i'll play god, today

“If the apocalypse comes, beep me.” / introducing aj!

Not to be cliche, but probably “There is only one thing on this earth more powerful than evil. And that is us.” Season seven of Buffy can be a real bummer, but I think about it a lot. 

NAME: finley parker

RINGTONE: general scooby gang tone which is the monster mash

PICTURE:

LAST TEXT RECEIVED: probably something in regards to town history since she’s been looking into it, some sort of weird ritual that left weird burn marks in the grass on someone’s property or something else strange. 

        the cheery smile occupying his face as he shows off the boobuddybear he’s been hyping up for the past few days quickly vanishes as aj stomps all over the idea. kody doesn’t appear necessarily hurt by her comments, but his expression takes on a rather blank one as he listens to her disapproval. “well i’m not gonna get it if you’re gonna be all extra judgy about it.” he mumbles, eyes scanning the rest of the wall to see what else could possibly be useful. there’s several emf readers, which he assumes aj will also reject, considering the witches on their team. it almost seems as though any item on this wall could be replaced by one of scooby gang members powers. kody kind of considers that to be beneficial, but he doesn’t exactly know how to communicate that to aj without it being obvious that he himself harnesses powers that could benefit the team. he knows that if they were constantly using him for his supersonic hearing, or incredible speed during investigations he might feel a little uncomfortable or even overworked being a human microphone or mode of transportation. the other members must know that they aren’t just valuable for the powers they possess, but kody can’t help but want to make sure.

       “okay, what about this?” he says while pulling a voice recorder off the shelf and flipping it over to inspect the back of the packaging. “scottish ghostclub girl has one of these. it picks up all the super low frequency sounds that we can’t hear, so you set it up when you’re trying to communicate with ghosts and play it back later to see if they responded!” the moment he’s said this, he’s pretty sure aj is going to once again say that the witches on their team can do exactly what this voice recorder can, and he sighs, shaking his head. they’ve been here for five minutes, and already kody is regretting coming here. it’s not often that he’s worried about looking silly in front of aj – in fact he usually never cares when she answers a question of his with a rather sarcastic and teasing tone, but right now… all of a sudden, his body visibly shrinks, looking rather defeated and a little embarrassed too. “nevermind.” he starts, putting it back up on the shelf. “maybe you’re right. all of this stuff is probably useless.” 

turning away from aj’s view, his arms cross over his chest as he returns to scanning the wall, this time quietly to himself. he’s hopeful that there’s an item that aj will come across on her own that she might find useful, but he’s not going to hold on with too much faith. “i guess we don’t have to get ghost hunting stuff…” he mutters after about a minute of silence, “did you see any other stuff here we could use? i’ll chip in if it benefits the group.”

     for all the stomping all over his fragile heart aj does, she never feels prepared for when he actually reacts to it. so often he breezes through her critical and disproving words that she almost doesn’t notice the way his shoulders deflate and he seems to recoil like a kicked puppy. his expression is pitiful and she instantly feels injected with guilt just looking at him. she’s been too hash, she knows that. though she believes that she’s right, that almost none of these gadgets is likely to do anything if they’re being advertised to the everyday person and not specifically people who really know about the supernatural and ghosts, it doesn’t mean nothing is worth considering. she exhales and turns away for a moment, but she’s watching again as he pulls the voice recorder off the shelf. it’s not super expensive, that’s the first thing she notes as she glances at the price. at first she’s still unsure about it, but hearing his enthusiasm come back for a brief moment has her looking like she may consider it, not that she thinks kody’s noticed at all. 

