Endymion (1)
anonymous
November 6 2010, 12:53:36 UTC
There's a lot of tales about him, the youth called Endymion. It's said that he was a stargazer, a shepherd, a poet, a dreamer, a philosopher. He has been in love with the stars, the sky, but mostly the moon for which he sleeps eternally for
( ... )
Endymion (2)
anonymous
November 6 2010, 13:13:10 UTC
There are more talks the next day. He absently rubs the bellies of cats, leaves out fish for them and politely listens to the discussion. It is only when the day is almost done that he leans before a tortoiseshell, looks eye to eye and asks quietly. where is he?The cat looks back, enigmatic, seemingly innocent. It begins to lick itself, and Japan pretends to have lost interest
( ... )
Endymion (3)
anonymous
November 6 2010, 13:30:20 UTC
The second river is ruddy, possibly from the thick riverbed clay, and yet it smells sulphurous, bubbling in places. For this, there is a bridge of bone already being corroded, with femur planks dissipating in the water below
( ... )
Endymion (4)
anonymous
November 6 2010, 13:40:16 UTC
When he at last comes to the cave, he finds sleeping at the front of the cave a woman holding a broom, poppy dust gathered in her tangled hair. He steps over her and into the cave, lit as though someone had woven starlight into the walls. It is a far cry from the horrors he has heard and witnessed from the dead, and he walks on, through the cavern until he reaches what he has been searching for all along
( ... )
Endymion (5)
anonymous
November 6 2010, 13:43:37 UTC
It is the gentle greying of dawn that Greece comes into, blinking. His once olive skin has turned paler from the exposure of the cave, something not quite so noticeable in the starlit cavern. He is slowed by muscles that are stiff from lack of use, but not atrophied. These things pass more slowly with their kind.
"I must have sleepwalked," he murmurs, looking up into the sky.
"Perhaps," Japan says. He steps beyond Yomi and back to the path. The black cat and the tortoiseshell regard them boredly as if to say is that all? They turn and walk on towards the city, and Greece and Japan follow suit.
They talk along the way. Simple exchanges of culture. A tale of a god, a story of death cast between them. When they reach the city, it almost seems too sudden as the light of day burns their eyes. Greece takes his hands in his and holds them very tight and says a tender thank you.... which is charged with feelings more intense than Japan usually allows himself
( ... )
Endymion (6)
anonymous
November 6 2010, 13:46:58 UTC
He walks through the streets until they find the black cat and the tortoiseshell in the market. They let out an indignant nyoo! as if to chasten him for not buying them for not buying them fresh fish in four-hundred or so years
( ... )
Endymion (7)
anonymous
November 6 2010, 13:52:10 UTC
Japan enjoys every moment of the trip after that. It is serene, not dull, and when he leaves, there is an odd trace of regret, a strange sense of melancholy. The next few days upon reaching his homeland are spent in a funk. He works on his garden, and wonders why he cannot shake this off, or why thoughts keeping going back to Greece
( ... )
Re: Endymion (7)
anonymous
November 6 2010, 17:56:22 UTC
Oh my god. Do you know how much I love mythology? I love it EEEEEEE this story makes everything so beautiful, and the entire setting sinks in and... everything between Japan and Greece is so very soft and sweet. *loves* Truthfully when I first saw this prompt I was expecting the regular Disney Sleeping Beauty, and though I adore that, this is just amazing. <3 I also like the tidbits of facts and other things mixed in here
Wow. Just wow. This was not what I was expecting (I was thinking more along the lines of a fairly straightforward retelling of the tale), but I love the spin you gave my prompt. The entire thing just drips with creativity and lush imagery and magic and the seeds of love.
I'd say more, but my mind is currently fuzzy with the medicine I've taken for my cold and this is the kind of fill that I'd have trouble putting together words to do its beauty justice even with a clear head. So I'll just add that this fill is just the right one to go to sleep thinking about, and also wish you the best of luck on your NaNo quest. \o/
Re: Endymion (7)
anonymous
November 7 2010, 21:41:48 UTC
oh, my god. this was wonderful. the levels and symbolism and the mythology and the research that obviously went into this are just oh, perfect. loved the twist on the classic tale, and your writing style is a delight. thank you for this <33
Bonuses:
-There's no genderbending.
-Japan and Greece first saw each other in dreams, making "we met once upon a dream" literal.
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There are more talks the next day. He absently rubs the bellies of cats, leaves out fish for them and politely listens to the discussion. It is only when the day is almost done that he leans before a tortoiseshell, looks eye to eye and asks quietly. where is he?The cat looks back, enigmatic, seemingly innocent. It begins to lick itself, and Japan pretends to have lost interest ( ... )
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"I must have sleepwalked," he murmurs, looking up into the sky.
"Perhaps," Japan says. He steps beyond Yomi and back to the path. The black cat and the tortoiseshell regard them boredly as if to say is that all? They turn and walk on towards the city, and Greece and Japan follow suit.
They talk along the way. Simple exchanges of culture. A tale of a god, a story of death cast between them. When they reach the city, it almost seems too sudden as the light of day burns their eyes. Greece takes his hands in his and holds them very tight and says a tender thank you.... which is charged with feelings more intense than Japan usually allows himself ( ... )
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Wow. Just wow. This was not what I was expecting (I was thinking more along the lines of a fairly straightforward retelling of the tale), but I love the spin you gave my prompt. The entire thing just drips with creativity and lush imagery and magic and the seeds of love.
I'd say more, but my mind is currently fuzzy with the medicine I've taken for my cold and this is the kind of fill that I'd have trouble putting together words to do its beauty justice even with a clear head. So I'll just add that this fill is just the right one to go to sleep thinking about, and also wish you the best of luck on your NaNo quest. \o/
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