This story has slowly grown and begun to sprawl through the course of multiple prompters inspiring additions. It's a story of Rogue and Bobby and Rogue and Remy, illusions and pretensions and, of course, some heartbreaking realities.
She remembers her vows. She remembers dancing.
He hadn't been there for so many of the things they had planned together. Did you see Alaska? Were you pregnant? Did you conquer your powers?
No, no, no. All pain and wounded answers, but trying to be brave. Continue reading
It should have been the best news of her life. Instead Rogue stared at the phone, in a potent mix of fear and dread, trying desperately to comprehend what she was hearing.
He pretends he hasn't been exiled from his wife for the last ten years. She pretends her husband hasn't been in a coma for the last seven.
Comment to this post saying "FIVE!" and I will pick five things I would like you to talk about. They might make sense or be totally random.
Then post that list, with your commentary, to your journal. Other people can get lists from you, and the meme merrily perpetuates itself, hopefully for the rest of eternity!
From arliddian:
Kitty Pryde
A purely fandom post is in order, apparently. I was almost surprised to see this character show up on my list. Katherine "Kitty" Pryde, also known as Shadowcat, of the X-Men fandom. She is not exactly a character I think of myself as a fan of. I don't even think of her often, though my writing belies this fact. What is it that makes her so unnoticeable in my mind's eye and yet so indispensable?
Perhaps because that is how she prefers to be.
THE TEA
Chicory Ginger Maté
2 tsp. yerba maté
1 tsp. roasted chicory root
1/2 tsp. ginger powder
1/2 tsp. stevia leaf
Add ingredients to one MiniMinit filter (see left). Steep in a 8 – 16 oz. mug of hot water, not quite boiled. Steep for 5 – 10 minutes until a rich brown.
Remove filter, slide off its bar, and discard. Enjoy!
THE FICLETS
It's prompting time. Give me a character, pairing, fandom, or storyworld and a favorite poem or quote. Ficlets will be linked here after completion.
Fandom: X-Men Movieverse
Prompt: arliddian, Revolving Days by David Malouf. Also whipsy, dancing.
He pretends he hasn’t been exiled from his wife for the last ten years. She pretends her husband hasn’t been in a coma for the last seven. They pretend they aren’t two of the loneliest people in the world.
Storyworld: Vardin
Prompt: in_the_blue, Aedh Wishes for the Cloths of Heaven by Yeats
He hesitated at that, the way she said it so simply, like it meant everything and nothing to her all at once. "Color blind?" he asked, but even as he said it, he realized he already knew the answer.
Fandom: Awake
Prompt: lithiumlaughter, the meaning of apocalypse
"You're crazy." Bird stepped away abruptly, didn't look back. How many times had they come to this point before? Talk to me, don't act like everything's the same, you're my partner.
Yeah, well, reality's sometimes hard to take.
THE TEA
Base:
Fill an oversized mug halfway full of favorite milk. Boil enough water to top it off. Stir the two together in the mug until the base is piping hot, but not near to boiling.
Brew:
Add two tea bags of Maté Factor's Dark Roast. Allow to steep for 10 – 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove tea bags before drinking.
THE CRUMPETS
Add 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon to a small bowl. Stir in 1 – 2 teaspoons of extra virgin olive oil until all powder is thoroughly dissolved and the mixture is a dark, rich brown. Spread over favorite bread and toast as usual. Cut in small triangles before serving.
THE FICLET
Story Title: The Way to a Girl's Heart
Fandom: X-Men Movieverse
Summary: St. John Allerdyce discovers the way to his girl's heart quite by accident. A kyro ficlet.
Kitty eyed the spread suspiciously.
"Goodness, Kitty. I can cook!" St. John Allerdyce glared at his girlfriend as he brought his teapot over to the table.
She sniffed at him. She did. The girl who could down their enemies with a single taste of her infamous blueberry muffins. The girl who scared off bad guys with her special, cannot-ever-cook superpowers and kindly-intentioned sense of hospitality.
He shook his head and scowled, but he did not allow himself to be distracted from his role as proper host. St. John had learned to cook from an overworked hotel maid he'd met on arrival in America who didn't mind feeding him if he kept the house clean and maintained. It was sheer survival. She taught him her entire repertoire (ten dishes and three beverages) and each only once. If he didn't get it, he didn't eat and that was that.