     “kody...” she doesn’t like seeing him so defeated. he’s the cheeriest of the whole group, the one that keeps them positive and amused in the face of some really freaky crap. there’s no pride in crushing his spirit. “well, we came here to get ghost hunting stuff... so let’s get this. i really think we need to go back to the cemetery at night still, anyway and maybe it’ll help us get something concrete.” she tells him as she pulls the voice recorder off the shelf and holds it in her hand, hoping it’ll ease him a little. 

jordana didn’t like to think about where she’d be in that moment if it wasn’t for the fact that she’d been adopted. for a while, she thought that she would go to eighteen without having anyone and then she’d just have herself but life had a funny way of working out, giving her the chance to go after her dream career. jordana couldn’t correct aj because she was right, she’d gone through life not being wanted and she was expecting the same thing to happen again. it was also part of the reason why she never wanted anyone to know what was happening to her, worried that she’d have to leave. “i guess you’re right….it’s just not something i’m used to, being care for and i know i need to make a little more effort with them myself.” her parents made sure to call her every weekend and sometimes jordana would purposely ignore it and she knew she shouldn’t. plus they made the effort to come and see her and she knew she was lucky in that sense, not many parents would do that. 

the last thing jordana wanted was for the sombre mood to linger but it was the first time jordana felt comfortable talking about herself, even if it wasn’t super detailed. “i guess that’s another thing, i’m probably going to get settled here and then no doubt something will pull me away once i’m done with college.” she hadn’t explored a lot of bridgemead but she did have the scooby gang now and while she didn’t know them all that well, they meant something to her. “there’s never really anywhere i’ve considered home.” even now, she didn’t think she could consider bridgemead home when her parents lived elsewhere, it didn’t feel right. 

there was so much more she could say, she knew that but she also knew she couldn’t. “i don’t think so….there’s just been a lot of changes lately that i’m adjusting to, like being in the scooby gang,” she explained, not giving anything away about the other changes in her life. “i’m hoping it’ll change once i give it a bit more time, i’m just not a patient person.” 

as far as aj could tell, not wanting to chat with your parents every weekend anymore after going to college was a normal thing. just because jordana was adopted, didn’t mean she needed to thank them every chance she got. “i mean... in a general sense, they’re your parents, right? you don’t owe them anything if they really wanted you. and everyone forgets to call in college, but i’m sure it wouldn’t hurt to contact them.” she offered, wanting to take the weight of any possible guilt off the other girl’s shoulders, because she didn’t think it was necessary. her own mother seemed to call less and less these days when she was away, even if she still seemed to try once a week. she heard the conversations that her parents had when they thought she was out, how they both worried she was going to amount to nothing and waste all her potential.

potential. what bullshit.  

it didn’t surprise aj, that jordana had trouble too with settling down because this was her college town. there were no guarantees she’d be staying long. “sure, i guess that makes it easy to tell yourself that you shouldn’t make ties... but you don’t have to live here to be friends with us. you’re presumably here until you graduate, what’s the harm in having a positive experience somewhere instead of constantly looking over your shoulder?” it was so easy to get deep with other people and to help them try and unpack whatever was going on in their heads. maybe she did it so it didn’t have to be her, or maybe she really did have good advice to offer. she hoped some part of the other girl wanted to listen to it. 

5. do you prefer to drink soda from soda cans, soda bottles, plastic cups or glass cups?

Probably bottles? I prefer something that I can put a cap on so I can move around. 

15. favorite book you read as a school assignment?

Frankenstein. 

25. first song you remember hearing?

Something on the radio? I don’t know, my parents weren’t really big into music. 

35. average time you fall asleep?

Depends, I have a lot of trouble falling asleep, usually. Maybe three a.m., if I fall asleep.

45. which genre: sci-fi, fantasy or superhero?

Fantasy.

55. favorite fairy tale?

Blue Beard. 

65. any permanent scars?

Nothing big, just a couple little marks on my arms and legs from childhood. 

75. when did you lose your first tooth?

Fell on my face and lost my first one at 6. Left it under my pillow and it... got lost. It sucked. 

85. fairy tales or mythology?

Mythology. 

95. favorite app on your phone?

I don’t know... Spotify?

TASK ONE: ABOUT ADORA JANE AJ DARKE !

