On the 8th day of Christmas...
...I still had 500 words to cut out of my essay. I am falling further behind on 12days, and as such I am also not reading/reviewing but I promise that I will read them all because it will be a delightful prize when I am rid of this essay. Hurray!
Anyway...
...eight nosy parkers, seven Cupid's arrows, six open books, five punishments, four floods of tears, three portents of doom, two buried secrets, and one outstretched hand.
Title: Looking for Trouble
Fandom: Fallout series
Rating: PG-12
Word Count: 334
[Click to continue]Winston paused in the cleaning of his gun and cocked his head to one side, aiming his better ear in the direction of the noise he had just heard.
“Trouble?”, Tyson, the vault-dweller who had joined them earlier that morning stopped what he was doing as well.
Winston shook his head after a few moments of listening and returned his attention to his gun.
“Nope, not coming this way anyhow”.
“What is it?”, that was Hunter - never one content to just let things lie. Winston looked around for some water and, finding none, spat onto his cloth so he could scrub a stubborn clump of dirt from the revolver.
“Don’t matter - it ain’t comin’ this way”, he responded, but Hunter was already scrambling to his feet and heading towards the sound, “Don’t be a damned idiot and sit your ass back down”, but of course Hunter wasn’t listening and Winston lay his revolver on his lap with a heavy sigh as the younger man scampered over the ridge behind them.
“He gonna be alright?”, Tyson tugged on the collar of the mutt that he had brought along with him, Dog-meat or some ridiculous name, and brought the dog to a standing position.
“He’s gonna get himself killed”, Winston replied as he dragged himself to a standing position, “There’s plenty here that’ll kill you without goin’ looking for it”
“Maybe he’s just gone to take a peek”, Tyson suggested, but he was answered a moment later by the sound of harried gunshots and a deep, wretched scream from some wasteland creature. Winston froze, head cocked to one side again, and when he heard Hunter scream he turned and stormed up the hill. Dog-meat zipped past him seconds later and Tyson was at his side a second after that,
“Told you”, Winston spat, “Go lookin’ for trouble and you’re gonna get yourself killed”. The vault-dweller just smirked and readied the battered old shotgun at his hip as they mounted the verge of the ridge.
Title: Ramping up the Espionage Game
Fandom: Recettear
Rating: PG
Word Count: 347
[Click to continue]Recette finally looked around at Tear for some guidance. What she found instead was that her fairy companion was hovering just behind her shoulder with a face that was more bewildered that Recette’s own.
“So…”, Recette looked back at the sight in front of her.
“I see she finally gave up on using a box”, Tear commented dryly as she cast a glance at the rising sun - no doubt trying to work out how much this was costing them in lost profits.
“It’s a better attempt than the first time”, Recette replied, “She’s getting better”
“That’s a generous interpretation”, Tear responded, “She’s lucky we didn’t decide to light the fireplace today”, and Recette could only shrug in response.
“So what do we do with her?”
“I’m right here you know”, Aloutte’s shrill voice squawked in a muffle tone and Recette and Tear returned their attention to the task at hand.
“Well if you hadn’t tried to sneak into our store and spy on us this wouldn’t have happened”, Tear shot back and she fluttered forward to look at the situation from the other side.
“Yes, well…it’s done now”, Aloutte wriggled, obviously in a redundant attempt to work her way free.
“What if we just leave her there?”, Tear’s eye glinted wickedly and she finally smiled - although it was rather more of a smirk than a smile. Aloutte squealed and wriggled again but Recette had to look away.
“Is something wrong?”, Tear asked, returning to Recette’s side.
“It’s just…I can’t talk to her…isn’t it even a little distracting for you?”, Recette waved her hand in Aloutte’s direction.
“Well, I suppose. What exactly possessed you to go down our chimney headfirst Aloutte?”, Tear asked.
“Is that really that important now?”, Aloutte shouted, “Just get me out!”
“Should I go and pull her out?”, Recette asked, but Tear just shook her head.
“Don’t worry - I used to know a man who routinely got himself stuck in chimneys - I kept telling him that magic was a better entrance but…well he was a bit of a stickler for his routine”.
Title: Fraternisation
Fandom: Mass Effect
Rating: 12
Word Count: 128
[Click to continue]“There’s rumours on ship Commander”, and when Shepard looks across at her blue-skinned lover, only half covered by the bed sheet, she can see the mischief in her eyes.
