Word of the Day Ficlets Digest 5
All written today BWHAAHAHAHAHAHA.
Day 71 - Astrolabe,
Title: It is what it is
Series: Black Bird (manga)
Characters: Sagami, Misao
Genre: General
Summary: She's fascinated by the moon and how it seems overcast in red when her tengu fly about.
It's nearly six and she knows her father will be freaking out if she doesn't get home soon, but Misao finds herself wandering about Kyo's house, aimlessly wracking her brains for a solution to the Senka Roku problem.
"Lady Misao?" Sagami's voice reaches her through the starlit dark as she rounds a corner and peers into one of the empty meeting rooms. She smiles for him, wondering at the way his face softens about the edges when he looks at her.
"Good evening, Onii-sama."
He smiles and she is momentarily dazzled before she notices the large map spread before him and the strange circular instrument laying near his side. "What are you up to?"
"A little astronomy, my lady." He bends over his work again as she watches in silence, thinking of their current predicament and enjoying the company (honestly, sometimes she wished Kyo was more like Sagami - quiet and decent and not trying to get under her clothes every five seconds).
They don't say anything more as she watches out to the stars and he maps them without having to look. She vaguely remembers having this seat before in this house and watching the night, her head pillowed on a warm lap and warmer fingers sifting through her bangs. She was fascinated by the night then and . . . now, she's fascinated by the moon and how it seems overcast in red when her tengu fly about.
Distantly, she wonders if she will be spirited away to some place where the moon no longer looks the way she knows and the stars are placed into the sky with a different pattern. Her heart suddenly aches, and she turns to find Sagami watching her as intently as she has watched the sky.
"Please. Do not leave, my lady."
She tries to smile for him and fails though probably not for the reason he will think. "I have no intention of ever leaving, Onii-sama."
Day 72 - Parlous,
Title: Everything He Said
Series: Gundam Wing
Characters: Relena, Heero
Genre: Suspense, Tragedy
Summary: She did it because she wanted to see him, and because he was the only one worthy of taking her life.
At some point, when she is in her late twenties, she realizes she is tired and cannot pretend anymore. There is nothing left to give and so much that she wants and cannot have and it fills her with empty resentment so sharp she begins spewing glass spikes and vomiting acid to her loved ones until there are none left.
Without really knowing why or perhaps knowing too well, she begins the quick and easy approach to self-annihilation, playing devil's advocate with private funding to several incendiary groups under a variety of fake names while still spouting the "ideals" she had become so famous for. She did it because she wanted to see him, and because he was the only one worthy of taking her life.
And it takes longer than she expected for the inevitable - seven weeks, three days, and two hours; but she's not afraid nor is she sorry. She's just a despot masquerading as a peace-keeper at this point, and wholly deserving of whatever her expected visitor has promised to dish out.
"Relena." He says without ceremony, cornering her in her study in her home during the midnight hour.
"Heero." She's grinning, her blue eyes glowing with suppressed mirth. "It's been a long time."
"What the hell are you doing, Relena?" He seems angry, she thinks, but what does she know about him? Nothing at all.
She doesn't rise or hide or feel fear when she notes the gun in his hand, somehow knowing it is loaded. "I'm collecting on your promise. . . . I'm tired. I think I deserve a little honesty from you at least."
"If death is what you're after, you should have just committed suicide. Why drag the rest of the world with you? Why ruin your life's work?" He makes it sound like she has betrayed him personally. Well, tough titties. Her world no longer revolves around him or peace or anything.
She smiles again. "The world destroyed itself a long time ago, Heero. It never needed me to help it along. My "life's work" as you call it was meaningless if the idiots of Earth and the colonies fall apart into dissension and war wish the tiniest of pushes."
"You've changed."
"And you haven't. I was counting on it."
The gun is lifted and aimed, she doesn't need a mirror to see the laser sighting marking her forehead. "You allowed me to hope."
She lets the smile drop, finally, her eyes turning colder than his ever were. "Hope . . . is an illusion."
A gunshot echoes. The gunman disappears without a trace, and the next morning Relena Darlian is found dead in a dark study in her house with a blood stained teddy bear perched in her lap.
Day 73 - Tare,
Title: Lessons in Humility
Series: Bleach
Characters: Orihime, Ichigo
Genre: Introspective
Summary: He's no champion of self-analysis; but as they return home from Hueco Mundo he is struck by the realization that as long as he's known her she has become a constant source of guilt and shame.
He's no champion of self-analysis; but as they return home from Hueco Mundo he is struck by the realization that as long as he's known her she has become a constant source of guilt and shame.
