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This is a story I've always wanted to write. In season 5 Dawn appears and the whole world has been adjusted as if she had always been around. While touched on a few times throughout the series, this must have caused substantial changes. How often would she have thrown off Buffy's Slaying, when did she learn about the supernatural, how did she impact group dynamics, how frequently was she kidnapped, etc.? For the most part, the show leaves this open to the imagination, but I always wanted a story to explore this.

I also think the monks would have tried to make the impact of Dawn's appearance positive whenever possible. At the end of season 4 the group was crumbling and many allies had left. Why not try and fix that? Bring them in closer together.

The other issue, and where this becomes an adult story, is what would the monks know about changing things? Would a bunch of male only monks 'inadvertently' let their lusts get the better of them? Why make a girl they all kind of hated, instead one that they had a more intimate connection with? And if that intimate connection could be spread around the group, wouldn't that make them all more tightly united?

Despite always wanting to write this story, the reason I haven't is the complexity. Trying to figure out how they make changes without it either just being A) idealistic and becoming boring quickly or B) overly complex and becoming quickly - has been a big problem. I have a plan in place, only partially confident in it, but let's see where it takes us.