“Is that so?”, Shepard approached the bed and stood at the foot of it, “Such as?”. Liara curled her lips into a smile and replied,
“That our brave, intrepid commander is overly familiar with a member of her crew”.
Shepard moved forward and crawled up the bed to lie beside the other woman, “It sounds like people need to mind their own business”, Shepard whispered.
“Well…they’re not wrong are they?”, Liara lay back, propping herself up with her elbows and cocking her head to one side.
“That”, Shepard kissed Liara and smirked, “is entirely beside the point”.
Title: Playing Wise
Fandom: Mafia II
Rating: 12
Word Count: 181
[Click to continue]Vito was a smart kid - that’s what his Pa always said. That’s why he turned his back and lit up a cigarette when Henry Tomasino nodded his head towards the docks, and his men dragged the half-beaten shop keeper towards the edge. He didn’t get paid enough to value someone else over himself or his ma and sis, and for that he felt a bit bad.
It’s why he guarded the door when Galante told him he needed some privacy, something hard to come by in prison. Vito didn’t know if it was violence or pleasure that Galante needed the privacy for, and he was smart enough not to care.
It’s why he didn’t think twice when he was told to deal with the two men he had once held allegiance to, because this was just business and if you were smart you didn’t, shouldn’t make friends.
That made it all the harder to stay smart, when they bundled Joe in that car. Vito knew where they were taking him, what fate awaited him…
Vito just had to turn away.
Title: Curtains and Fears
Fandom: Malory Towers
Rating: PG-12
Word Count: 305
Note: Warning for implied parental physical/emotional abuse.
[Click to continue]Alicia has nightmares sometimes, twice or thrice a term. Not that she ever tells anyone of course, because nightmares are for children and she is not a child.
She does the same thing every time she wakes; check that she hasn’t woken anyone, creeps over to the bay window, and hides beneath the curtain. If no-one sees her then she can pretend it isn’t happening, that she isn’t crying wrapped up in heavy fabric.
The one night the curtain moves and before Alicia can hide her tears, Mary Lou is sat beside her. They sit in silence that first night before Mary Lou pats the back of Alicia’s hand and goes back to bed.
The second time Alicia wonders whether Mary Lou is being nosy, gawking at the sharp-tongued Alicia reduced to tears and whispers of half-buried memories. But Mary Lou just hands Alicia her robe - which Alicia only accepts because it’s December and it’s getting rather cold - and then she says, “I get nightmares too sometimes”. Alicia wants to say something in return. Like, of course Mary Lou has nightmares, that it’s not a shock to hear that the little mouse awakes in tears. Like the fact that Alicia isn’t like Mary Lou, flinching at shadows and echoes in the night.
But she doesn’t say anything like that, because Mary Lou never tells about Alicia’s night-time wanderings, and she doesn’t say anything when Alicia talks about the dreams that come to her sometimes. She doesn’t try to offer solutions or answers when Alicia bears her scars, physical and emotional, and she just listens when Alicia finally spits out his name. The man - her father - the darkness that haunts her mind at night.
Mary Lou just holds her hand and they sit for a while. For Alicia, that’s just about alright.
Title: The tales of hobbits
Fandom: The Hobbit/Lord of the Rings
Rating: G
Word Count: 182
[Click to continue]Hobbits are the most nosy of fellows. Bilbo knew that the day he returned to Hobbiton, his adventure with Gandalf and Thorin still fresh in his mind, that curtains twitched and Hobbits whispered and rumours spread far and wide. As wide as the Shire at least.
Wherever Bilbo went it seemed people knew his business - or at least they felt like they knew his business. As he got older he grew weary of the whispers, of the others who tried so slyly to find out what he hid behinds the walls of Bag-End. So he went out less and less, yet the rumours grew more and more.
Frodo would regale him with the latest mutterings that ran through The Shire - each more ridiculous that then last. Bilbo would shake his head and sigh and tell Frodo that it was dangerous to entertain the ramblings of such folks.
He would lying if he said that it didn’t amuse him though, and he could perhaps be forgiven for acting the part of the suspicious, crazy old fool. Everyone needed a hobby, after all.
Title: Always Rumours
Fandom: Malory Towers
Rating: PG
Word Count: 221
[Click to continue]There were always whispers. They had followed Sally since before Malory Towers, and whilst she hoped they would end at her new school, she wasn’t entirely surprised when they didn’t.
