Drabble #60: Transfer
Friday, 8 September 2017 09:20![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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labyfic...we had a quieter response to the drabble prompt of Drabble 59, with entries by the magnificent lj: maq_moon and me (your intrepid drabble proposer
jalenstrix). We were bolstered by the commenting love of the labyfic collective, represented this past month by lj:kiasama, me, lj:3iggy, and lj:maq_moon.I love you, my fabulous labyfic collective! Your drabbles and comments warm my heart.
For this prompt, we continue with our one-word drabble roots, taking inspiration from our recent lj-to-dw shift:
Transfer
What's transferring, or who? Why? How? Is it willing or not? (As with last time, so many word senses, so little time....)
As I've been thoroughly enjoying the 300 word limit, let's continue with it for this month. 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 (Oct 6).
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.)
Drabble #60 response
2017-09-10 18:15 (UTC)Drabble:
I opened the door and blinked hard.
Nope. Still there.
Jareth smiled, and it was just like I remembered: sultry, charming, and full of twisty little secrets sure to come bite you on the ass when you weren’t looking. That was Faerie for you.
After some shameless staring, I found my voice. “I’ll have you know I’m resisting the urge to slam this door.”
“Much appreciated, Sarah. At least until I’ve had a chance to present myself.”
“Then I can slam the door?”
“If you see fit.”
I crossed my arms and took a deep breath, which oh-so-conveniently carried a temptacious scent of otherworldly Faerie lord in with it. “Well then, present away. I’m listening.”
“Out here?”
I raised an eyebrow. “I’ve read appropriate lore. Once I invite you in, there are all kinds of guest-host relationships. Tell me out here, please.”
The edge of that smile was back, as if he were secretly delighted I’d caught such an easy trick. “You could think of it as a mandatory lateral transfer.”
I let that bureaucratese settle for a moment. “You’ve been forced out into my world?”
There was that devil smile again. “Forced is such a harsh word.”
“And you showed up on my doorstep because…what, we’re such good friends?”
“Oh, but Sarah, don’t you recall that your friends would be there if you called? All of them?”
“Yes…”
“Well, I’m calling you now.”
I didn’t even try to backward-sideways parse that stream of logic, the way you had to do with all things Faerie. “We’re friends?”
“I would dearly like to be.”
Let me tell you, smoldering Faerie lords in distress are pretty damned hard to resist. “Well then, you’d better come in.”
Re: Drabble #60 response
2017-10-01 23:24 (UTC)Re: Drabble #60 response
2017-10-02 13:36 (UTC)Re: Drabble #60 response
2023-05-09 10:32 (UTC)Remnants
2023-05-09 10:34 (UTC)Drabble:
“Where did you even get a car?” Jareth pointed up. “You stole it?” Sarah gasped in surprise.
“No, love. I bought it.” Rook snorted in amusement.
“What are you planning to do with the car when you’re finished?”
Jareth carefully placed the component parts of what he’d been dismantling into neat rows and reached for another car part. “We haven’t decided. The goblins want to either eat it or turn it into armour.” He gestured to a pair of goblins who were lovingly fondling car parts, which did help to explain why they were behaving if they had a vested interest in taking ownership of the project. “Or we could reassemble it and sell it Above.” He ignored the goblins' hooting in displeasure at that suggestion.
“That explains the Haynes manual and the cardboard box.” Sarah nudged the items in question.
“You never did clarify the reason for the box.” Jareth glanced at Rook, who shrugged in response.
“It’s a universal law. Whenever you put cars back together, there are always parts leftover.”
Jareth frowned in confusion. “That makes no sense. If you put it back together, there will be nothing left.”
Sarah laughed. “No, it’s a thing. There’s always bits left.”
“And they go in that box?” Both Sarah and Rook nodded. “And then what happens?”
“The box goes in the boot of the vehicle to take up an inconvenient amount of space,” Rook answered.
“Or you put it in the garage, forget to give it to whoever you sell the vehicle to and then keep the box of parts through three different house moves.”
Jareth looked between the two women, certain that this was a joke and looking even more confused at their serious expressions. “Why would anyone buy a vehicle that no longer works?”
Sarah shook her head. “Oh no, it always works.”
“That’s not possible.” Jareth was looking even more befuddled. “So you store and convey these parts for eternity?” The women nodded again. “What if the next owner requires the vehicle to be disassembled?”
“The cycle continues,” Sarah explained with an amused grin.
Jareth shook his head in denial at the scenario they had just described. “Humans make no sense.”
Rook shrugged. “I don’t make the rules, I just observe them.” She was briefly distracted as the goblin on her shoulder made another plea for her gloves. “Later, lad. If you behave you can have a puppy ride back.” She chuckled as the other goblins scattered amid the detritus perked up in excitement. “That means all of you.” She grinned at Jareth’s beseeching look.
Sarah decided to leave them to it and was not surprised to later see a large wolf stalking through the castle halls with a barn owl perched on its neck and an improbable number of goblins astride its back, with one of them chewing contentedly on a black nitrile glove and another trying to balance a curved wheel arch on its head. “Goblins,” Sarah muttered under her breath. “They’re all goblins.”