choices and their consequences. You couldn't make a different choice without being someone else. Is that being forced to follow a path that's not yours or is that being true to the path that is yours? Destiny or free will?"

Tara chewed a new chunk of bread thoughtfully for a few moments, ignoring the flavors of her food in favor of the intricacies of her thoughts. Finally, she shook her head. "I don't know," she admitted. "But I also don't know how I can trust Willow enough to come back to her after what she did."

"Trust is not something I have. I cannot hope for the best or worry about the worst, as I know what must happen, good or bad. But I can show you a piece of your shared past with Willow so that you can decide for yourself whether you can trust her or not."

"Is it safe?" Tara asked, wary after his warnings of the dangers of reading from the book.

"Knowledge is power, and thus always fraught with danger. I offer you this gift freely though. You may choose to read it or not."

"But you already know what I'll choose?"

"Yes."

"Let me see the book," Tara said, putting down her glass as she gave up on second guessing her decisions. It didn't matter what her destiny was--she had to make her choices based on her own heart.

Destiny flipped backward through his book, pages rustling gently until he found the passage for which he was searching. Instead of showing her the page as Tara expected, he pointed behind her.

Following his finger, Tara found herself looking at ... herself, asleep with Willow in their old room together.

Tara woke up suddenly, panting and gasping for breath. Her eyes were wide, frantic with barely controlled anxiety as she looked up and down her body, which was covered in a cold sweat. She clapped her hands to her ears, clawing with her fingers again and again at her ears and face as if trying to tear away invisible tormentors.

Waking up beside her, Willow quickly sat up and gently took Tara's hands in her own as if this was something she had done many times before. Her eyes were bleary from lack of sleep, but her voice was calm and tender as she whispered reassuringly, "It's okay, Tara, it's okay. It was just another dream. It's not real. I found you. It's safe." Over and over she repeated her words until Tara's breathing slowed and she stopped struggling to claw at her face. Tara slumped against Willow, allowing her to securely enclose her in her arms.

"I can't go on like this," Tara said after a long period of silence. Looking into Willow's haggard face, she continued, "We can't go on like this."

"It'll be okay, baby." Willow squeezed Tara tightly to her chest. "She can't hurt you. It's over."

"It's not over," Tara insisted. Her voice was full of strain as she roughly pulled away to look into Willow's green eyes. "It's getting worse ... even with the sleeping pills the doctor gave me. I don't know what to do." She buried her face in Willow's shoulder again and began sobbing softly. "Every time I go to sleep, I see her, I see that place she sent me to. It's dark and noisy and those little pinching things are crawling all over me, trying to slither inside me, my nose, my ears, my mouth. I can't stand it anymore."

"I-I have an idea," Willow said. The hesitancy in Willow's voice made it clear that this wasn't an idea she wanted to bring up. "I've been doing some research, and there's a spell that might help, but I've been afraid to try it."

"You do?" Tara asked, looking up at Willow with eyes that were red and swollen from crying. "What is it?"

"It's a spell to forget bad memories. I think I can take away all the memories of what Glory did to you. You won't even remember me casting the spell."

"Do it."

"Tara?" Willow asked, her voice breaking with shock. "You haven't even seen the spell."

"I trust you."

"It's not like anything I've ever-"

"I trust you." Tara's reddened eyes pleaded with Willow to understand her need.

"Okay," Willow said, her green eyes shadowed with doubts. She disentangled herself from Tara and got out of bed, then padded over to her desk in bare feet. She took an oddly shaped dried flower from a glass bowl on the desk--Lethe's bramble--before walking back to Tara.

"Are you sure?" Willow asked, her tone still uncertain. "We can still do more research, find another way-"

"Just do it," Tara said, the dark shadows under her eyes betraying her exhaustion.

Willow bent over to kiss Tara softly on the lips. "If it's what you really need," she whispered. "I'll do it." Willow stood back up and murmured, "Forget," causing the dried plant to glow momentarily as she crumbled it in her hand.

Tara blinked and shook her head confusedly. "What happened?"

"Go back to sleep," Willow said, sitting down beside Tara on the bed and putting an arm around her shoulders. "You had a nightmare."

"I did?" Tara asked, scrunching up her nose. "I don't remember."

"It's alright now. Don't worry about it," Willow said soothingly. "I'll watch over you until you fall asleep again."

Tara smiled up at Willow, her eyes clear and peaceful, free of any memory of her nightmares and what had stopped them. "I love you so much."

"I love you too, baby." There was a hint of regret in Willow's eyes, almost as if she felt unworthy of saying those words after what she had done.

Tara curled up against Willow's side with Willow's arms around her, the lines of her face smooth and unworried, and closed her eyes. The change from her earlier haunted and terrified appearance was dramatic. She looked tranquil now, almost serene, secure in the knowledge that she rested in the arms of someone who loved her absolutely.

Willow watched Tara as her inhalations and exhalations slowed, tenderly stroking her hair as she relaxed fully into the embrace of slumber and dreams instead of fighting it as she must have for so long. Tears of relief glimmered in Willow's eyes, then spilled over to run down her cheeks. "I'll keep you safe Tara," she promised, kissing Tara's brow with a fierce protectiveness. "No matter what."

The scene faded as Destiny closed his book with a soft thud of thick pages.

"I asked her to do that," Tara said, the stiff awkwardness of her posture betraying how much this revelation had shocked her. "I never knew."

"As you wished, you forgot all about it: Glory, and the spell itself."

"But ... I-" Tara trailed off, unsure of how this discovery made her feel. She had seen what had happened, but what she didn't know was what Willow had felt while she had made such a momentous change in their relationship, in Tara herself, even though it was at her request. No matter what Willow's feelings were, they didn't make her later actions right, but she now understood how Willow could have contemplated doing what she had done.

"Even for events you do remember, it is sometimes startling to read them from the objective viewpoint of the book," Destiny added after she had been silent for a while. He cradled the book in the crook of his elbow, his long fingers reaching around to hold the front cover as if he was restraining it from opening of its own accord. "Perhaps it's best not to look at any more scenes of the past for today though."

As Tara's disbelief that she had actually asked for such a spell to be cast on herself ebbed, she found her buried anger at Willow's betrayal of her trust diminishing too. Perhaps she could forgive Willow and learn to trust her again after all. "Did she think she was protecting me when she made me forget a second time?" Tara asked finally.

"That I cannot tell you," Destiny said, seeming as calm as she wasn't. "The book tells me what happens, what choices people make, but not why they made them."

His words had seemed important to her at time, that at least the reasons for her choices were securely her own, unknown unless she decided to share them, but as she considered the bullet rushing toward her, any comfort that thought had once held for her was torn away. Her choices felt meaningless. Nothing that she had ever done mattered. For it was all going to be taken away from her in a single senseless act.

when she wiped Tara's memory. She was asked for it! Three cheers for Willow, who despite her drug addiction and abusive nature, is in this author's eyes a golden god!

Sandman Sues

Death and Legolas have a baby. And it's a *SLYTHERIN*!!!

Yet another fake Crossover-Sue!!

sandmansues @ 2004-03-29T03:21:00

Death and Legolas have a baby. And it's a SLYTHERIN!!!