Before they had said that there was something wrong with her, that she was damaged in some way, that she was leaving to go to a school for children with problems.
The rumours at Malory Towers tended to be quieter but she heard them anyway. That her parents had sent her away, that she had hurt her baby sister, that Darrell just feels sorry for her and that’s why they’re friends.
That she wants more from Darrell than friendship.
Sally never tried to address the rumours, just like she never did before. Though she imagined they rather explained why she only had the one friend.
.
When Darrell heard the rumours they mostly just made her angry. The whispers and glances in Sally’s direction made her itch to jump in and shout them down.
But Sally always preempted her doing that and placed a hand on her arm, shook her head with a sad smile.
It was difficult to ignore, even if Darrell knew the rumours were just that - words cooked in partial truths and exaggerated lies.
Well…all except one.
The last rumour Darrell was pleasantly surprised to discover was true.
Title: Guard Duty
Fandom: Silent Hill
Rating: PG-12
Word Count: 293
[Click to continue]People were too interested in matters that didn’t concern them - far too interested in places that didn’t concern them.
That’s why Officer Cybil Bennett was parked just outside the town’s limits, to ward away tourists and thrill seekers and amateur detectives. It was rookie work, beneath her, and she couldn’t quite work out why she had been landed with it.
She even drove through Silent Hill once - just to look around and see what all the fuss was about. The streets had been empty, but she saw eyes at windows watching as she maneuvered her motorbike through narrow streets. It had creeped her out, no arguments.
The radio crackled again and not matter what station she tried there was nothing but feedback. So she pulled out her earphones and just watched the empty road. For the first time since starting this detail - she wished she’d brought a car. She squinted down the road, towards Silent Hill, and then stepped off her bike to get a closer look.
Fog had descended on the town; not gradually or misting forward, just there like a thick smoke engulfing the town. Her phone buzzed in her pocket but it took her a moment to response, to tear her attention away from the town.
“Bennett”,
“You still outside Silent Hill?”, her Lieutenant sounded pissed.
“Yeah, why?”
“Lost contact with the guys on the force there, haven’t been able to raise them for over forty eight hours now. Figured at first it was a technical problem - now I need you to go take a look”.
Of course Bennett agreed because, what else could she say, but as she got back on her bike and pulled on her helmet, the last place she wanted to go was towards Silent Hill.
Anyway...
...eight nosy parkers, seven Cupid's arrows, six open books, five punishments, four floods of tears, three portents of doom, two buried secrets, and one outstretched hand.
Title: Looking for Trouble
Fandom: Fallout series
Rating: PG-12
Word Count: 334
[Click to continue]Winston paused in the cleaning of his gun and cocked his head to one side, aiming his better ear in the direction of the noise he had just heard.
“Trouble?”, Tyson, the vault-dweller who had joined them earlier that morning stopped what he was doing as well.
Winston shook his head after a few moments of listening and returned his attention to his gun.
“Nope, not coming this way anyhow”.
“What is it?”, that was Hunter - never one content to just let things lie. Winston looked around for some water and, finding none, spat onto his cloth so he could scrub a stubborn clump of dirt from the revolver.
“Don’t matter - it ain’t comin’ this way”, he responded, but Hunter was already scrambling to his feet and heading towards the sound, “Don’t be a damned idiot and sit your ass back down”, but of course Hunter wasn’t listening and Winston lay his revolver on his lap with a heavy sigh as the younger man scampered over the ridge behind them.
“He gonna be alright?”, Tyson tugged on the collar of the mutt that he had brought along with him, Dog-meat or some ridiculous name, and brought the dog to a standing position.
“He’s gonna get himself killed”, Winston replied as he dragged himself to a standing position, “There’s plenty here that’ll kill you without goin’ looking for it”
“Maybe he’s just gone to take a peek”, Tyson suggested, but he was answered a moment later by the sound of harried gunshots and a deep, wretched scream from some wasteland creature. Winston froze, head cocked to one side again, and when he heard Hunter scream he turned and stormed up the hill. Dog-meat zipped past him seconds later and Tyson was at his side a second after that,
“Told you”, Winston spat, “Go lookin’ for trouble and you’re gonna get yourself killed”. The vault-dweller just smirked and readied the battered old shotgun at his hip as they mounted the verge of the ridge.