“okay, so if you ever go missing, need to go to arabella and dylan, got it,” she repeated with a small smile, choosing not to push on it any further because it was obvious that it was important to aj and jordana didn’t want to get in the way of that. if she kept it to herself, there was obviously a reason for it and jordana had to respect that. there was also a reason why people kept certain things to themselves and she would know, she was pretty much an expert at it though maybe there was a chance that she could learn to open up to the gang. if she was going to keep continuing to be a part of it, then she figured she had to learn to trust them and one step of that was probably telling them about her past. jordana was happy keeping that limited for the time being though and she wasn’t sure when that would change. 

how she got to bridgemead seemed like a good place to start and while she was uncomfortable doing it, she wanted to learn to open up, even if it was to one person at the beginning. “yeah, they’re the reason i’m here,” she explained, running the tips of her fingers through her hair. “they’re not the most maternal but they care about me and after fifteen years of not really having that, it makes a refreshing change.” jordana would always be thankful for them coming into her life and they were giving her the opportunity to go after her dreams. she had to make a little more of an effort in keeping in contact with them though. 

about to respond, jordana was cut off by the waitress but she plastered a smile on her face. “i’ll have the same but a black coffee instead please…need something to keep me awake tonight so i can do school work.” putting the menu down, jordana smiled as the waitress walked away but it dropped slightly when she remembered what they had been talking about just before she’d come across. “when you move around as much as i have, you sort of get used to being the person people want you to be,” she explained finally, looking down at her hands. “and even though i’ve been here a year, i don’t think i’ve ever felt so unsettled.” jordana knew why but it wasn’t anything she could talk to anyone about. 

it made sense to assume that jordana had lucked out in the adoptive parents department, if she was attending bridgemead. though she could have had a scholarship, or something, that wouldn’t be her typical assumption. the other girl stating that much didn’t surprise her and it made her smile softly, glad to hear that they were part of the reason she was in the town and part of the scooby gang in turn in the first place. “that good, that you have that.” she told her sincerely. “it sounds like you struggle a little, with believing they’re as good as they seem or like they aren’t gonna change their minds. you can correct me, if i’m wrong, but it sounds like they care. they’ve invested in your future, i think that counts for a lot.” 

she couldn’t help but think of her own college fund, sitting there untouched. her parents were still holding out foolish hope, but when would she have the time? what would she even do?

the waitress smiled and took their menus as they finished ordering and they returned to the slightly sombre mood from before she’d approached. aj crossed her arms and leaned them on the table in front of her, watching the other girl as she spoke. she could understand shifting yourself, trying to change into what other people expected to make them happy. “maybe it’s because it’s college... you’re not here forever. you go back for breaks... or maybe it’s this town.” she sighed, shoulders deflating. “bridgemead can be a little funky that way sometimes.” 

“Oh damn Aunt Delia!  Do you know who it is?  I can put in a good word for her.  Not that she needs it, her personality speaks for itself.  I guess it’s serious if she knows about the whole werewolf thing.”  Dylan didn’t know why anyone would give a werewolf something they didn’t want to be broken - he made sure to drink only out of plastic mugs and cups because he was always accidentally breaking things.  It was really easy to forget the heightened strength thing.  “Yeah, any advice is welcome.  I didn’t think it was all going to be easy, but I really didn’t think it would be this hard.”

He smiled back, rearranging his bags on his arms so that the weight was more evenly distributed again.  They weren’t heavy, but he was realizing that maybe he’d gone a little bit overboard.  Ah well.  “I’ve got a mountain of biology work already, and midterms in a few weeks.  Feels way too early, but I guess they know best, right?”  He trusted his professors.  Dylan nodded, easily keeping up with AJ as she lead the way down the alleyway.  “Did she give you any info about it, or are we going in blind?  Either way, let’s get weird.”  He was on board.

