clare_dragonfly | Entries tagged with world: other

Title: The Witches' Solution
World: other
Word count: 2,978
Rating: PG
Prompt:

allbingo apocalypse theme: magical solution;

rainbowfic Antique Brass 16, You guys sound excited! Did I solve it?!; Hills of Iowa 1, We walk in the world of safe people and at night we walk into our houses and burn.
Notes: This took a weird turn near the end that I did not expect. I guess that's what I get for not planning out the actual solution ahead of time!

The first house to go up in flames belonged, not to the president or to his family, or to the vice president or to one of the cabinet members, but to a minor functionary no one believed had anything to do with the scandal.

But his house still burned, and it burned hot and fast, with no time for him or his wife or children to escape. He and his family burned; only the dog made it out.

Immediately, most people assumed arson. The fire marshal promised what the president demanded: a full and thorough investigation. Their preliminary findings did not indicate human agency in the fire, but it had burned so precisely that it was difficult for anyone to believe it had been an accident.( Read more... )

It was the night before the term was to begin before I finally began to hear voices in the hall. They all seemed to arrive at once, chattering girls' voices sliding past my door, accompanied by the tap-tap of patent shoes and the scrape of heavy luggage being dragged.

I pulled the door ajar and peeked out to see them, all dressed in the same nondescript khaki-and-white uniform as I was, though theirs were in better shape and some may have been tailored. They ran up and down the hall, helping each other with their luggage, opening and closing doors. They must have all arrived at once. This was no coincidence. I was the only one who had reached the school early, accompanied by my parents, because I could not make my own arrangements with Father Housman without their support.

Three days alone had been just enough time to get used to the creaky, old wooden building. Now I would have to get used to it filled with dozens of other girls.

In the time I'd stood in the doorway staring at them, they'd had time to take notice of me. There were stares and whispers. I couldn't be surprised. I was something new, something strange.

A girl stopped, dropping her trunk with a thump in front of the door next to mine. She stared openly at me, a wide smile--there was something hungry, predatory, about it--spreading across her face. "You're the new scholarship girl, aren't you?"

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Title: Great-Uncle Morrie's Cookbook
World: other
Word count: 2,364
Rating: G
Prompt:

origfic_bingo, kitchen disaster;

tic_tac_woe, Wishes go awry/spells rebound
Notes: As soon as I started putting my two bingo cards together, I knew I had to combine these two prompts!

It all started when Joy decided to experiment with making her soup spicier.

The problem was that her son hated spicy food. Joy, her husband, and their daughter would all happily eat food that seared their mouths, but Alexander would throw the soup bowl across the room if his food were spicy enough to please his father—and he was much too old to be throwing food. Punishment hadn’t helped.

So Joy had resorted to making her food relatively bland, enough that everyone was willing to eat it, even if they weren’t always thrilled.

But she was tired of it, and she craved the fire. So she’d looked into ways to make her son’s share of the food palatable to him while the rest of the family ate spices that melded with the rest of their dish, and that had led her to the attic.

So maybe it really all started when she found Great-Uncle Morrie’s cookbook.( Read more... )

Title: A Race
World: other (apocalyptic)
Word count: 800
Rating: G
Prompt:

origfic_bingo, swimming;

tic_tac_woe, megatsunami/tidal wave
Notes: So I guess I like apocalypses.

Alisa dived.

For the split second above the water, she could hear her little brothers cheering from their raft, but as soon as she hit the surface, all sounds faded away. The boys were still young enough to think it was all a game; Alisa was desperately envious of them, and fiercely determined to keep them that innocent for as long as possible.( Read more... )

I pull out the last weed and get to my feet, surveying the snap-pea patch with satisfaction. They’re growing well this year; come summer, everyone in town will be able to get a good share of snap peas, even if everyone can’t have them at once. My mouth waters with anticipation as I think of it. As one of the people who actively work the community garden, I’ll get first pick—we’re the first to see what sprouts in the garden, so we’re the first to eat some.

