the deep moans round with many voices

And another six fills! Four are 3-sentence, one is 4-sentence, and on the sixth... eh, sometimes you just give up and let the ficlet do what it wants.

As ever, here is the link to the ficathon if you want to come play too. :-)

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( 13. ) For vialethe: Narnia, Susan, Oh, the queen of peace/ always does her best to please/ is it any use/ somebody's gotta lose, written 12/6/15 [AO3 version]

in exchange, a bride (175 words)

Tashbaan is never fully dark, and so they are discovered before the Splendour Hyaline is a bow-shot from the docks; the sea-chain (and how did they not notice its anchor-towers before?) is raised, and the threat of flaming arrows and a boarding action brings them back to shore. They could fight, could make a last stand and die free, but Susan talks Edmund down, reminds him that they cannot deprive Archenland of her only heir, and forgives him for what he perceives as a repeat of his old betrayal; reluctantly, he agrees, and a month later leaves Calormen in chains for mocking delivery to the North.

She marries Rabadash to buy her brother's life -- marries him, bears his touch and his children, smiles at his triumphs, comforts his griefs, and dies at his side -- and if she resents the price, if her submission is a lie, if hers is the hand that wields the poison to end both their lives in racking pains, no living man could say; Susan keeps her secrets unto death.

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( 14. ) For crucified: Labyrinth, Jareth/Sarah, I can give you your dreams, written 12/6/15 [AO3 version]

everything that you wanted (75 words)

Jareth wrapped his arms around Sarah and met her eyes in the mirror, claiming one last minute before she stepped through to the overworld. "I can give you your dreams, if that would make you stay another night; whatever you want -- fame, power, beauty, magic -- only say the words and it's yours forever in my kingdom and your own."

"I know," Sarah said, "and thank you, but I'd rather win my victories myself."

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( 15. ) For idhren24: Doctor Who, any, jetlag (TARDIS-lag?), written 12/6/15 [AO3 version]

a minor glitch in the itinerary (150 words)

"Someday," Martha said as she stared out the TARDIS door into pitch black night -- rather than the promised 'glorious nature reserve, the most botanically fascinating place in a hundred light-years and two millennia, and around noon the angle of the sunlight strikes rainbows from crystals in the tree bark; you'll love it' -- "just once, you are going to land us on a planet at the correct relative time of day, at which point I will applaud madly, but for now, you owe me tea, a good fry-up breakfast, and a pirated copy of the third season of that Rigelian soap opera whose name I can't pronounce, because there is no way in the world I'm going to risk breaking my neck for plants I can't even see."

Outside on the gravel path, the Doctor pouted: "Oh, but Martha, think of the stargazing we could--"

"No," Martha said, and shut the door on him.

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( 16. ) For silvr_dagger: Any fandom (or original), any characters or pairings, the princess in the tower, written 12/6/15 [AO3 version]

none of these rescues, please (425 words)

"Pardon me, but are you all right in that tower? If not, would you like any assistance in getting out?" Daystar called up toward the narrow window in the ivory spire that had mysteriously appeared on the Enchanted Forest's northern fringe.

"Thank you, but no. The room is enchanted to take care of most things, I have a mirror to call my sister if I get bored, and I think I've made more progress on my novel in the past two days than in the previous two years," a young woman called down -- a princess, judging by the length of her flax-gold hair and the silver tiara she wore, though Daystar didn't think he'd ever met one who wanted to be a novelist before. He wondered what quest she had gotten tangled up in.

"You won't stay uninterrupted forever," he said. "Magical towers always attract princes and knights, and most of them won't believe you if you say you don't want a rescue."

"I suspect they'll change their minds if I toss enough ink out the window," the princess said. "Or I might be able to convince them I'm an oracle instead of a princess -- my parents are passionate believers in astrology and I can spout gibberish for hours. Actually, that reminds me..."

She reached up and unpinned the tiara from her hair. "Behold my cunning disguise!" she said, as she tossed the tiara over her shoulder into the depths of the tower. "I'll cut my hair, too. I know I saw a pair of scissors somewhere around here."

