#renah

14. if you could give a TED talk on anything, what would you talk about?

So like, there's this fictitious Mexican figure called Joaquin Murrieta who was seen as a Robin Hood for his community during the California Gold Rush. His myth really encapsulate all the discrimination and challenges Mexicans faced during that era. I was really, really invested in early Mexican American history in the US; I can talk for hours on end, but his myth has to be my favorite piece of information.

Ok so. I didn't think this through at all because he's a character from a webcomic project that's currently in development and we don't really want to spoil the fun before the story starts. But I checked with my friend/co-writer Iana and she authorized me to share the following:

This is a story about a dragon who threatens to destroy a kingdom, a princess locked in a tower, and the prince-knight in shining armor who comes to save the day. The knight's name is Phoebus, a young adult with a charming smile and years of training in slaying magical creatures.

This is not his story. This is the dragon's story.

Nine Paper Flowers (A Dinah Drake & Rene Ramirez fanfic)

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Dinah was heading home after a long day at SCPD when something strange happened.  She had just sat down in her car and cranked the heat to combat the cold December night when she noticed a small, thin gift box on her dashboard.  It was covered in Christmas wrapping paper.  Slowly she picked it up and brought it closer.  Taking a moment to peer out the front windows and windshield, there was no sign of anyone around or anything unusual, so she proceeded to open the package.  Popping the separately wrapped lid off, she found a tiny paper flower laying amid a piece of white folded tissue paper.

Dinah's heart stopped as her mind immediately went to her ex partner and boyfriend, Vincent.  He used to make her paper flowers all the time, but he was dead... for real this time and had been for months.  The team was all a witness to it and took care of his body. So, obviously, it had to be someone else.  Upon further examination, Dinah noticed the flower wasn't a rose.  Its petals were much wider, matching that of the flower on the wrapping paper, a Christmas poinsettia.  The paper was also different, firm yet thin like origami paper. Not to mention, the crafting was a little messy.  All this appeared to back up her theory of a copycat... but who would copy something like that?  And why?

Feeling confused, Dinah kept staring at the flower, waiting for answers to jump out at her.  However, the only thing that stuck out was a piece of paper along the stem.  Poking it with her index finger, she noted that more of it was loose than she thought. Peeling it back, she was able to remove an entire sliver the size of a fortune found inside a fortune cookie, but there was no fortune on this paper or lucky numbers.  Just a cryptic message that read:

Go where the monarch sits on his throne.

The clue wasn't that hard to figure out, especially since Dinah was a highly trained member of the police force.  Monarch... kings and queens... Oliver Queen.  Between his namesake and being the mayor, he had to be the royalty in question, which makes the place where he sits on his throne his office building.  So, without another thought, she threw the car into reverse and backed out of her spot, heading off toward the building in question and hopefully some answers.

Minutes later, Dinah was marching up the steps of the mayoral office, keeping her eyes peeled for anything out of the ordinary. Everything, once again, appeared normal around her until her eyes landed on a paper flower taped to the window of the main door.  It was styled and painted to look like a poinsettia.  To anyone else, it would have looked like a random Christmas decoration, but Dinah knew better.  It didn't just look like a poinsettia, it looked like her poinsettia.  Pulling the paper flower from her pocket to compare, Dinah confirmed her suspicion.  It was the same.  She was definitely in the right place.

Pulling it from the door, Dinah noticed there was no note this time, so she tucked it in her coat pocket along with the other and went inside.  It was nearing eight o'clock, so most people were gone for the day. Still, in case anyone was around, she played it cool, calmly scanning the area for more paper flowers.  It took Dinah no time at all before she found the next one taped casually next to the elevator's call button.  Removing the flower, she pocketed it as she pressed the button with her other hand.  Inside the elevator, she spotted another taped next to the pad of buttons.  Its stem pointed distinctly at the button for the basement floor, so she pressed that button next then tore it from its resting place as she watched the elevator close and send her on her way.  

