Drabble #110: Position
Friday, 5 November 2021 10:35![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jalenstrix in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
labyfic...we had a quieter response to the drabble prompt of Drabble 109, with an entry by me (your intrepid drabble proposer
jalenstrix). For this prompt, we continue with our one-word/phrase drabble roots:
Position
What position? Who's in it? Or who's trying to get in it? Is this a literal physical position, or a job? Tell us all about it. Labyfic-style, of course.
Given our entries from recent months, let's continue with the suggested limit for this month of 500 words. Though remember that shorter pieces are most definitely welcome!
Your entry should take the following format, posted as a comment on this entry:
Word count: # of words
Drabble: $your_beautiful_drabble
I'll aim to get the next drabble challenge out on the first Friday of next month (December 3).
I'm also very happy to take suggestions if something in particular strikes your fancy -- comment on this post or PM me with your suggestions. You can see our current collected suggestions here.
Remember: Feedback is LOVE. So do reply to your fellow labyficcers' drabbles if so inclined. (Though be careful of concrit unless specifically okayed by the author beforehand.)
no subject
2021-11-30 14:16 (UTC)Drabble:
Jareth’s eyes held that unmistakable gleam of amusement.
I glared at him. “You think this is so funny, do you?”
His lips twitched up. “I merely noted that perhaps this situation encourages you to spend more time resting than you might otherwise be inclined towards.”
“Said while failing to hide a fiendish grin.”
The grin materialized, sunlight glinting off his teeth. “I can neither confirm nor deny the presence of such an expression.”
“Jareth. Really.”
“Mmm?” He sat blithely cross-legged on a wisp of nothing, bouncing gently in the breeze, clearly so amused he could barely contain it.
I suppressed a growl. “I’d smack you, but I’d have to get up to do it.”
“Ah, sweet promises, Sarah mine. Alas, for you need to stay off your feet as much as possible.”
I tried not to grind my teeth. It was an effort. “I have things to do. A very active toddler son to manage! I can’t just recline like some high-born Roman lady all day!”
“Can’t you? Surely carrying triplets warrants some accommodations. Besides, I think one of those couches the Romans favored would suit you nicely.”
“Argh, Jareth!”
“Argh what, Sarah? Your human doctors — the ones you so clearly mandated above the faerie midwives on hand here — prescribed bedrest, a decidedly non-vertical position, to manage the current complication. Not gadding about.”
I closed my eyes briefly. “How am I supposed to take care of Feanor while reclining on this Roman couch you have in mind, hmmm?”
“Breathe, love. Let your thoughts settle for one moment and it will come to you.”
“Now you’re just trying to be irritating.”
“On the contrary — I have natural talent. Trying is rather unnecessary.”
I ground my teeth before I could stop myself.
“Sarah.” A chord of unmistakable command wove through his voice. “Breathe.”
“I so hate you right now.”
“All well and good. Breathe. And then ponder your current predicament for one minute without interruption.” He shifted his position in the air to mirror mine, stretched out gloriously length-wise in the sunshine, one eyebrow raised.
Oh. “Right. So how long would it take to rig me up a magical floating couch that can keep up with our toddler son?”
“Not long at all, my dear. I can even give it wings and whatever other embellishments tickle your fancy.”
“I take it back about the hate. You’re the best ever and I love you dearly.”
“Very glad to hear it, Sarah mine.”
no subject
2022-05-24 10:16 (UTC)Orientation
2022-05-24 10:17 (UTC)Drabble:
When you had magic at your disposal as a weapon, mediaeval siege engines were likely to be viewed as a quaint human novelty beneath your interest.
So when Sarah explained the sport of pumpkin chucking, she was expecting an amused dismissal of the idea and did not anticipate the unholy glee with which Jareth had responded.
While Sarah had been attending her Underworld classes, Jareth had sequestered himself in the library for several days of dedicated research. His results determined that where a pneumatic cannon offered the advantage of greater distance, the appeal of a trebuchet had proven too great to resist.
Jareth had amused Sarah as he’d magicked his way through multiple miniature prototypes, before settling on a final design. This was how she found herself reclining against a tree by a field, observing an almost giddy Goblin King and several of his King’s Guard assembling the full scale model with all the delight of children with a Meccano set.
It wasn’t until it was complete when Sarah realised Jareth’s preferred projectile was unlikely to be pumpkins that she decided to step in for the safety of the kingdom's inhabitants.
“You plan on using this to launch goblins?” Sarah glared at Jareth, her arms folded across her chest.
“They’ll love it.” He ran a hand lovingly over a vine carved detail on his trebuchet. “It will give them a taste of flying.”
“And where will they be landing?”
Jareth blinked at Sarah in confusion. “The bog…”
“Of eternal stench,” she finished with a resigned sigh. While he was undoubtedly correct about the goblins enjoying their flight, she was a tad annoyed at the oversight in his plan. “Do you really want your test pilots tracking bog water through the Labyrinth? Or leaving its stink on your catapult when they queue up for another flight.”
If nothing else, Sarah knew that desecrating his trebuchet would give Jareth pause.
“The lake?”
Sarah took a calming breath. “Can goblins swim? And is there anything in the lake that would assume that they are edible?”
A slightly guilty look answered Sarah’s questions, but he really should have appreciated that she hadn’t shut down his fun.
“What do you suggest, my love?” Jareth asked with just a touch of condescension.
“Aim it towards that field,” she pointed behind them. “Run test shots with goblin weighted missiles and then set up a soft landing in the drop zone.”
Jareth grinned wildly. “You are a wise and benevolent queen.” He turned away to make final trajectory adjustments.
Shaking her head at his enthusiasm, Sarah refrained from telling him that her suggested safety protocols weren’t just for the goblins. She knew him well enough to know that he’d try to launch himself sooner or later and there was no guarantee his owl form would be able to assume flight prior to impact.
It didn’t seem to matter the species, boys really could be predictable at times and someone needed to ensure they survived their misadventures mostly intact.
no subject
2022-05-30 21:56 (UTC)Re: Orientation
2022-05-30 21:58 (UTC)Re: Orientation
2022-05-30 22:15 (UTC)