the deep moans round with many voices

Time for more Three Sentence Ficathon fills!

Here is the old ficathon post (still open for fills and comments! just not new prompts), and here is the new ficathon post (open for everything).

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( 43. ) For betony: Chronicles of Narnia, Jadis & her sister, Toads and Diamonds, written 2/15/20

Relative Worth (125 words)

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Of the two, Jadis preferred diamonds, which were useful as focal points; any magic involving toads was hedge mummery at best, foul with the stink of viscera rather than pared and scoured by the purity of will and word and light.

Cynara, on the contrary, valued diamonds merely as money to pay her troops, but devoted several full rooms of her palace suite to terrariums where she bred toads and frogs with ever more potent poison on their skins; a bit of insurance on a blade or in a cup that only the strongest magic could turn aside.

In the end, Jadis raised her hand; the light kindled in her rings blinded Cynara for one crucial second; and she spoke faster than her sister's sword.

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( 44. ) For anonymous: Murderbot, Murderbot, writing a new story, written 2/18/20

The Mortifying Ordeal of Being Known (210 words)

Four sentences. *shrug*

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When Ping-lee suggested I try writing a story of my own, either Sanctuary Moon fanfiction or something completely new, I told her one reason I like Sanctuary Moon is that I already know everything that happens, and that completely new stories are impossible by definition.

She hummed to herself and said, "Okay, fair, people are people and you can't escape tropes, but you can still mix them up in a new way and bring your own perspective and narrative voice to the table; why not write a story that treats Sec-Units realistically instead of as vicious, faceless mooks?"

I didn't have the words to explain how terrifying and wrong that idea was -- the closest I can come is that it would be like stripping away all my clothes and weapons and skin, only metaphorically, which I couldn't tell her because talking about it would just be a shallower version of that kind of painful nakedness -- but now I can't get it out of my head, because apparently my organic components have a unparalleled capacity to latch onto terrible ideas, and I'm starting to think I may have to write something for myself even if I never share it with anyone else.

I think I might call it the Murderbot Diaries.

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( 45. ) For anonymous: Harry Potter, any, apologizing for the wrong reasons, written 2/18/20

Honest Communication (245 words)

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"Listen, you can't just say the fight was all your fault because you want me to stop being pissed off; you have to actually think about what you did and why it pissed me off, so we can talk through the problem and figure out how to keep it from happening again," Ginny said, the set of her shoulders and jaw and the hectic flush in her cheeks clear signs that she was hanging on to her temper by a rapidly fraying rope.

Harry wasn't sure what expression he made -- he didn't think his face had moved at all -- but apparently it was enough for Ginny to switch moods like Snitch and bury him in a hug; he raised his own arms, awkwardly, to loosely circle her back.

"Someday I'm going to murder your aunt and uncle," Ginny muttered into Harry's collarbone, then drew a deep breath and continued, louder and more carefully, "You can't copy Ron and Hermione, either, because their fights mostly are just one of them being a fucking wanker for no good reason -- I think they enjoy having rows, honestly -- but as much as I love Mum and Dad, I don't want us to turn into them, so we have to talk and listen and work things out, and that means nothing is ever only one person's responsibility; we're in this together, you idiot, so trust me to have your back even when I also want to skin you alive, okay?"

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( 46. ) For runespoor: Leverage/Dragaera, Eliot, Valabar's, written 2/18/20

Honor Among Chefs (165 words)

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"We're not using Valabar's as the location for the con," Eliot said without looking up from his recipe notes, currently a mess of potential ingredient substitutions that might either mimic acute arsenic poisoning or cover the flavor of the active agents; "First, you don't shit where you eat, and second, there's no way Mr. Valabar will hire me back for less than a full-year contract."

"You worked at Valabar's and never told us?" Hardison demanded, his own sorcerous project abruptly forgotten; "I'm hurt by this lack of trust, and also your refusal to get us reservations with your secret inside connections."

"That's not how it works, and also, you don't shit where you eat," Eliot repeated; "The Stuffed Pigeon's owner owes me a favor and the restaurant's popular enough for Lady Vethilor to accept an invitation to dinner; now hurry and finish that knick-knack before Parker gets back from her meeting with the Left Hand and we have to set up the fake apothecary shop."

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( 47. ) For syrena_of_the_lake: Star Wars Original Trilogy, any, Hoth was so cold that..., written 2/18/20

How To Embarrass Your Child (220 words)

This ended up halfway between the original and sequel trilogies. Oops? Also a six-sentence fill.

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"--if you spent more than an hour outside, your dick froze solid; all the flyboys came in sporting literal hard-ons, moaning and--" said the former Rebellion soldier being interviewed for the holo-doc Ben had playing when Leia walked into the room; he switched it off with guilty haste at her unamused expression.

"Do we need to have another discussion about keeping the rating controls on unless an adult -- by which I do not mean Artoo, no matter how old he may be -- is here to watch with you?" she said.

"Not unless you'll change your mind this time," Ben grumbled, but then he perked up from his slouch on the sofa and added, "But was it true, what that man said about Hoth and, um, you know?"

"The fact that you can't bring yourself to say "Was it true that men's penises froze solid?" is exactly why we have the rule about rating controls," Leia said, ruffling her son's hair and mourning that his continued growth spurts and increasingly touchy sense of not-quite-adolescent dignity made it unlikely she'd be able to do that much longer. "As for whether or not that old story is true, I couldn't say, but your father certainly tried to convince me it was on one occasion."

Ben turned bright red and hastily exited the room.

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( 48. ) For betony: Greek mythology, Odysseus/Penelope, bond(s), written 2/18/20

The Only Constant (130 words)

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"I will return to Ithaca," he tells her when the Achaeans summon him to war; "Ithaca will await you," she tells him in return, neither saying outright you or I, but rather binding the whole of the land into their promise to each other.

And so Penelope keeps Ithaca alive: the groves and orchards tended, the flocks herded, the fields plowed, sown, and harvested, the seas fished, ships afloat, cloth woven, iron forged, homes built, and all the myriad tasks that weave a people and a kingdom into one dreaming, growing self.

When Odysseus returns, Ithaca is not the same land he left, nor are he and Penelope the young couple who parted, but both are whole and alive; the bonds have held, and from there all futures are possible.

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And now, I think, a nap. :)

Hey people!

FYI, opalsong recorded podfics of High Wire and This Is Not an After-Action Review, my two tiny MCU/Leverage crossover fics. They are now available over at amplificathon, as part of the Awesome Ladies Podfic Anthology 2015.

High Wire & This Is Not an After-Action Review: Two short ficlets in which Natasha Romanova (of the MCU) and Parker (of Leverage) meet. The world may not be ready. (Tony Stark certainly isn't.) [Also available here on AO3]

May I have your attention please! The wonderful and talented jedibuttercup has written me a Leverage/Pacific Rim crossover! :-D

three to make ready: "Let's go steal a Jaeger," Parker said, smiling a wolf's smile. (1,600 words)

Go read it! It's awesome!