So. Drabble meme.

[mllelaurel]

Ganked from wired_lizard:

The first TEN people to comment in this post get to request that I write a drabble OR doodle of any pairing/gen friendship. In return, they have to post this in their journal, regardless of their ability level. (Feel free to modify exactly what's being requested according to your skills.)

Some notes: 1. The Lily, she cannot draw. No, really, she can't. 2. You don't have to do the repost if you don't want to, though it'll be nice if you do. 3. I'll do my best to actually finish these.

1. DONE heavenscalyx - Utena - Juri, senior year
2. DONE trialia - Vorkosiverse - Cordelia and Kareen
3. DONE wired_lizard - Kingdom Hearts - Axel/Demyx
4. DONE nevacaruso - X - Sorata/Arashi
5. jenaria - XxxHolic - What's seen through the shared eye
6. timesrunning Death Note - Ryuk and L
7.
8.
9.
10.

Fandoms my writerbrain is comfortable with
Kingdom Hearts (Just don't ask me about Birth by Sleep. My spoilers on that game are highly confused.)
Final Fantasy X
Death Note
Utena
Tokyo Babylon/X
XxxHolic (though I've only read through volume 14.)
Other suggestions welcome, though I may ask for a redo, if I don't know the fandom in question or am completely out of the loop when it comes to writing it.

Comments

[heavenscalyx.livejournal.com]

Utena: What does Juri do for her senior year?

[mllelaurel.livejournal.com]

They call it the Golden Year, but the only gold in it, that Juri can see, is the glint of jewelry in storefront windows. Everywhere she goes, she is followed by lockets. Even the younger girls take to wearing them all of a sudden, claiming to follow the mysterious trend she'd started.

But there are no chains around Juri's neck. Not anymore. She just wishes the others would notice already. It's almost as though Ohtori is trying to tighten its strings around her, keep her the way she once was.

Pathetic.

The Assistant Chairman, once a campus fixture, is very rarely seen these days. Rumors have it that his engagement to the Chairman's daughter is falling apart. If she didn't have fencing finals to prepare her team for, she might even care.

Actually no, no she wouldn't.

Sometimes, she almost has a name on the tip of her tongue. Someone to thank or blame for everything that's changed between this year and the last. But then, she gets distracted and the name is gone, or replaced with another.

It's not Ruka she's thinking of. She remembers Ruka, though she'll never be able to decide whether she wants to hug or punch him. Ruka's dead, so it's not like the thought is ever going to be anything more than hypothetical.

It's not Shiori, either. The only thought Juri spares for the girl she'd once loved is to check whether or not her stance had improved during practice. Some part of Juri thinks this year might be a second chance for them to be friends again, but most of her agrees it's too late for that.

And then, just like that, the year is over. She gets an invitation to the affiliated college, which she refuses. Her last day of classes is really her last, and she's pretty sure that, once she takes that final step across the threshold, she'll never set foot here again.

She's free, and if there are things she doesn't know or parts of herself she has not yet put back together, that's ok. She's got the will and time to figure it all out.

[heavenscalyx.livejournal.com]

Thank you! That was lovely. I particularly like the belated locket fad. :)

[mllelaurel.livejournal.com]

Welcome! It seemed both a very high school thing to have happen, and a particularly Ohtori one.

[trialia]

*squish* Comfy with Vorkosiverse?

[mllelaurel.livejournal.com]

Possibly? I've read everything that's out, at any rate. Ask, and I'll see what I can do. :)

[trialia]

Cordelia and Kareen Koudelka friendship? Or just Cordelia :) ♥

[mllelaurel.livejournal.com]

I <3 those two! I'll see what I can do.

[mllelaurel.livejournal.com]

It's a matriarch's right and privilege, according to Barrayar high society, to inspect and pass judgment on the women their sons choose to court. Cordelia thinks it's a load of bunk, of course. Her boys (and you better believe she considers Mark one of hers) deserve to make their own decisions in love as well as life, and she's not going to stand in their way any more than she would have nagged them while they were single.

Ultimately, though, both turned out to have a damned good taste in partners. Kareen and Ekaterin are women she feels privileged to know in their own right, regardless of who they may be romantically connected to.

Which is good, because dragging Kareen over to Sergyar requires a lot less strategic maneuvering than a similar attempt with Mark. Drou gets motherly dibs on most of her vacations, but not this one. This one’s reserved for sightseeing, swapping Betan novels and shocking conservative diplomats speechless.

Tonight, however, Kareen is quiet, like she wants to ask Cordelia something but isn’t sure how to start. Cordelia has the basic tact to wait instead of prompting. Like babies, questions take their own time coming out into the world.

“I was named for Crown Princess Vorbarra, right?” Kareen says. “And you knew her, when she was alive?”

Cordelia nods. She can tell Kareen is schooling herself, trying not to look too curious. “What was she like?”

