MORE JOY DAY! YAAAAYYY
Hey it's MORE JOY DAY again! YAY!
sdwolfpup has a lovely post here, describing what More Joy Day is all about.
Me, I do ficlets from prompts for More Joy Day. I took some prompts last week, since I no longer am able to post during the work day (::sigh::). I hope these do bring some joy.
For
rthstewart: 4 (or 5) times Indy and Marion did not fall through a portal and the one time they did. I've got a hankering to see Indy and Marion in a cross-over, so there ya go.
1. Not long after Marion married Colin, they took a small house in Finchley. She lived there for about eighteen months, until Colin was invalided out for sinusitis, and they moved to Yorkshire to be closer to his parents. She had tea with Helen Pevensie several times, and met Susan twice, but never had any idea that there was anything at all special about the family.
2. Indy bumped into the African woman on a dig in Guatemala. He was knee-deep in the dirt, desperate to get the enormous pot out of the ground before the light failed, and someone called his name. As he looked around, he saw a dark-skinned woman in a complicated turban step down into the dig and pick something up; when he turned back, she was gone.
3. Marion's bar attracted all types, partly because it was her bar (and she knew far more people in New York than Indy believed possible after so many years overseas); and partly because Marion knew how to make cocktails that would lift your hat off your head and spin it around three times. For three weeks in 1940, a pale British fellow with one of those absurd monocles came every day at 4:30 in the afternoon. He claimed it was for Marion's hand with a shaker, but Indy knew better, once he saw who the man was drinking with.
4. Indy had a dig in northern Mexico after they got married: they ditched Ox and Mutt, and spent three months living in a tent. The second week, one of the shovel-bums went missing and was found dead, and strangely pale, half a mile away. Indy would have shut the project down, but Marion bumped into a young girl the next evening, just as the moon was rising, and came back to the tent with a strangely exultant look on her face. When Indy asked what she'd seen, she wouldn't tell him--but she also wouldn't let him leave, either. There was no more trouble after that.
5. The sparkly hole (Indy couldn't come up with a better name for it) appeared in their back yard six weeks after Mutt (finally!) moved to Berkeley. Once the archaeopteryx started eating the tomatoes, Marion knew there would be no way she could keep Indy from exploring. So she shrugged, and grinning, went to find her hat, and her gun.
+~+~+
For
myalexandria:
Five Times Peter and Edmund had a Disagreement Over Ruling Strategies (or four times they did, and one time they totally agreed)
1. Peter takes the Oathsworn into the field against a shipload of pirates raiding along the coast, and against Edmund's (strenuous) advice challenges the captain to single combat. He wins, but nearly loses an arm, because the pirate captain cheats. "That's what they do, Pete! They're pirates!"
2. Edmund floats the idea of "removing" the troublesome Lord Asper of Rose Island during their fifth year in Narnia, after throwing back yet another assault from the Telmarine mercenaries. Peter, exhausted and bleeding, doesn't deign to reply, but throws Edmund a blistering look. The next night, Edmund slips out of the tent, dressed in dark clothing and carrying his three best knives. Two Centaurs and a Wolf go with him. When he returns to the camp, six days later and bleeding sluggishly from a half-healed gash on his arm, Peter can't decide whether to embrace him or whip him for disobedience.
3. "A committee? You think you can solve this with meetings, Ed?"
"A commission. Meetings may not fix it, but I am certain that a directive from the Crown won't. There's still too much resentment and suspicion out there. We need to show that we are unbiased in this question of land distribution; that we are listening to everyone's concerns, not just the old Human families, not just our personal Narnian friends."
"Meetings, Ed. Days, weeks, months of meetings. I'll run mad, I swear it."
"You won't have to, Pete. You come in at the beginning, and then again at the end to sign the decisions. Su and I will do the work."
"That's... remarkably good of you, Ed."
"I know."
"Ass."
4. Peter wanted to challenge the Giants of Harfang to single combat. Edmund wanted to send in spies (there was one Rumblebuffin who was almost smart enough to lie convincingly), and maybe destabilize the economy (mostly by stealing all their sheep). Susan was visiting Queen Fela in Anvard and wasn't available for comment.
Lucy suggested trade talks, with plenty of faun wine.
Lucy won the argument.
5. "I want to, Ed, you know I do, but the Rhidian ambassador has been waiting for two days."
"And he can wait another two, or four, or six, if need be."
"That's hardly diplomatic! You know we're trying to get access to their cloth markets--"
"I should think so, since I'm the one who told you about them. But this is more important, Pete."
"Only every hundred years or so, Stormcoat said."
"That's what he said."
"And the stag will grant a wish."
"Don't tell me you don't have one, Peter. High King. Magnifi-- oof!"
"Fine. But if the Rhidians decide they'd rather trade with Archenland for wool and timber, it's on your head!"
+~+~+
For
fourteenlines:
Five times Harriet Vane considered giving in.
1. The day he freed her. But only for a moment.
2. After her trial but before she delivered her next novel, when she realized that the rent on her flat was due three weeks before her next royalty check.