Title: Ramping up the Espionage Game
Fandom: Recettear
Rating: PG
Word Count: 347
[Click to continue]Recette finally looked around at Tear for some guidance. What she found instead was that her fairy companion was hovering just behind her shoulder with a face that was more bewildered that Recette’s own.
“So…”, Recette looked back at the sight in front of her.
“I see she finally gave up on using a box”, Tear commented dryly as she cast a glance at the rising sun - no doubt trying to work out how much this was costing them in lost profits.
“It’s a better attempt than the first time”, Recette replied, “She’s getting better”
“That’s a generous interpretation”, Tear responded, “She’s lucky we didn’t decide to light the fireplace today”, and Recette could only shrug in response.
“So what do we do with her?”
“I’m right here you know”, Aloutte’s shrill voice squawked in a muffle tone and Recette and Tear returned their attention to the task at hand.
“Well if you hadn’t tried to sneak into our store and spy on us this wouldn’t have happened”, Tear shot back and she fluttered forward to look at the situation from the other side.
“Yes, well…it’s done now”, Aloutte wriggled, obviously in a redundant attempt to work her way free.
“What if we just leave her there?”, Tear’s eye glinted wickedly and she finally smiled - although it was rather more of a smirk than a smile. Aloutte squealed and wriggled again but Recette had to look away.
“Is something wrong?”, Tear asked, returning to Recette’s side.
“It’s just…I can’t talk to her…isn’t it even a little distracting for you?”, Recette waved her hand in Aloutte’s direction.
“Well, I suppose. What exactly possessed you to go down our chimney headfirst Aloutte?”, Tear asked.
“Is that really that important now?”, Aloutte shouted, “Just get me out!”
“Should I go and pull her out?”, Recette asked, but Tear just shook her head.
“Don’t worry - I used to know a man who routinely got himself stuck in chimneys - I kept telling him that magic was a better entrance but…well he was a bit of a stickler for his routine”.
Title: Fraternisation
Fandom: Mass Effect
Rating: 12
Word Count: 128
[Click to continue]“There’s rumours on ship Commander”, and when Shepard looks across at her blue-skinned lover, only half covered by the bed sheet, she can see the mischief in her eyes.
“Is that so?”, Shepard approached the bed and stood at the foot of it, “Such as?”. Liara curled her lips into a smile and replied,
“That our brave, intrepid commander is overly familiar with a member of her crew”.
Shepard moved forward and crawled up the bed to lie beside the other woman, “It sounds like people need to mind their own business”, Shepard whispered.
“Well…they’re not wrong are they?”, Liara lay back, propping herself up with her elbows and cocking her head to one side.
“That”, Shepard kissed Liara and smirked, “is entirely beside the point”.
Title: Playing Wise
Fandom: Mafia II
Rating: 12
Word Count: 181
[Click to continue]Vito was a smart kid - that’s what his Pa always said. That’s why he turned his back and lit up a cigarette when Henry Tomasino nodded his head towards the docks, and his men dragged the half-beaten shop keeper towards the edge. He didn’t get paid enough to value someone else over himself or his ma and sis, and for that he felt a bit bad.
It’s why he guarded the door when Galante told him he needed some privacy, something hard to come by in prison. Vito didn’t know if it was violence or pleasure that Galante needed the privacy for, and he was smart enough not to care.
It’s why he didn’t think twice when he was told to deal with the two men he had once held allegiance to, because this was just business and if you were smart you didn’t, shouldn’t make friends.
That made it all the harder to stay smart, when they bundled Joe in that car. Vito knew where they were taking him, what fate awaited him…
Vito just had to turn away.
Title: Curtains and Fears
Fandom: Malory Towers
Rating: PG-12
Word Count: 305
Note: Warning for implied parental physical/emotional abuse.
[Click to continue]Alicia has nightmares sometimes, twice or thrice a term. Not that she ever tells anyone of course, because nightmares are for children and she is not a child.
She does the same thing every time she wakes; check that she hasn’t woken anyone, creeps over to the bay window, and hides beneath the curtain. If no-one sees her then she can pretend it isn’t happening, that she isn’t crying wrapped up in heavy fabric.
The one night the curtain moves and before Alicia can hide her tears, Mary Lou is sat beside her. They sit in silence that first night before Mary Lou pats the back of Alicia’s hand and goes back to bed.