Last night’s rain has made the earth rich and soft, easy to pull out the weeds that threaten our little piece of autonomy. It’s also made me all up and down mud as I worked, but that doesn’t bother me in the slightest. I don’t think my friends and family would even recognize me if I didn’t have, at the very least, dirt caked around my fingernails and smeared on my knees.

I walk over to the compost bin and drop the weeds in, brushing the soil off my hands. When I turn around, I spy a familiar form at the edge of the garden—Jessamyn in her wheels. My cheeks warm as I lift my arm to wave to her, and she rolls forward, navigating deftly along the garden’s paved path.

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Torra was working, as usual, in the back room, focusing on inserting the gears perfectly so that her new project would work correctly, when she heard voices from the front.

"This is unusual," said a man's voice. Torra didn't know the voice, but she sat up straighter and listened harder—it seemed familiar to her somehow. "Beautiful workmanship."

"My apprentice," said Missus Frigta warmly. "A very remarkable young lady. She's only fourteen, been working for me these two years, but her skills are outstripping mine already." Torra smiled at Missus Frigta's praise, though she didn't believe it.

"A twelve-year-old child, already your apprentice?" The man's voice, though reedy and hesitant, sent shivers of warmth through Torra. Where had she heard it before? Not in the orphanage, surely, and she had no memories from before it, except--she quashed the thought. She hadn't met Kandel until they came to the orphanage, so those memories couldn't be real.

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Bennet’s parents came into her room. She looked up from her comic book and stood. They looked serious, dressed all in gray as they did for raids. She wondered why they were coming to talk to her now. She’d been old enough to stay home alone during raids for a few years now, trusted enough to give the appropriate lies to any police who might come to the door.

Though they hardly ever did.

“Bennet, we have a raid tonight,” her father began.

She gave a short nod. “I know.”

“Well, you’re eighteen,” her mother said. “We think you’re old enough now to come with us. Would you like to?”

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Dana looked sideways at Clarissa, who was driving the car. Clarissa looked back at her and grinned. Dana grinned back, blushing. Then Clarissa had to look away to pull the car into the parking lot and find a spot without hitting any of the little kids who were also here to pick out pumpkins for their jack-o-lanterns.

It was silly to still be blushing when she looked at Clarissa, but Dana figured she would get over it eventually. After all, they’d only moved in together a week before. This was the whole reason she’d suggested pumpkin-picking together: not only would a decoration they’d chosen and made together help wipe away the feeling that their new house was just two apartments stuck onto each other, but choosing it and and carving it together would make them feel like more than a team.

The two of them had been dancing around each other, on-again-off-again lovers for the better part of three years, sometimes dating other people but always coming back to each other. Two months ago, they’d decided to give serious exclusivity a fair chance. They both liked it so much that they didn’t want to go back.

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This month's story was written to

aldersprig's prompt, "ghosts and spirits in pumpkins."

Kaia watched as Revyn set the small glass down in front of Tarial. Revyn's eyes were alight with her smile; Tari was just grinning so wide it looked like her face would break. Kaia was smiling, like everyone else, but felt mingled excitement, jealousy, and dread. In a little less than a year, it would be her turn as well. Her turn for a special party and a special drink; her turn to leave.

"All right," Revyn said, "time for your very first drink as an adult, Tari. Ready?"

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“Can’t you hurry it up?” the kid asked impatiently. At least, he sounded impatient. Shante was under the car, and she couldn’t actually see him, though if she looked in the right direction, she’d probably be able to see his feet.

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This story was written to mjkj's prompt, "[name/pronoun of choice] [is/are] melting my heart." Not as romantic as it sounds.

Kerri waved her hand in the air between her and the mirror.

There was a beat, a pause. Then, and only then, did the mirror wave back.

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AJ didn't expect to be doing anything on the 14th. Classically, this was the sort of day AJ stayed home, alone, with the blinds closed. The world got downright dangerous on days like this.

And then Sam had asked them on a date. For Valentine's Day. Sam had looked so sweet and hopeful, their brown eyes huge and glistening, and AJ had found themself saying yes against their better judgment.