AJ made a face and quickly shook her head. “I’m sure she’s got it... plus, I don’t actually think he told her, per day. She knows everything. It’s like she’s a litmus test for supernatural creatures.”  That was another reason why she always went to her, as strange as she was. As Dylan explained that he had a lot of college work to get done, she nodded, peering away. She wasn’t sure if she was jealous or relieved or... if she felt bad that Scooby Gang stuff seemed to eat away at their time. “Sounds rough.” She offered, feeling a little useless. “But I know you’ll get through it fine.” 

arabella couldn’t help but rolling her eyes amused at the blonde “my nosiness gave me magic powers, never forget that” she said patting her own shoulder a couple of times, pleased with herself. saying those words out loud still felt kind of ridiculous, no matter how true she knew them to be. besides, in order to be part of the scooby gang you had to be a little nosy and curious, they were after all, getting into everyone’s business looking for supernatural clues. textbook nosy.

arabella cocked one eyebrow up, aj’s quick wit will never not be impressive to her, this was very much a perfect game for her. however arabella was willing to go down fighting “do you really think using big sentences is gonna throw me off?” she shot back, giving her a little wink.

that was an excellent point. aj made a mental note to thank god, or whatever else had a hand in deciding how things went down on earth for her nosiness, then. she was just as nosy herself, though she doubted that her family had any hidden powers or stories they weren’t telling her, despite the eccentric aunt delia. she’d already tried to ask. twice. 

“oh yeah?” not being from bridgemead meant that she didn’t know many of the good spots but she was always open for opportunities to go, more so if it meant that she got to get out of the town for a bit. “maybe you could direct me to it so i can check it out or we can go whenever you need or want to go.” jordana was still learning what it meant to have friends but she hoped she wasn’t overstepping any boundaries. “obviously if it’s just a you thing that you do on your own, then i completely understand.” she was sure that it was the first thing she’d learnt about aj properly and it made her feel a little easier about sharing her own things. 

stepping into the place, she glanced around and smiled at how nice it looked. she was really going to have to make more of an effort to check out some places in bridgemead. pulled out of her thoughts by the question, jordana ran her tongue over her bottom lip as she wasn’t sure how much she was going to admit. aj was someone she trusted though and she’d already talked about herself, even if it was in a small way. “um…no. i was in foster care from when i was a baby up until i was adopted at fifteen,” she explained, clearing her throat because she felt super uncomfortable revealing something like that to someone but at least she could say she was trying herself. “up until i got adopted, i didn’t stay in one place for more than a year.”

shaking off her own jacket, she pulled out her seat and sat down, picking up the menu in front of her. if it had been anyone else, she probably wouldn’t have admitted so much but aj was the first person she felt as if she could talk to. “that’s a deep question,” she chuckled, not looking at aj and instead glancing at the menu. “i guess standing still, settling and then having it change again.” jordana felt the same way about the other changes in her life…if she allowed herself to get comfortable with what was happening to her, then no doubt it could change her or things around her would change and she wasn’t sure she could handle that again. “sorry, probably not what you had in mind when you wanted to come here.”

aj’s demeanour shifted slightly at the offer, but it was so subtle she doubted that jordana really clocked it. she was thankful when she explained that she got if it was just a thing that she did alone and she felt a little less guilty when she replied. “well, yeah, i don’t really take anyone... not a sharing thing, really. bella and dylan know where it is, if i ever happen to go missing.” she didn’t want to clam up and go back to hiding herself artfully, but she knew that lowering the curtain a little was necessary to gain the entire gang’s trust. what was why her best friends trusted her so deeply. she felt responsible to them, but she also appreciated them for following her into battle the way they were. metaphorically, that was. she hoped she’d have more time to prepare for any of the physical stuff. 

her guess for the reason why jordana had been moving around so much was way off, but truthfully she’d had her inklings about it. the way she seemed so closed off, it suggested there was possibly some feeling of the world punishing her for trying when she was younger. pursing her lips, she found she was unsure what to say for a moment, but she found her footing as she elaborated. “that sounds like it would have been really overwhelming... i’d hope your adoptive parents are kind?” she phrased it as a question, still trying to subtly extract information. 