"Tea." He poured into the perfect little teacup on its perfect little saucer that Storm had generously allowed him to use. Kitty could eat safely enough. It was a warm, rich brew: his favorite chicory blend with a pinch of ginger, a dash of cinnamon, and a hefty dose of rooibos he'd bought fresh at a local market, all of it steeped in milk.
Finally, Kitty showed a little appreciationg. "This looks good," she admitted.
"It should," he replied and filled her plate with a selection of different crumpets: a tiny cinnamon apple sandwich, strawberries spread on rye, a ginger snap, and three of her favorite shortbreads.
"Did you make these all yourself?" she asked, still half-cautious to go with her half-salivating.
He nodded, sat, and helped himself, but his attention was fixed on her taste-testing each item with a tiny nibble. Her eyebrows swung upward. "This is really good." She took a tiny sip of the tea and those eyebrows went even higher. "Where'd you learn to make this?"
St. John chuckled at her then.
Kitty went on enjoying the repast, stealing little looks at him out of the corner of her eye while he pretended not to notice. He may have been romantic enough to make and serve her an evening meal, but he wasn't yet to the point where he wanted to spill his heart to her or commit himself more than necessary.
Nevertheless, he nearly spilled his tea when a he felt a small hand make its way into his under the table then hold on tightly. He opened his mouth to say something, stared at Kitty, who was doing an admirable job of pretending there was nothing more interesting in the world than her teacup and the Monét painting on the wall above the table, then closed his mouth again.
He glanced down at his own plate, then back at Kitty. She caught his look from the corner of her eye, smiled shyly, then focused back in on her cup.
Without saying a word, St. John Allerdyce ran his thumb over the back of her hand and squeezed back.
#
ORIGINAL STUFF
Discovered last night that the ebook sales that went nonexistent in the first quarter are back. Note to the scribbler: double up on getting the updates published. That's a 10+ hour project I haven't had 10+ hours to do.
Discovered new website yesterday with reviewing style I genuinely adore. I've wanted to review a lot of books and stories that really move me, but have taken a hands off approach because the rate at which I inhale fiction leaves very little time for commenting, but... Note to the scribbler: This is worth a try.
Installed a bunch of new plugins to add functionality and better organization to this site. Haven't had time to really do anything about configuring them yet. Note to the scribbler: You do need to get on that.
Finished editing a story in the world of Breath: "The Great Cat and His Soul." I'm holding onto it though until I can collect it. Note to the scribbler: Consider permitting more than just 'myths' in the collection, 'kay?
FANDOM STUFF
Watched last week's Awake. Bawled my eyes out. It's amazing. I know they cancelled the show, but oh, Lordy, I sense huge amounts of fan response brewing on my horizons. Note to the scribbler: Do wait until time opens up, please. Patience is a virtue.
Still am not reading Insurgent. It doesn't come close to the right mood/tone for the writing I need to do today. Note to the scribbler: Patience really is a virtue.
Am writing a Kyro ficlet for arliddian. Dislike my first go and still love the summary: "Kitty always did like complex mathematical equations—like solving for the 'saint' in John." I'm trying too hard to make it match the title: "The Improbability of Forever." Note to the scribbler from your muse: Two fics?
Safe has not beeen coming along, but that is primarily my fault. I've been rereading my own work exactly like we just mentioned we should not. Note to the scribbler: Stop it.
But... in the process I found a snippet I'd been looking for everywhere and thought was gone for good. Yay! Note to the scribbler: You need to work on your organization methods. Badly.
AWESOME TOOLS I USE TO WRITE
Wordle is a handy dandy for revealing all sorts of overused words and phrases. I haven't used it recently because I've been experimenting in just getting. words. down. http://www.wordle.net/
Written? Kitten! is my handy dandy for short fiction. Highly recommend. http://writtenkitten.net/
Mary Sue Tester is new to me, but it came in rather handy making sure I hadn't gone overboard when designing the katchen. (Considering altering spelling to kahtchen—unwieldy but easier to pronounce correctly.) http://www.springhole.net/writing/marysuetests.htm
Pinterest is proving to be a useful place to store writing prompts. I use this tool to add quotes. http://pinterest.com/lianamir/idea-box/
AND BACK TO YOU...
Anything exciting? New tools? New progress? Causes of lack of progress identified? Tips for acquiring patience?