So now here they were--AJ and Sam. In a romantic restaurant. One that was full to the brim with those idiotic little Cupids, hovering about, laughing to each other, and taking aim with their ridiculous heart-shaped arrows.

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This story was written to

aldersprig's prompt, "X didn't expect to be doing anything on the 14th. Classically, this was the sort of day x stayed home, alone, with the blinds closed..."

Title: World On Fire
World: Wild Magic (I guess? unless someone wants to help me come up with another name for this world?)
Word count: 100 exactly!
Rating: G
Prompt: Thimbleful Thursday: set the world on fire
Notes: I like apocalypses, okay?!

Cesar crouched under the table. Next to him, Brian also huddled, his shoulder, arm, and leg pressed up against Cesar’s.

Cesar had his eyes squeezed shut and his hands over his ears. He didn’t know whether Brian was doing the same. He couldn’t see or hear him.

Even now all he saw was fire. All he heard was fire. His eyelids could not protect him from the searing brightness that surrounded them. His hands over his ears could not keep out the monstrous, hungry roar.

But somehow, the table was untouched. Somehow, their space underneath was safe.

Brian kept singing.

Title: The New
World: other
Word count: 550
Rating: PG-13
Prompt: Thimbleful Thursday: out with the old, in with the new
Notes: This is set in the same world as December's Patreon story, but about ten years previous, as this is the beginning of the apocalypse. I'm probably going to end up calling this world Wild Magic unless I come up with something Tamora Pierce didn't already use.

In his eyes in his ears in his nose—

The world was breaking apart. Right down the middle. A flash of light and a weed tree growing right through the building—

Tasting vision, hearing smell. Walking the goal. Suddenly the silence, but never the silence, never again silence.( Read more... )

Title: The Bowl
Word count: 238
Rating: G
Prompt: Steering the Craft: Chastity
Notes: I'm working (slowly) through one of Ursula K. Le Guin's writing books, Steering the Craft. Every chapter has a topic and an exercise. I like most of them, but this one is my favorite by far. The idea is to write a short passage without using any adjectives or adverbs at all. There are a lot of cross-outs on my page, and I'm not sure I got them all. It was a fun and challenging exercise, and I think I'll do it again. I was also intrigued by the story that emerged, so I figured I'd share it!

She placed the bowl on the table, moving with as little speed as she could. Her hands shook. A droplet of water spilled over the lip of the bowl, onto the table. It shook and shivered, throwing the candlelight about, then sank into the wood until it was out of sight. She held her breath and looked into the bowl, wondering whether she had to begin again, but it had been only the one drop; she could see no difference in the height of the water. It still lapped so close to the edge of the bowl that, if she laid her hand down so it was just touching the bowl, it would be touching water as well.( Read more... )

Title: The Geek
World: other (post-apocalyptic but not Wasteland)
Word count: 1,759
Rating: PG-13 for violence to animals
Prompt: 3WW: carcass, geek, slash
Notes: This is a fairly unpleasant story, but what did you expect with those prompt words?! It kind of feels like the start to a novel to me, but I'm not sure I could (or would want to) write a whole novel about Latanya.

Latanya had been waiting three years for this.

The first time the circus came through, she’d gone with her mother and her three older brothers. Her brothers had all gone into the tent to see the geek, and they’d all come out laughing and whooping. Latanya had asked—begged—to be allowed to go in to see it, but her mother had forbidden it and her brothers had forbidden it even more.

That night, Tony had woken them all up with his retching. There had been chicken feathers in his vomit. “The circus geek,” all three brothers murmured to each other (not knowing Latanya heard), and that was the last it had been spoken of.( Read more... )

Title: Let Go Too Soon
World: other
Word count: 19,685
Rating: PG-13 for sexuality
Prompt:

bigbang_mixup. Based on the mix shut up, i hate the way you love by

unavoidedcrisis/

sunspot.
Summary: Valath and Nidan are very happy at college, despite the supposed incompatibility of their courses of study--her magic and his science. But when their career paths take them in very different directions, things start to fall apart.