This is through no fault of her own, and he would never, ever blame her; but the truth is there in her sad eyes and smiling, smiling face. He has been irresponsible with her, has ignored the signs and placed unrealistic expectations on her shoulders without her consent. And with each muttering of his name, each grin, every assurance from her lips, she kills a little piece of his pride.
Because her smiles are only genuine because she feels they need to be; because she never asks for help, always more than ready to put aside her own needs to take care of everyone else's; because her heart - abused and broken as it is - is always second to the mending of others, leaving only a bit of insubstantial gauze for her own; because every breath she takes is exhaled with a degree of humility that borders on self-mutilation, and all he has ever done is nothing despite all his promises to protect her.
He had thought protecting her body was enough; but he had been so wrong. It would never be enough because her body, her physical being - while important - was worthless if he kept contributing to the slow destruction of her heart, her very soul. He can already see the scars despite the usual cheerful lilt of her voice, the oddness of her taste and imagination, the ever-present smile.
He is no longer reassured, will probably never trust her again to tell him the truth of her feelings.
But he will make this right, will continue to protect her only more completely, until he is finally worthy of the love she gives to easily and freely. Until he can love her with the same purity.
Day 74 - Flexuous,
Title: Wonderland
Series: Soul Eater (anime)
Characters: Soul, Maka
Genre: Romance
WARNING: Contains Adult Themes and Sexual Content.
Summary: Even at twenty, she's flat as a board and completely without hips.
Even at twenty, she's as flat as a board and completely without hips like a prepubescent boy; but he still thinks her gorgeous and takes her with animalistic need at night, on the couch, in the bed, against the wall, and on the floor. His need for her seems to peak at the worst of times or when she's at her lowest.
There is something special in the way she fits in his hands, how her lips wrap so perfectly around his dick, the tightness of her pussy as pumps into her. So he knows this isn't a flight of fancy. They've been together too long and too completely for games.
So when she expresses, worriedly, that she won't be able to deal with it if he cheats on her, he tells her honestly that he doesn't want anyone else no matter how small her chest or thin her hips and even though he gets a 'Maka chop' for his efforts, Soul has never felt more triumphant than when she says 'yes'.
Day 75 - Inane,
Title: Irreplacable
Series: Eden of the East
Characters: Saki, Takagawa
Genre: Introspective
Summary: Her heart beats in an irregular rhythm as she runs then stops absolutely when she sees him lying upon a mussed bed, bandaged and bare in the moonlight, a strange woman petting his hair, sitting there in only a sheer pair of black underwear. In that moment, Saki's heart breaks harder than on the day of her sister's wedding years ago.
She doesn't realize how far she's fallen and so quickly until the hunt for Osugi brings her face to face with a killer.
And as she tries to remember after it's over and everyone is safe, she can feel the burn in her lungs, the heavy ache in her legs from the run to the hotel. Her heart beats in an irregular rhythm as she runs then stops absolutely when she sees him lying upon a mussed bed, bandaged and bare in the moonlight, a strange woman petting his hair, sitting there in only a sheer pair of black underwear. In that moment, Saki's heart breaks harder than on the day of her sister's wedding years ago.
It's not something she wants to recall or relive; but her mind takes her there anyway, to the night after her interview when Takizawa-kun kissed her and she felt - for the first time - worthwhile. It was a sweet kiss, devoid of demand or expectation, and his eyes - she remembers - were bright and smiling when they parted and he took in her shocked face.
Her lips still tingle just thinking about it; and she wonders, wearily, if she'll ever have that again. Because it's different from the crush she had entertained with her brother-in-law - she had always known that would never bear fruit, never actually wanted it to. With Takizawa-kun, there was a distinct promise . . . with every look and touch, reaching out to each other across the water, the threshold . . . the unknown.
That's why she can't give up. Even if he's no longer her Takizawa-kun, even if he's playing someone else. Because even if he sees himself as expendable, to Saki he is irreplacable.
Day 76 - Saxicolous,
Title: Halcyon Days
Series: Teen Titans (cartoon)
Characters: Melvin
Genre: Introspective
Summary: Still, though she's not rigid or stubborn, she does not adapt well nonetheless.
Melvin is eight years old when Raven brings her to the mountains and there she stays until her teens. It is not an ideal place to grow up - the only female among a community of men; but she makes due because she understands all too well why she is there, why she must stay, and why she will never truly be free of some form of surveillance.
Still, though she's not rigid or stubborn, she does not adapt well nonetheless; and there are many moments of tension and contension between herself and the monks, herself and her brothers. It does not bitter the experience overall nor sour her relationships with any of them.
And when she leaves for school in the city, she finds herself homesick for meditation and prayer and chores and gardening. She misses the fresh smell of green grass and the clean air and echoing silence. Her heart is there, she thinks, because her brothers are there; but also because she was accepted there when even her parents would not.