"That might work, but you'll still be spending hours on conversation instead of writing," Daystar pointed out. "Why not borrow a guest suite in the castle instead? Oh! By which I mean the royal castle of the Enchanted Forest. I'm Prince Daystar; my apologies for not introducing myself sooner."

The princess flapped her hand dismissively. "Don't worry about it! I'm Crown Princess Meliora of Stowe-on-Moor, and I've had enough of castles to last another twenty years. I'm sure yours is very nice!" she added hastily. "But I like having a place all of my own without other people banging around upstairs, downstairs, and right next door. I can put up with a few knights in return for that."

Daystar doubted that she completely understood what she was letting herself in for; judging by his mother's stories, a few knights would rapidly become a flood. Still, it was her choice.

He left Meliora the gargoyle's mirror address and an invitation to call if she ever wanted to borrow some books.

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Note: An Enchanted Forest Chronicles fill, obviously, set sometime after "Talking To Dragons". :D

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( 17. ) For silvr_dagger: Mad Max: Fury Road, any characters or pairing, the gift of water, written 12/7/15 [AO3 version]

I lift my lamp (175 words)

Four hundred and thirty-three days later, Max slowly turns the radio dial in his newly scavenged car, listening for scraps of signal in the static: electricity is rare these days, but there are still satellites overhead and some enclaves broadcast boastful warnings that help him evade and avoid potential trouble; a voice fades into coherence -- a woman, he notes; men are more common, since people assume there's more weight behind their threats -- and he waits to hear the next set of coordinates to add to his map.

It's only when he's laboriously picking the numbers and landmarks out on the fabric that he realizes this recording is a welcome instead of a warning, that he knows the woman's voice, and that Furiosa is offering water to all those who thirst: calm and fearless, as if she isn't calling catastrophe down on her head and all those around her.

He listens through another repetition, stares toward the horizon as if he could see the Citadel beyond the desert and the hills.

Then he turns the wheel and begins to drive.

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Note: The satellites and radios are courtesy of a really neat Tumblr post on the subject, which I immediately wanted to do something with.

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( 18. ) For silvr_dagger: Any fandom (or original), any characters or pairings, salvage, written 12/7/15 [AO3 version]

shall be reborn (125 words)

Furiosa leads a caravan back to the wreckage two days later -- sooner than she should, with three settlements still in chaos and flux and her own repairs so fragile, but symbols are important and she's always run her rigs on the mantra of leave no crew behind. The Rock Riders have already begun picking over the carcasses of both cars and humans, but they scatter into the hills at the blare of engines and horns, too battered to risk another confrontation after the last two.

She brings the War Rig home; her other half is past repair itself, but its parts will let blackthumbs resurrect other vehicles, as the bodies of the war boys' brothers will find new life in the green they help to grow.

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Note: Yet another Fury Road fill.

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And that is that... for now. *evil grin*

Summary: Jareth dislikes the implications of his other shape. (125 words)

Note: This ficlet was written for madamehardy as part of a three-sentence meme, in response to the prompt: Labyrinth, Jareth. [Tumblr crosspost]

[ETA: The AO3 crosspost is now up!]

( The Inauspiciousness of the Owl )

Because I love Jareth, but he is a deeply ridiculous person. *grin*

I took a brief nap to recover after a busy visit from my parents, and woke up to a wonderful surprise: both the RemixRedux 11 and Remix Madness 2014 archives are now live! Anonymously, of course, so my own work will remain a mysterious subject of mystery for another week, but in the meantime I highly recommend you go read the three (!!!) stories that have been written using my old stories as a springboard.