Valath lay in the sun with her eyes closed. She knew Nidan was there next to her, his breathing just as slow and comfortable as hers, the warmth of his skin the barest addition to the sun’s warmth. This was contentment, she thought. This was how life should be.

Then he rolled over on top of her, caught her shoulders in his hands, and kissed her. She kissed him back and laughed, opening her eyes. “We’re in public,” she whispered to him.

“I don’t care,” he whispered back, kissing her again. “It’s not like anyone doesn’t know about us.”

She shook her head. “I hope not. But there are still some things that should be kept private!”

He rolled off her but didn’t take his hands away. “I suppose you’re right.”

Unfortunately, now that her contented drowse had been interrupted, thoughts came crowding back into her head. Thoughts like the fact that despite the beautiful, sunny, warm day that had brought half the campus out here to the side of the hill, she was actually supposed to be studying. She reached above her for her satchel, fumbling with the clasp without looking at it.( Read more... )

Title: Kraken
World: other
Word count: 1,542
Rating: PG
Prompt: Continuing with the prompts from K. Orion Fray, except I think I missed the point... so I'm just posting what I wrote. It was fun to write.

Zane had just started reaching down into an inexplicable box of old doorknobs when he hear the unmistakable whirr of a ray gun behind him. He raised his head slowly, then his hands above his shoulders, and finally turned around.

There was a woman standing in the doorway of the storage room; a woman dressed to kill in a tailored black skirt suit, heels that could probably literally kill, dark hair in a severe bun, and bright red lipstick. And, of course, she was pointing a ray gun at him, the barrel glowing ominously.( Read more... )

Title: The Storage Room
World: other
Word count: 574
Rating: G
Prompt: A prompt stolen from

aldersprig, who got it from K Orion Fray: Write for ten minutes, and describe something. It can be a person, a place, or and object - but just describe it. Use as many of the senses as you can, and don't skimp!
Notes: Still not sure what he's looking for. But I'll figure it out as I go through the prompts!

The storage room was disgusting. Zane couldn’t believe he had to be in such a filthy place, let alone touch things in it.( Read more... )

Title: Heart on the Line
World: other
Word count: 21,284
Rating: PG-13
Prompt:

bigbang_mixup. Based on the mix "Where You Been Hiding Lately?" by

burning_night.
Summary: When Artona leaves the planet Halos for the backwater Caila, she expects to settle into a nice, quiet life with her fiancé, Mark. But she arrives to the startling discovery that Mark is not just an ordinary man--he's the Lord of Caila, the hereditary and elected ruler of the entire nation. And now she's being pulled into politics along with him, which would be bad enough if their political views were the same. She loves him, but this isn't the life she was looking for, and now she'll have to make a choice.
Notes: Huge thanks to

kay_brooke for the beta! Any remaining mistakes are definitely mine.

Here is the art!

Chapter 1: The Writer
Chapter 2: Bedroom Hymns
Chapter 3: Foundations
Chapter 4: This Is War
Chapter 5: Under the Water
Chapter 6: The Wolves
Chapter 7: Little Lion Man
Chapter 8: King and Lionheart

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Clare-Dragonfly

Chatoyant College

August 2018

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Clare-Dragonfly

Entries tagged with world: other

Fiction: The Witches' Solution

May Patreon story: The Scholarship Girl

Fiction: Great-Uncle Morrie's Cookbook

Fiction: A Race

March Patreon Story: A Bicycle Built for Three

February Patreon story: Etchings

January Patreon story: The Monsters

October Patreon story: Jack

September Patreon story: Secrets Above

August Patreon story

March 2016 Patreon story

February 2016 Patreon Story

Fiction: World On Fire

Fiction: The New

Fiction: The Bowl

Fiction: The Geek

Fiction: Let Go Too Soon

Fiction: Kraken

The Storage Room

Fiction: Heart on the Line