UGH.
- Sandy, who is so tired . . .
Day 71 - Astrolabe,
Title: It is what it is
Series: Black Bird (manga)
Characters: Sagami, Misao
Genre: General
Summary: She's fascinated by the moon and how it seems overcast in red when her tengu fly about.
It's nearly six and she knows her father will be freaking out if she doesn't get home soon, but Misao finds herself wandering about Kyo's house, aimlessly wracking her brains for a solution to the Senka Roku problem.
"Lady Misao?" Sagami's voice reaches her through the starlit dark as she rounds a corner and peers into one of the empty meeting rooms. She smiles for him, wondering at the way his face softens about the edges when he looks at her.
"Good evening, Onii-sama."
He smiles and she is momentarily dazzled before she notices the large map spread before him and the strange circular instrument laying near his side. "What are you up to?"
"A little astronomy, my lady." He bends over his work again as she watches in silence, thinking of their current predicament and enjoying the company (honestly, sometimes she wished Kyo was more like Sagami - quiet and decent and not trying to get under her clothes every five seconds).
They don't say anything more as she watches out to the stars and he maps them without having to look. She vaguely remembers having this seat before in this house and watching the night, her head pillowed on a warm lap and warmer fingers sifting through her bangs. She was fascinated by the night then and . . . now, she's fascinated by the moon and how it seems overcast in red when her tengu fly about.
Distantly, she wonders if she will be spirited away to some place where the moon no longer looks the way she knows and the stars are placed into the sky with a different pattern. Her heart suddenly aches, and she turns to find Sagami watching her as intently as she has watched the sky.
"Please. Do not leave, my lady."
She tries to smile for him and fails though probably not for the reason he will think. "I have no intention of ever leaving, Onii-sama."
Day 72 - Parlous,
Title: Everything He Said
Series: Gundam Wing
Characters: Relena, Heero
Genre: Suspense, Tragedy
Summary: She did it because she wanted to see him, and because he was the only one worthy of taking her life.
At some point, when she is in her late twenties, she realizes she is tired and cannot pretend anymore. There is nothing left to give and so much that she wants and cannot have and it fills her with empty resentment so sharp she begins spewing glass spikes and vomiting acid to her loved ones until there are none left.
Without really knowing why or perhaps knowing too well, she begins the quick and easy approach to self-annihilation, playing devil's advocate with private funding to several incendiary groups under a variety of fake names while still spouting the "ideals" she had become so famous for. She did it because she wanted to see him, and because he was the only one worthy of taking her life.
And it takes longer than she expected for the inevitable - seven weeks, three days, and two hours; but she's not afraid nor is she sorry. She's just a despot masquerading as a peace-keeper at this point, and wholly deserving of whatever her expected visitor has promised to dish out.
"Relena." He says without ceremony, cornering her in her study in her home during the midnight hour.
"Heero." She's grinning, her blue eyes glowing with suppressed mirth. "It's been a long time."
"What the hell are you doing, Relena?" He seems angry, she thinks, but what does she know about him? Nothing at all.
She doesn't rise or hide or feel fear when she notes the gun in his hand, somehow knowing it is loaded. "I'm collecting on your promise. . . . I'm tired. I think I deserve a little honesty from you at least."
"If death is what you're after, you should have just committed suicide. Why drag the rest of the world with you? Why ruin your life's work?" He makes it sound like she has betrayed him personally. Well, tough titties. Her world no longer revolves around him or peace or anything.
She smiles again. "The world destroyed itself a long time ago, Heero. It never needed me to help it along. My "life's work" as you call it was meaningless if the idiots of Earth and the colonies fall apart into dissension and war wish the tiniest of pushes."
"You've changed."
"And you haven't. I was counting on it."
The gun is lifted and aimed, she doesn't need a mirror to see the laser sighting marking her forehead. "You allowed me to hope."
She lets the smile drop, finally, her eyes turning colder than his ever were. "Hope . . . is an illusion."
A gunshot echoes. The gunman disappears without a trace, and the next morning Relena Darlian is found dead in a dark study in her house with a blood stained teddy bear perched in her lap.
Day 73 - Tare,
Title: Lessons in Humility
Series: Bleach
Characters: Orihime, Ichigo
Genre: Introspective
Summary: He's no champion of self-analysis; but as they return home from Hueco Mundo he is struck by the realization that as long as he's known her she has become a constant source of guilt and shame.
He's no champion of self-analysis; but as they return home from Hueco Mundo he is struck by the realization that as long as he's known her she has become a constant source of guilt and shame.
This is through no fault of her own, and he would never, ever blame her; but the truth is there in her sad eyes and smiling, smiling face. He has been irresponsible with her, has ignored the signs and placed unrealistic expectations on her shoulders without her consent. And with each muttering of his name, each grin, every assurance from her lips, she kills a little piece of his pride.