3. Halfway through solving that infernal cryptographic puzzle.
4. Sitting on a beach in Barcelona, she wondered if Peter ever lounged in the sun, and laughed at herself for thinking of it. But just possibly...
5. When he said "I do," and his eyes were so naked, and then she realized that if she did give in, like those terrible novels talked about, she would never find herself again. But after another breath, she realized that she wasn't surrendering, but entering an equal partnership, and it wasn't dull at all, but glorious.
+~+~+
For wendelah1:
The X-Files; trope: secretly (or accidentally) married.
I would write a story in which Mulder & Scully accidentally get sent back in time (another fun trope!) and they decide that it's easier to claim they're married than try to explain why they are traveling around together. Scully is cranky. About that, and about being stuck in the past, with no antibiotics, voting franchise, or ability to legally enter a contract. (Also, she's allergic to horses.) It's really not a romantic situation, but since they're already sleeping together it doesn't change much for them.
+~+~+
For aud_woman_in:
X-Files: Five (non-mytharc related) cases Mulder and Scully couldn't solve.
1. The mysterious (and suspiciously violent) deaths of a remarkable number of Air Force staff assigned to a deep space telemetry post in Colorado Springs; they were stymied by the Pentagon from first to last, until even Mulder gave up in disgust.
2. The death of a serial killer in St. Louis who later reappeared, unharmed, as a bank robber in Milwaukee. Mulder was convinced the solution had to do with alien shapeshifters, but the agent on the case wouldn't let him or Scully anywhere near the evidence.
3. The town in California that disappeared into a sinkhole, and the strange stories told by the survivors. Even Scully couldn't get the kids to tell her a straight story.
4. There's a persistent rumor in the UK about a guy who keeps showing up at famous historic events. Langly periodically updates Mulder on what the conspiracy community comes up with, but there's never enough to justify overseas travel. Mulder goes to his grave with the nagging conviction he's missing something important.
5. Following a story about zombie fish that even Mulder thinks is too ridiculous to be believed, they find themselves scooped and forestalled by a pair of investigators claiming to be Fish and Wildlife Service agents. Scully is by turns appalled and enchanted by their effrontery, but they never learn anything more.
Note: Crossover sources include Narnia, Stargate, Middleman, Doctor Who, Wimsey, Star Trek TNG, Supernatural, Primeval, and the Buffyverse.
Thanks so much for the excellent prompts, folks! More joy for everyone!
Crossposted from DW, where there are
comments; comment here or there.
sdwolfpup has a lovely post here, describing what More Joy Day is all about.
Me, I do ficlets from prompts for More Joy Day. I took some prompts last week, since I no longer am able to post during the work day (::sigh::). I hope these do bring some joy.
For
rthstewart: 4 (or 5) times Indy and Marion did not fall through a portal and the one time they did. I've got a hankering to see Indy and Marion in a cross-over, so there ya go.
1. Not long after Marion married Colin, they took a small house in Finchley. She lived there for about eighteen months, until Colin was invalided out for sinusitis, and they moved to Yorkshire to be closer to his parents. She had tea with Helen Pevensie several times, and met Susan twice, but never had any idea that there was anything at all special about the family.
2. Indy bumped into the African woman on a dig in Guatemala. He was knee-deep in the dirt, desperate to get the enormous pot out of the ground before the light failed, and someone called his name. As he looked around, he saw a dark-skinned woman in a complicated turban step down into the dig and pick something up; when he turned back, she was gone.
3. Marion's bar attracted all types, partly because it was her bar (and she knew far more people in New York than Indy believed possible after so many years overseas); and partly because Marion knew how to make cocktails that would lift your hat off your head and spin it around three times. For three weeks in 1940, a pale British fellow with one of those absurd monocles came every day at 4:30 in the afternoon. He claimed it was for Marion's hand with a shaker, but Indy knew better, once he saw who the man was drinking with.
4. Indy had a dig in northern Mexico after they got married: they ditched Ox and Mutt, and spent three months living in a tent. The second week, one of the shovel-bums went missing and was found dead, and strangely pale, half a mile away. Indy would have shut the project down, but Marion bumped into a young girl the next evening, just as the moon was rising, and came back to the tent with a strangely exultant look on her face. When Indy asked what she'd seen, she wouldn't tell him--but she also wouldn't let him leave, either. There was no more trouble after that.
5. The sparkly hole (Indy couldn't come up with a better name for it) appeared in their back yard six weeks after Mutt (finally!) moved to Berkeley. Once the archaeopteryx started eating the tomatoes, Marion knew there would be no way she could keep Indy from exploring. So she shrugged, and grinning, went to find her hat, and her gun.
+~+~+
For
myalexandria:
Five Times Peter and Edmund had a Disagreement Over Ruling Strategies (or four times they did, and one time they totally agreed)
1. Peter takes the Oathsworn into the field against a shipload of pirates raiding along the coast, and against Edmund's (strenuous) advice challenges the captain to single combat. He wins, but nearly loses an arm, because the pirate captain cheats. "That's what they do, Pete! They're pirates!"