“Ah, Aunt Delia.”  Dylan nodded knowingly.  “How’s she doing?”  Glancing down at the bag AJ was holding on her hip, Dylan shifted his bags around and held out an arm.  “Need a hand?”  He didn’t have all that extra strength for nothing, after all.  “Weird store?  One in town?”  Realizing that he’d just asked her a handful of rapid fire questions, he chuckled. “Sorry, I don’t mean to ask you twenty questions.”  Not that it was out of the ordinary, he almost always turned to AJ for direction and answers.  He just didn’t want her to feel like she always needed to have them.

Dylan let his gaze fall to the bags he was carrying, shrugging.  “A bit, I don’t think these will last long.  I’ve got a few overnighters ahead of me, so I want to make sure I don’t go hungry.”  Hopefully she didn’t poke fun at his snack selection.  “Where’s the store?  I could walk with you, if you want some company.”

AJ’s eyes widened and she fought back laughter. “That’s okay. As for Delia, she’s currently trying to romance one of the werewolves in town and invited him over for tea. Last I saw he was desperately trying not to break one of her delicate teacups. I’m hoping she’ll be able to give me advice on this ghost thing when he leaves.” She only knew in the first place that he was a wolf because Delia had told her so, she tended to give her more details than she asked for or wanted in the first place. “I can handle this bag, I promise... but thanks, Dyl.” She gave him a sweet smile. 

jordana wasn’t expecting anyone to understand because she didn’t really understand herself. she was starting to think that she hadn’t brought anything up because she knew it was a ridiculous question but she was frustrated. apart from dylan, aj was really the only other friend she had, not that she would ever call dylan a friend to his face. “sometimes you just feel like driving for hours?” jordana could understand that, especially for people who had lived in bridgemead their entire life, though she didn’t know if that was the reason aj did it, she was just making assumptions at that point. 

running her fingers through her hair, she sighed softly at the slight change of direction, wishing that she’d just stayed quiet but it was probably too late for that. “okay, i’m going to trust your judgement on this but if they don’t do good food, i’m going to have to think about this whole friendship thing.”

tucking her own hands in her pockets, she walked in step with aj but the question caught her by surprise. she knew she had two options, either open up a little or shut down, though she wasn’t sure how to shut down without being seen as a bitch. “uh….i guess frustration at being in one place for a long length of time. i um…i moved around a lot through my childhood so being settled isn’t something i’m used to. it’s a little hard to adjust.” she’d probably said a little more than she planned but it was out there now.

“it’s odd. in my first year, the craving to run wasn’t there but now i wake up in the middle of the night and it’s all i can think about.”

“yeah, for hours or, well most of the time i just drive forty minutes to this lookout tower that my mom took me to once as a kid.” that was one of the few things that aj shared with people, usually preferred to keep most of her anecdotes close to her chest and even then, it was barely a story she was telling jordana, but it still felt private, just like any mention of her mother. glimpses of the woman felt so rare these days, she was sure her friends forgot she had one. still, it was a tiny personal thing she could offer while she waited for the other girl to open up a little more about what she meant. 

rolling her eyes at her warning, she resisted shoving her. “watch it, torres. you’re not getting rid of me that easily.” she warned, already able to smell the delicious scent of melted cheese as someone pushed open the door and passed them as they reached the entrance. “see? it’s called the good bits for a reason.” 

pulling the door open, she listened as jordana gave her an answer to her question, wanting to get more information out of her. it seemed like every time she spoke she indicated more her little werewolf problem really was real, but there was no way to point that out without risking their whole friendship. “oh yeah? what were you, uh, army brat?” she asked, trying to be polite but wanting to get more information. “i guess if you’re not used to settling down that would make a lot of sense that you’d feel a sense to keep moving.” as she pulled her jacket off, she got them a table by the door and settled into it.