Because her smiles are only genuine because she feels they need to be; because she never asks for help, always more than ready to put aside her own needs to take care of everyone else's; because her heart - abused and broken as it is - is always second to the mending of others, leaving only a bit of insubstantial gauze for her own; because every breath she takes is exhaled with a degree of humility that borders on self-mutilation, and all he has ever done is nothing despite all his promises to protect her.
He had thought protecting her body was enough; but he had been so wrong. It would never be enough because her body, her physical being - while important - was worthless if he kept contributing to the slow destruction of her heart, her very soul. He can already see the scars despite the usual cheerful lilt of her voice, the oddness of her taste and imagination, the ever-present smile.
He is no longer reassured, will probably never trust her again to tell him the truth of her feelings.
But he will make this right, will continue to protect her only more completely, until he is finally worthy of the love she gives to easily and freely. Until he can love her with the same purity.
Day 74 - Flexuous,
Title: Wonderland
Series: Soul Eater (anime)
Characters: Soul, Maka
Genre: Romance
WARNING: Contains Adult Themes and Sexual Content.
Summary: Even at twenty, she's flat as a board and completely without hips.
Even at twenty, she's as flat as a board and completely without hips like a prepubescent boy; but he still thinks her gorgeous and takes her with animalistic need at night, on the couch, in the bed, against the wall, and on the floor. His need for her seems to peak at the worst of times or when she's at her lowest.
There is something special in the way she fits in his hands, how her lips wrap so perfectly around his dick, the tightness of her pussy as pumps into her. So he knows this isn't a flight of fancy. They've been together too long and too completely for games.
So when she expresses, worriedly, that she won't be able to deal with it if he cheats on her, he tells her honestly that he doesn't want anyone else no matter how small her chest or thin her hips and even though he gets a 'Maka chop' for his efforts, Soul has never felt more triumphant than when she says 'yes'.
Day 75 - Inane,
Title: Irreplacable
Series: Eden of the East
Characters: Saki, Takagawa
Genre: Introspective
Summary: Her heart beats in an irregular rhythm as she runs then stops absolutely when she sees him lying upon a mussed bed, bandaged and bare in the moonlight, a strange woman petting his hair, sitting there in only a sheer pair of black underwear. In that moment, Saki's heart breaks harder than on the day of her sister's wedding years ago.
She doesn't realize how far she's fallen and so quickly until the hunt for Osugi brings her face to face with a killer.
And as she tries to remember after it's over and everyone is safe, she can feel the burn in her lungs, the heavy ache in her legs from the run to the hotel. Her heart beats in an irregular rhythm as she runs then stops absolutely when she sees him lying upon a mussed bed, bandaged and bare in the moonlight, a strange woman petting his hair, sitting there in only a sheer pair of black underwear. In that moment, Saki's heart breaks harder than on the day of her sister's wedding years ago.
It's not something she wants to recall or relive; but her mind takes her there anyway, to the night after her interview when Takizawa-kun kissed her and she felt - for the first time - worthwhile. It was a sweet kiss, devoid of demand or expectation, and his eyes - she remembers - were bright and smiling when they parted and he took in her shocked face.
Her lips still tingle just thinking about it; and she wonders, wearily, if she'll ever have that again. Because it's different from the crush she had entertained with her brother-in-law - she had always known that would never bear fruit, never actually wanted it to. With Takizawa-kun, there was a distinct promise . . . with every look and touch, reaching out to each other across the water, the threshold . . . the unknown.
That's why she can't give up. Even if he's no longer her Takizawa-kun, even if he's playing someone else. Because even if he sees himself as expendable, to Saki he is irreplacable.
Day 76 - Saxicolous,
Title: Halcyon Days
Series: Teen Titans (cartoon)
Characters: Melvin
Genre: Introspective
Summary: Still, though she's not rigid or stubborn, she does not adapt well nonetheless.
Melvin is eight years old when Raven brings her to the mountains and there she stays until her teens. It is not an ideal place to grow up - the only female among a community of men; but she makes due because she understands all too well why she is there, why she must stay, and why she will never truly be free of some form of surveillance.
Still, though she's not rigid or stubborn, she does not adapt well nonetheless; and there are many moments of tension and contension between herself and the monks, herself and her brothers. It does not bitter the experience overall nor sour her relationships with any of them.
And when she leaves for school in the city, she finds herself homesick for meditation and prayer and chores and gardening. She misses the fresh smell of green grass and the clean air and echoing silence. Her heart is there, she thinks, because her brothers are there; but also because she was accepted there when even her parents would not.
UGH.
- Sandy, who is so tired . . .