2. Edmund floats the idea of "removing" the troublesome Lord Asper of Rose Island during their fifth year in Narnia, after throwing back yet another assault from the Telmarine mercenaries. Peter, exhausted and bleeding, doesn't deign to reply, but throws Edmund a blistering look. The next night, Edmund slips out of the tent, dressed in dark clothing and carrying his three best knives. Two Centaurs and a Wolf go with him. When he returns to the camp, six days later and bleeding sluggishly from a half-healed gash on his arm, Peter can't decide whether to embrace him or whip him for disobedience.
3. "A committee? You think you can solve this with meetings, Ed?"
"A commission. Meetings may not fix it, but I am certain that a directive from the Crown won't. There's still too much resentment and suspicion out there. We need to show that we are unbiased in this question of land distribution; that we are listening to everyone's concerns, not just the old Human families, not just our personal Narnian friends."
"Meetings, Ed. Days, weeks, months of meetings. I'll run mad, I swear it."
"You won't have to, Pete. You come in at the beginning, and then again at the end to sign the decisions. Su and I will do the work."
"That's... remarkably good of you, Ed."
"I know."
"Ass."
4. Peter wanted to challenge the Giants of Harfang to single combat. Edmund wanted to send in spies (there was one Rumblebuffin who was almost smart enough to lie convincingly), and maybe destabilize the economy (mostly by stealing all their sheep). Susan was visiting Queen Fela in Anvard and wasn't available for comment.
Lucy suggested trade talks, with plenty of faun wine.
Lucy won the argument.
5. "I want to, Ed, you know I do, but the Rhidian ambassador has been waiting for two days."
"And he can wait another two, or four, or six, if need be."
"That's hardly diplomatic! You know we're trying to get access to their cloth markets--"
"I should think so, since I'm the one who told you about them. But this is more important, Pete."
"Only every hundred years or so, Stormcoat said."
"That's what he said."
"And the stag will grant a wish."
"Don't tell me you don't have one, Peter. High King. Magnifi-- oof!"
"Fine. But if the Rhidians decide they'd rather trade with Archenland for wool and timber, it's on your head!"
+~+~+
For
fourteenlines:
Five times Harriet Vane considered giving in.
1. The day he freed her. But only for a moment.
2. After her trial but before she delivered her next novel, when she realized that the rent on her flat was due three weeks before her next royalty check.
3. Halfway through solving that infernal cryptographic puzzle.
4. Sitting on a beach in Barcelona, she wondered if Peter ever lounged in the sun, and laughed at herself for thinking of it. But just possibly...
5. When he said "I do," and his eyes were so naked, and then she realized that if she did give in, like those terrible novels talked about, she would never find herself again. But after another breath, she realized that she wasn't surrendering, but entering an equal partnership, and it wasn't dull at all, but glorious.
+~+~+
For wendelah1:
The X-Files; trope: secretly (or accidentally) married.
I would write a story in which Mulder & Scully accidentally get sent back in time (another fun trope!) and they decide that it's easier to claim they're married than try to explain why they are traveling around together. Scully is cranky. About that, and about being stuck in the past, with no antibiotics, voting franchise, or ability to legally enter a contract. (Also, she's allergic to horses.) It's really not a romantic situation, but since they're already sleeping together it doesn't change much for them.
+~+~+
For aud_woman_in:
X-Files: Five (non-mytharc related) cases Mulder and Scully couldn't solve.
1. The mysterious (and suspiciously violent) deaths of a remarkable number of Air Force staff assigned to a deep space telemetry post in Colorado Springs; they were stymied by the Pentagon from first to last, until even Mulder gave up in disgust.
2. The death of a serial killer in St. Louis who later reappeared, unharmed, as a bank robber in Milwaukee. Mulder was convinced the solution had to do with alien shapeshifters, but the agent on the case wouldn't let him or Scully anywhere near the evidence.
3. The town in California that disappeared into a sinkhole, and the strange stories told by the survivors. Even Scully couldn't get the kids to tell her a straight story.
4. There's a persistent rumor in the UK about a guy who keeps showing up at famous historic events. Langly periodically updates Mulder on what the conspiracy community comes up with, but there's never enough to justify overseas travel. Mulder goes to his grave with the nagging conviction he's missing something important.
5. Following a story about zombie fish that even Mulder thinks is too ridiculous to be believed, they find themselves scooped and forestalled by a pair of investigators claiming to be Fish and Wildlife Service agents. Scully is by turns appalled and enchanted by their effrontery, but they never learn anything more.
Note: Crossover sources include Narnia, Stargate, Middleman, Doctor Who, Wimsey, Star Trek TNG, Supernatural, Primeval, and the Buffyverse.
Thanks so much for the excellent prompts, folks! More joy for everyone!
Crossposted from DW, where there are
comments; comment here or there.