Hey Yeagle . . .Vanessa, Won't Be Getting A Redemption In "Sparkle Like A Superstar", She Got Punted

hey Yeagle . . . Vanessa, won't be getting a redemption in "Sparkle like a superstar", she got punted off one of the upper floors of the artrium and died on impact with the ground floor.

I know this because while Ao3 is down, the stories also on FFN.

Aww man, that sucks. Thankfully that story was one of the last "kill off Vanessa for no reason" fics out there and it looks like it will be ending soon. So with its end this trope will die as well.

(Also, Will have you been able to join Vanessaverse yet?)

Behold this glorious story based on good ol idea 1. I don't have much to say, it is just really good!

Tumblr generated prompt number 9 actually landed on a free space, so I got to pick a prompt myself! I decided to take inspiration from this idea of @halogenrobotics's, which has Vanessa quitting her job at the pizzaplex because Vanny was in control the whole time, and Vanessa thus never actually learned how to do her job, lol. I went my own way from there, inspired by the game Firewatch.

Learning to Live Again

The strain of physical exertion, of her body moving, was wonderful. The sounds of nature—birds chirping and rustling leaves and a bubbling stream—were amazing. The sun on her face and the wind in her hair—newly short, cut an inch or so above her shoulders—felt incredible. 

Vanessa paused on a flat bit of trail and just breathed. 

No more dark hallways and dusty basements for her. Before, she wouldn’t have described herself as a very nature-y person, but after so long locked up in her own head and subject to the whims of a remorseless murderer, even the most cavernous of rooms felt claustrophobic. 

This—the great outdoors, miles and miles from the nearest small town—was about as big of a change as she could get. It was everything she needed; it was a fresh start. 

Besides that, she mused as she continued onward, it was kind of a necessary one. Even after Vanny was purged from her, to say things were difficult was an understatement. She’d missed literal years of her life, and half of Vanny’s memories were either inaccessible or useless to her. The world had moved on without Vanessa Anderson, and it wasn’t willing to wait for her to catch up. 

Because Vanny had been the night guard. No, really. Vanny went through the training, not Vanessa. Vanny learned the security systems. Vanny knew the protocols. Vanny had the experience. 

The routine of getting ready for and going to work had been muscle memory, right up until she stepped inside the pizzaplex (ignoring the way just being there made her feel sick) and realized she had no idea how to do her job. 

She didn’t have a single memory of actually being a night guard. And she was pretty sure it was an intentional move on Vanny’s part—a final middle finger before she was destroyed—because she had other memories from those years. Blurry and vague ones, sure, but only the details of her job were a great big blank.

It… hadn’t actually stressed her out as much as Vanny probably intended. 

She wrote out her two-weeks’ notice that very night and sent the email as her shift ended. And now she was here, in the middle of a national forest, on her way to start her new job as a fire watch. 

And she was excited for it. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d been excited for something. 

The hike to her new part-home, part-office—a watchtower—took about two days, and by the time she arrived, she was all tuckered out.

The stairs to the lookout tower seemed to stretch on forever, and Vanessa kept the promise of a bed at the top in mind, like a dangling carrot. Mm. No. Not carrot. A dangling cherry. Those were much tastier and had nothing nada zilch to do with bunnies. 

Upon reaching the top, she leaned on the white wooden railing to catch her breath. The climb was worth it, she decided, not just for the bed, but for the sunset. The golden light was stretching over the forest below, dipping in and out of valleys and around the surrounding mountains. Red and amber haloed the sun, lighting the clouds on fire with a gentle pink and yellow glow. 

It was gorgeous. 

It was probably also perfectly visible from her bed, given the one-room cabin at the top of the tower was window all the way around. She fumbled with the key and didn’t even bother turning on the lights when she made it inside. Just collapsed onto the unmade bed and leaned against the pleasantly cool glass to finish watching the sun set. 

When her legs had regained some feeling in them, Vanessa pushed herself up with a groan and flipped on the lights to take in her new home. Small, but cozy. And it didn’t feel claustrophobic at all, thanks to the panoramic windows. She could get used to this. 

She had just begun unpacking her essentials—anything more than that could wait until tomorrow—when a staticky sound made her jump. Dropping her toiletry bag, she zeroed in on a walkie-talkie settled in its charging station on the desk. 

“Helloooo?” a woman’s voice came through the speaker, sounding bright and cheery. “You there, newbie? Aw, I know you are—I can see your lights on!” 

Huffing a chuckle, amused despite herself, Vanessa went and grabbed the walkie-talkie. “Hi,” she said. 

“Greetings—” the woman immediately responded. Her smile was audible— “from the other side of the valley! I’m your supervisor on this beautiful evening, and all the ones after it.” 

Vanessa leaned back against the desk, something warm taking root in her heart. It’d been so long she’d had a friend, and she couldn’t help but hope this woman, who didn’t sound much older than her at all, might become one. She thought she’d like that. 

“Vanessa, right?” her supervisor continued. “Welcome aboard!” 

“Best welcome I’ve ever gotten at a new job,” she said honestly. “Yeah, I’m Vanessa. Ness is fine too.” 

“We here at the Wyoming Fire Watch are all about warm welcomes.” 

Laughter—real, unforced laughter—shook Vanessa’s body, and her eyes welled up a little just from the relief of it. That she was still alive despite her battered mind and borrowed body. She let the woman hear it in silent thanks, pressed the talk button on her walkie-talkie so she would know her joke had been well-received. 

“I’ll have to think up some fire puns of my own,” Vanessa said, swiping at her eyes. 

“That’s the spirit! I’ve heard a lot, though, so I might be tough to impress.” 

“I like a challenge,” she said, interrupted halfway by a yawn. 

“That’s good,” the woman said, earnest. “This job isn’t for the faint of heart. But don’t worry about that now, Vanessa. Get your bed set up and conk out for as long as you like. We all take a day or two to recover from that hike, even us pros.” 

“The bed is calling to me,” she admitted with a grin. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow, right?” 

“Right. And I’m always only a walkie-talkie away if you need anything.” 

“I appreciate that. Thank you, uh…” 

Smile audible once more, the woman replied, “The name’s Annie. It’s nice to meet you, Ness.” 

Holding the walkie-talkie close, Vanessa closed her eyes, at peace. “It’s nice to meet you too, Annie.”  

Gonna reblog this to make it get some more attention.

Hopefully this works, but here:

https://www.fanfiction.net/u/15875015/

Along with posting my writing on tumblr, I’ve started posting it here as well. Might end up posting some stuff there later on that won’t be posted on tumblr, too.

I'd like to announce that @riahlynn101 and I are working on a new one-shot collection based on "Of Headaches and Heartaches"

If you have any ideas for one shots, please leave them here

Any idea is a good idea, so don't be shy.

I hope you are all having a wonderful day!

HAPPY BIRYTHDAY VANESSA I LOVE YOUUUUU!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Are you a fan of Vanessa and/or Vanny? Are you saddened by how little she was used in SB? Are you disappointed that there isn't a place focused on her?

Did you enjoy seeing her in the movie?

Did you just want a place where you can easily find and discuss content being made about her?

Well, be disappointed no longer for the Vanessaverse is here to quench your thirst! Inspired by the hit "Gregaverse" discord server made by @notsodailycake , this server is basically that, just with Vanessa.

After all, "There's a Gregaverse, why not a Vanessaverse?" (thanks again to cake for the slogan)

Sign up here :D

(BTW Please let me know if the link stops working)

Also DM me if you have any questions!