The question confuses Cordelia for a split second. Surely, Drou would have told her… But no, it makes sense that she hasn’t. No bodyguard likes to talk about the charge she’d failed. And the only image historians painted of that other Kareen was that of a fragile woman, easily manipulated by those around her. She can see how someone like Kareen might be ambivalent about being named after someone like that.

But historians aren’t always right. In fact, Cordelia can personally testify that they’re full of shit, more often than not. “She was in a pretty bad situation and scared,” Cordelia says, her voice measured, “but she tried to make the best of it.” Even if the flirtation with Vordarian had backfired in her face, placing the man as a buffer between herself and Serg, who was certifiable, had not been a bad decision at the time. “During the coup, she’d been told that Gregor was dead. Everyone pretty much assumed she broke right there.

“He was alive, of course – and unusually well-behaved for a child his age. I told her as much, when we snuck into the palace.”

Kareen quirked a smile at her. This part she’d definitely heard about.

“And when I told her,” Cordelia continued. “When I told her… it was like a single, smouldering coal had lit up into a conflagration. She wasn’t broken at all, just distraught and mad as all hell. You should have seen her. She just grabbed a sword and tried to stab the hell out of Vordarian with it. Who knows, she might have succeeded, if one of Vordarian’s guards hadn’t shot her down.”

“And then you cut off Vordarian’s head and stuffed it in a sack?" Kareen looks sad and guilty, before finally settling on calm and determined. "Good."

“And don’t you forget it. Not that you would.” Cordelia mock-sniffs. “You kids today are so preoccupied with the gory bits.”

Kareen rolls her eyes at her. “Thanks,” she says, and Cordelia smiles. It's not quite laying an old friend to rest, but someone who could have been a friend, perhaps, to a rest she could certainly use.

“You’re welcome.”

---

Watch it turn out that Drou did tell her daughters all of this stuff already. Man, it's been way too long since I read Mirror Dance.

[wired-lizard.livejournal.com]

I require more Org love. Fuck it, I cannot decide. Pick a number from one to five? (A number number, not an Org character number; have no less than five pairings I'm considering requesting, so hey.)

[mllelaurel.livejournal.com]

Three?

[wired-lizard.livejournal.com]

Three gets you Axel/Demyx!

[mllelaurel.livejournal.com]

You're contagious, length-wise. This is long enough to be a short fic.

---

Axel finds the new kid digging through the fridge in the kitchen, looking hangdog.

“You lost something in there?”

“Oh!” IX straightens up so fast he bangs his head on the freezer. “Is this your stuff?”

“Yep. All of it.” …If by all of it you meant ‘the box of hot wings that’s been sitting in the back for a month, gaining sentience and starting to smell like Vexen’s lab.’

New Kid eyes him in a way that can only be described as ‘bitch, please.’

Axel frowns at him. “You do realize you’re giving attitude to your immediate superior, right?”

New Kid looks down, like he expects Axel to hit him. Like hitting’s the worst Axel could do. Axel mentally renames him ‘fresh meat.’

“If you’re my immediate superior,” he says, “that means you’re the lowest-ranked guy here, next to me.”

And doesn’t Axel know it. Months of being subjected to everyone’s orders; to being poked and prodded, as the scientists try to figure out why an ‘accidental’ Nobody like him had occurred at all. And worst, watching Saix avoid the same treatment by playing Superior’s Pet. “If I’m low-ranked,” he says, “I’m still in a position to give you orders. Got that memorized?”

IX shrugs. “I’m ok with that.”

Axel grins when he actually wants to facepalm. Saying something like that is practically the same as getting down on your knees and offering to suck dick. Not like Axel would turn him down, if he offered.

“I’m Demyx,” the new kid offers. “At least that’s what the Superior called me, and I figure, he’s the guy in charge, so I might as well go with the flow, right?”

“Nah. Xemnas is an easygoing guy, so anything goes,” Axel says with a total straight face. “I think I’ll call you ‘Bob.’”

Demyx shrugs and goes back to looking through the fridge. It soon becomes clear that he’s in there trying to kill time, rather than find food.

“What are you still doing here?” Axel asks, after five minutes.

“Actually,” Demyx looks sheepish, hand behind his head, “I’m kind of lost. All the stairs look the same, and I swear there’s a suit of armor that’s been moving around on its own, just to confuse me.”

“So why don’t you just portal over to your quarters? You’ve been assigned rooms and stuff, right?” Axel says, with a tone of ‘duh.’

Demyx shakes his head. “What’s… I mean yeah, I have a room, but what’s portalling?”

Axel can feel his eyes narrowing. “Didn’t anybody tell you? Or did you just not pay attention?”

“I paid attention!” Demyx pauses to think. “I’m pretty sure Vexen was supposed to show me. He was the one who figured out what my powers were. But he mostly did that by hurling spells at me, to see what hurt the most, and I don’t like having electric current run through my body – would you, if you were me?”

So he’s a water user. Axel files the information for later.

[mllelaurel.livejournal.com]

“So yeah,” Demyx says. “So I, uh, distracted him, instead.”