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Overground (The Rat Without A Maze Remix): [ETA: by qwerty] Sarah might have left the Goblin King, but she never meant to leave the Labyrinth. (1,025 words)

This is based on Balance, a Sara/Jareth story I wrote back in 2006. "Balance" was a reworking and extension of an even earlier work -- "Running from Her Shadow" -- that was itself an extension and fictionalization of a tiny irritated/outraged meta essay I wrote to and for myself back in 2001 directly after watching Labyrinth for the first time and reading it as a story about the rejection of female sexuality. (Which is kind of a funny response in retrospect, coming from someone who is thoroughly asexual and aromantic, but eh, I am large; I contain multitudes. *wry*)

Anyway! My remixer has taken the basic premise behind "Running from her Shadow" (which is the first chapter of "Balance") and elaborated on it wonderfully, bringing in rich details about both the Labyrinth denizens Sara slowly outgrows, and the normal life and people she fails to fit in with. I glossed over most of that, so it's very cool to get to feel Sara's growing sense of dislocation instead of just being told what the problem is. Go tell my remixer they're awesome!

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Where The Wood Drake Flies (The Squirrel With The Table Remix): [ETA: by Estirose] Amanda is still learning control, but at least she has Sarek. (300 words)

This is based on Penelope, Weaving, which is a little Amanda/Sarek 15-minute ficlet I wrote as a first toe-dipping venture into Star Trek fandom after the 2009 reboot movie. Both my story and the remix are character studies of Amanda, centered on how and why she agreed to be (at least superficially) a housewife on Vulcan. The remix, though, has a more sensual way with words, and casts a tighter focus on Amanda's love for Sarek and how much their relationship means to her. Go read it!

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Turbulence (The Storm Warning Remix): [ETA: by Gehayi] Before her descendant Jadis was brought to Narnia, before she herself came to Charn, Lilith was a Carrionite, and her people had been banished by the Eternals to the Deep Darkness. (3,450 words)

This is a remix of Storm Warning, which is not actually a three-sentence ficlet despite being written for the 2011 Three Sentence Ficathon. (I am not always very good at structural restrictions, alas.) My ficlet is about Jadis discovering the secret tale of how Lilith came to Charn via tricking the Doctor into giving her passage in the TARDIS, and how the Doctor tricked Lilith in turn by stranding her on an empty world that circled a dying sun.

The remix tells Lilith's story. The author neatly and brilliantly weaves Lilith into Doctor Who canon, with its insistance on science over magic, its plethora of ancient universe-spanning powers and wars, and its cavalcade of alien refugees on Earth... while simultaneously working in all the Middle Eastern mythology that surrounds Lilith, and giving Aslan an ominous cameo. It is a tour de force and you should read it immediately!

This is a story that grew out of four things:

1. Labyrinth, to me, reads subtextually as a story of a girl's rejection of her sexuality. That's far from the only thing in the film, and even that interpretation is somewhat debateable -- I've had people debate it when I brought it up, and I'd rather not rehash the arguments, thanks -- but I've always been a little uncomfortable with both Jareth's offered bargain and Sara's rejection of it and him.

2. Jareth and the Labyrinth are not explained in the film. Many fanfiction stories interpret him as one of the Fair Folk, and consider the Labyrinth as part of the Otherworld. Some of these stories are damn good. But there's no particular evidence for that theory in the movie, and I wanted to explore another option.

3. Magic is not explained in the film, neither Jareth's power nor Sara's more intriguing ability to A) draw the Labyrinth's attention when she wishes Toby away or B) call her friends to her world through her mirror. I wanted to play around with that.

4. I like Jareth. I like Sara. I like them together. But there is no way on earth that a romantic relationship between them is going to be easy.

So.

( Balance )

A story about the prices of power, and about two stubborn, lonely people learning to live with each other.

Gacked this from askerian:

First, write down the names of 12 characters. Then read and answer the questions. You can't look at the questions (or click on the cut) until you write down the 12 characters you're going to use.

1. Ginny Weasley -- (HP)
2. Haruno Sakura -- (NARUTO)
3. Harry Potter -- (HP)
4. Uzumaki Naruto -- (NARUTO)
5. Uchiha Sasuke -- (NARUTO)
6. Tom Riddle -- (HP)
7. Wilhelmina Benedict -- (BLACK JEWELS)
8. Tendo Nabiki -- (RANMA 1/2)
9. Faith -- (BTVS)
10. Duo Maxwell -- (GUNDAM WING)
11. Jareth -- (LABYRINTH)
12. Mazikeen -- (LUCIFER)


( Questions and Answers )