The second time Alicia wonders whether Mary Lou is being nosy, gawking at the sharp-tongued Alicia reduced to tears and whispers of half-buried memories. But Mary Lou just hands Alicia her robe - which Alicia only accepts because it’s December and it’s getting rather cold - and then she says, “I get nightmares too sometimes”. Alicia wants to say something in return. Like, of course Mary Lou has nightmares, that it’s not a shock to hear that the little mouse awakes in tears. Like the fact that Alicia isn’t like Mary Lou, flinching at shadows and echoes in the night.
But she doesn’t say anything like that, because Mary Lou never tells about Alicia’s night-time wanderings, and she doesn’t say anything when Alicia talks about the dreams that come to her sometimes. She doesn’t try to offer solutions or answers when Alicia bears her scars, physical and emotional, and she just listens when Alicia finally spits out his name. The man - her father - the darkness that haunts her mind at night.
Mary Lou just holds her hand and they sit for a while. For Alicia, that’s just about alright.
Title: The tales of hobbits
Fandom: The Hobbit/Lord of the Rings
Rating: G
Word Count: 182
[Click to continue]Hobbits are the most nosy of fellows. Bilbo knew that the day he returned to Hobbiton, his adventure with Gandalf and Thorin still fresh in his mind, that curtains twitched and Hobbits whispered and rumours spread far and wide. As wide as the Shire at least.
Wherever Bilbo went it seemed people knew his business - or at least they felt like they knew his business. As he got older he grew weary of the whispers, of the others who tried so slyly to find out what he hid behinds the walls of Bag-End. So he went out less and less, yet the rumours grew more and more.
Frodo would regale him with the latest mutterings that ran through The Shire - each more ridiculous that then last. Bilbo would shake his head and sigh and tell Frodo that it was dangerous to entertain the ramblings of such folks.
He would lying if he said that it didn’t amuse him though, and he could perhaps be forgiven for acting the part of the suspicious, crazy old fool. Everyone needed a hobby, after all.
Title: Always Rumours
Fandom: Malory Towers
Rating: PG
Word Count: 221
[Click to continue]There were always whispers. They had followed Sally since before Malory Towers, and whilst she hoped they would end at her new school, she wasn’t entirely surprised when they didn’t.
Before they had said that there was something wrong with her, that she was damaged in some way, that she was leaving to go to a school for children with problems.
The rumours at Malory Towers tended to be quieter but she heard them anyway. That her parents had sent her away, that she had hurt her baby sister, that Darrell just feels sorry for her and that’s why they’re friends.
That she wants more from Darrell than friendship.
Sally never tried to address the rumours, just like she never did before. Though she imagined they rather explained why she only had the one friend.
.
When Darrell heard the rumours they mostly just made her angry. The whispers and glances in Sally’s direction made her itch to jump in and shout them down.
But Sally always preempted her doing that and placed a hand on her arm, shook her head with a sad smile.
It was difficult to ignore, even if Darrell knew the rumours were just that - words cooked in partial truths and exaggerated lies.
Well…all except one.
The last rumour Darrell was pleasantly surprised to discover was true.
Title: Guard Duty
Fandom: Silent Hill
Rating: PG-12
Word Count: 293
[Click to continue]People were too interested in matters that didn’t concern them - far too interested in places that didn’t concern them.
That’s why Officer Cybil Bennett was parked just outside the town’s limits, to ward away tourists and thrill seekers and amateur detectives. It was rookie work, beneath her, and she couldn’t quite work out why she had been landed with it.
She even drove through Silent Hill once - just to look around and see what all the fuss was about. The streets had been empty, but she saw eyes at windows watching as she maneuvered her motorbike through narrow streets. It had creeped her out, no arguments.
The radio crackled again and not matter what station she tried there was nothing but feedback. So she pulled out her earphones and just watched the empty road. For the first time since starting this detail - she wished she’d brought a car. She squinted down the road, towards Silent Hill, and then stepped off her bike to get a closer look.
Fog had descended on the town; not gradually or misting forward, just there like a thick smoke engulfing the town. Her phone buzzed in her pocket but it took her a moment to response, to tear her attention away from the town.
“Bennett”,
“You still outside Silent Hill?”, her Lieutenant sounded pissed.
“Yeah, why?”
“Lost contact with the guys on the force there, haven’t been able to raise them for over forty eight hours now. Figured at first it was a technical problem - now I need you to go take a look”.
Of course Bennett agreed because, what else could she say, but as she got back on her bike and pulled on her helmet, the last place she wanted to go was towards Silent Hill.