Once the doors opened up into the team's secret lair, Dinah stepped out to find another paper flower on the ground, then another and another.  There were five of them spaced a good distance apart, making a path that she had no choice but to follow.  She felt like Gretel wandering through the mysterious woods, except instead of making a trail, Dinah was cleaning one up.  At the end of the short path, she stood on the sparing mat with the flowers in hand, feeling confused.  There were no more notes, no more flowers, no anything.  What the hell was going on?

Dinah pulled the other four flowers from her coat and stared at all nine paper flowers in her hand then spread them on the floor.  Her brain raced a mile a minute trying to figure out this puzzle.  Was the number nine significant?  Were the flowers some sort of coded message?  Did the fit together to create something more meaningful? Totally baffled, she raked her eyes of the paper flowers looking for any sort of clue.

"Surprise." A voice called out to her.  

It wasn't scary or menacing, but it caught Dinah off guard, kicking her instincts into gear. Hastily, she turned and sideswiped the mystery person's legs out from under them, knocking them instantly on their backside.

"Damn, girl..." A familiar voice wheezed.

Slowly moving closer the unmoving man, Dinah replied, "Rene?"

"Yeah." He choked out as he worked to get back the breath that was clearly knocked out of him. Dinah moved to help Rene sit up. As she did so, she noticed a single real poinsettia laying beside him.  

"Wait a minute... was all this you?"  She queried, gesturing to her pile of paper flowers.

"Yes.  I was trying to surprise you."  Rene answered.  "Looks like it worked a little too well."

"Why?" Dinah probed, ignoring his joke and rising to her feet.  "Why would you do all this?  And why this way?"

"You've been different since Vincent came back and died again..." He paused a moment to stand up as well then continued, "you've been unemotional and detached.  So, I wanted to do something to cheer you up."

"And you thought using the best memory I have of my dead ex boyfriend was the way to do that?" She asked angrily.

"I thought that if I used Vincent's technique, It would get your attention and, hopefully, show you that we're not so different. That I could be just as good as him. Well, the him he was before he turned into a mutant psycho killer." Rene explained.

"So this is your way of telling me you... have a crush on me?"  Dinah questioned in disbelief.

"No... maybe... sort of."  He rambled. "I just know that the paper flowers used to be a happy a memory for you, and, when Vincent came back, he tainted that.  So, I thought maybe I could redo it and restore that memory in a more positive light."

Dinah didn't know how to respond as she felt too many things at once.  She was twitching with rage over what Rene did.  He crossed a line that he shouldn't have been anywhere near in the first place.  But to plan a gesture like that to make her feel happier and loved?  That was really sweet.  Dinah couldn't deny that she was flattered.  Unsure of what feeling was stronger at the moment, anger or appreciation, she once again let her instincts take over.

Within the next second, Dinah slapped him across the face... hard.

Taking it like a man, Rene nodded and said, "I probably deserved that."

"You definitely deserved that." She retorted forcefully. "And you also deserve this." Dinah added before grabbing him vigorously by the front of his beat up coat, right underneath where the worn weather meets the cotton hood, and yanking him forward...

crashing her lips roughly into his.

Rene was not expecting that move at all.  A kick to the groin maybe but definitely not a kiss.  Not that he was complaining.  No he didn't dare say a thing, even in his mind.  He was enjoying the moment way too much and didn't want to ruin it.  That's why he kept his arms respectfully at his sides.

Pushing him back, but not letting go, Dinah looked at him curiously, "Rene... why do you like me?  Not that I am trying to be one of those whiny, annoying, insecure females... it's just, we're constantly at each other's throats and pushing each other's buttons, that is, when were not busy totally ignoring each other.  So..." She trailed off, waiting for him to say something.

"What can I say?" Rene answered with a cheeky grin. "You take my breath away... literally."

Suddenly, I forgot every ship I ever shipped