The placement of that ‘uh’ makes Axel think he didn’t just yell ‘look, tree!’ and hightail it out of there. “Please tell me you didn’t just sex up Mr. Icicle Dick.”

Demyx’s mouth quirks up, kind of awkwardly. “I didn’t? Ok, I’m lying.”

Axel cringes exaggeratedly. “You’re officially off my list until we get you sanitized.” And now this kid’s going to be running loose, not knowing stuff he really, really should, and that means Axel’s going to get stuck babysitting him on a mission and getting himself killed. “Look, portalling’s easy. Any moron could do it.”

Demyx looks at him hopefully.

Axel lowers his eyelids, almost coy. “Just look in your heart, heh. Or where your heart should be. Same place you go when you pull your powers, or your weapon.” (For Axel knows, Demyx hasn’t been taught to access his weapon yet, either, but that’s step two.)

When he looks over, Demyx’s eyes are closed in concentration. “I think I’ve got it,” he says. Behind him, darkness yawns, licking at the counters.

Axel catches Demyx’s wrist before he goes through. “Whoa, there. First, you gotta be thinking where you want to head to. Otherwise, you’ll just wind up wandering in the darkness till Xemnas realizes you’re missing and comes looking for you.” Demyx blanches and nods.

“Here,” and Axel is the one directing the portal. His ears pop and the Heartless chitter subliminally somewhere in the background. Keep chittering, Axel thinks. Neither of us has what you want. They emerge smoothly, in familiar surroundings.

“That’s not my room,” Demyx says, shoulders setting.

“Nope, it’s mine.” Axel sweeps a hand through the air. “Like it?” Well, it’s not like he knew where Demyx’s quarters were, or what they looked like.

Demyx eyes him. “Is this a come-on? I thought you said I was off your list.”

Axel shrugs, flashing a hint of teeth. “Could be.” Let’s see what the new kid does with it.

What Demyx does with it is pull back for a moment, then nod slightly and close the distance again, kissing him. It’s pretty thorough, and would be damn good, if Axel cared one way or the other about kisses.

“Are you just doing this to distract me, too?” he asks when they pull apart.

Demyx looks him in the eye. Shakes his head. “You think that’s the only reason I do this? To keep from getting hurt?”

“Hell if I know,” Axel says.

“Well, I don’t.”

“Good enough.” Axel bites at his throat and listens to him gasp, sliding down the zipper of Demyx’s coat. Maybe this guy will last more than two days in the Org. Longer than Axel would have given him credit for when they first met, at any rate. “Now,” he says. “Let’s see if we can get you warmed up.”

[nevacaruso.livejournal.com]

How about some Sorata/Arashi (X), please and thanks? :)

[mllelaurel.livejournal.com]

She wants to hate him. He’s so unlike her, in so many ways. Talking to hear the sound of his own voice. No concept of personal space. Smiles that feel real, unlike so many things she’s encountered in Tokyo.

He places no value on his life, she thinks, and remembers a little girl who turned her face away from food. That’s the part where they’re not all that different. It’s her door into hating him, if she needs to.

How can someone that bright talk about dying for someone he’s barely met, like it’s nothing at all? What did he do – pick her name out of a hat? Could it have been Karen or Yuzuriha, just as easily?

She’s glad he didn’t pick Kotori. Making a promise to protect someone like that, only to watch them die violently…

Maybe she’s starting to understand him, after all. Sacrificing yourself for somebody is easier than watching them suffer. The dead are done with the world. The problems of the living are no longer theirs.

(She knows that’s not true. If it were Subaru would be out of a job.)

She’s pretty sure she doesn’t want Sorata to die, especially not for her sake. It’s so selfish of him. She’d be the one left to deal with the consequences.

Arashi’s seen too many movies, read too many books where the guy makes his heroic stand, and the girl is left behind, perhaps with a baby to remember him by. (And how in the world is that romantic? Having to care for a kid all on your own, with no time to grieve, much less live your own life?)

She won’t be that girl.

Hell if she knows what she’s doing, when she goes off to confront Fuuma. She assumes he’ll simply kill her, with Sorata safely asleep, and that will be that.

When he offers her another way, she takes it. She can’t hate Sorata, no matter how hard she tries. Can’t resent him, even a little. It’s Arashi’s turn to make him hate her.

[nevacaruso.livejournal.com]

*wibbles* Thank you for this; it was a wonderful (and painful) look inside Arashi's head.

[slipjig.livejournal.com]

Dang. Really wanna get in on this, but like in wired_lizard's, these are fandoms I don't know enough about. Would you be willing to give a go in the Whoniverse? I can steer toward a pairing you're comfortable with.

[mllelaurel.livejournal.com]

It would have to be the first three seasons only, but I can give it a shot.

[jennaria.livejournal.com]

XxxHolic - what's seen through that shared eye?

[timesrunning.livejournal.com]

Death Note: Ryuk and L (as we never see them interact in the series)