Three drabbles for the drabble meme

[marycrawford]

I offered to write drabbles, and got three takers, so clearly the rest of you are determined to make my life easy. Heee.
Thanks to the versatile aka_arduinna for beta on all three!

ltlj asked for a Hercules: the Legendary Journeys drabble, with a missing scene for one of her stories. I chose Home Is Where The Heart Is, because I love it so.



Nesmut sidled into the bedchamber, her boots silent on the marble floor.

The Greeks were fast asleep, and returning the dagger to Hercules' pack was child's play.

Iolaus looked smaller, curled up next to Hercules, and not nearly dangerous enough. But then, the demigod who had treated an unresponsive Iolaus with such desperate, tender patience looked like a camel-stealing barbarian. In all her times with Kheper, she had never met anyone more surprising.

She wondered who would wake first, and what they would say to each other. Hmm. There was that narrow ledge outside, below the shutters...Nesmut smiled.

***


elynross asked for Labyrinth, with grown-up Sarah meeting Jareth.



The second time, Jareth came as a man, not an owl.

The second time, she did not call him.

"Through dangers untold, and hardships unnumbered," he quoted softly, with the dangerous, mocking smile she remembered. He was dressed in dove-grey silk and feathers, and on anyone else it would have looked absurd.

"You've fought your way here to the suburbs, beyond New York City?" Sarah said, looking him in the eye. She could, now.

"To take back what you have stolen."

"Your heart?"

Jareth's mouth twisted. "My peace of mind."

"Say your right words, then," Sarah said, and smiled.

***


halimede asked for Labyrinth too.



"The Labyrinth is growing wild, my lady," Sir Didymus said, carefully placing a Scrabble tile. "Fairies breed everywhere. Hoggle can barely keep them in check."

"Hoggle likes to complain," Sarah said, and took a new letter.

Sir Didymus cocked his head. "No one's seen Jareth for months, now."

"No?"

His ears flattened. "My lady, you do not deal fairly with me."

Sarah smiled to herself. "Sometimes, that's just the way it is."

Sir Didymus looked at her unhappily. She added, "Jareth is on furlough, sir knight. But he will return."

She laid down her tiles. They spelled "IF I WISH."

***

Comments

[halimede.livejournal.com]

Dude. Ever have that feeling like your stunned not from a blow, but just from standing next to a huge-ass gong when someone sounds it? Yeah? Well that's how I feel reading those two Labyrinth drabbles.

Voice-perfect, 'verse-perfect. Amazing. Interestingly, if I'd known how, I would have asked for something like we talked about, with strong Sarah, and that whole canon BDSM dynamic Sarah & Jareth have going on between them. And the first of the two does exactly that. And the second one, wow with the image of the neglected and rebelling labyrinth. These two really knock my socks off.

[marycrawford.livejournal.com]

Ee! Thank you! I am so pleased they work for you. I definitely had those discussions in mind while writing, particularly where we talked about Sarah and the power she has.

(And I think I'm writing a third, because astolat asked for one, too. :-)

[ltlj.livejournal.com]

Yay, I love it! Thank you! That's a great moment.

[marycrawford.livejournal.com]

Yay, I'm glad you like it! (I wanted to do something with Nesmut and Iolaus sneaking inside the pyramids, but that would need a lot more than 100 words. *g*)

[fred-god-of.livejournal.com]

Dammit, I really like the last one and I want it to be a full story. Because I've seen the idea before no one ever finshes, or it just turns ou bad, but also your an excellent writer and can actually do it justice.

[marycrawford.livejournal.com]

Oh, thank you! And I feel your frustration, but I can't make any promises for longer stories, alas.

I've never written Labyrinth before, and it feels like a high wire act, because the movie is so perfect and so dear to me. One wrong step and it's a looooong way down (into the Bog of Stench, probably. Hee.)

[astolat]

Oh, oh, oh. I didn't know how much I wanted those Labyrinth drabbles until I read them. I, um, suppose it is totally too late for me to try and sneak into the offer and ask for one more? (I have an excuse! I am about five million years behind on lj! That's an excuse, right? *cough*)

[marycrawford.livejournal.com]

*beams at you* Thank you, yay!

And I never said the challenge was closed, so it's not too late. :-D
I will try for a third.

*puts on stimulating hat*

[giglet.livejournal.com]

Wow. I love the Labyrinth ones!

[marycrawford.livejournal.com]

Thank you! *beams*

[elynross.livejournal.com]

omg I *love* my drabble! That opening line just took my breath *away*, it so perfect! Thank you so much!!!

And I like the other two, as well, but I like mine BEST.

Now, I want Fafhrd and Mouser, plz, thank you. *flees*

[marycrawford.livejournal.com]

You? Are so not the nice one. *baps*

But I like you anyway. And you like the drabble, yay! I had hopes! *beamity*

[elynross.livejournal.com]

Hey, you only got picked to do three! You could indulge me! *g*

but omg you're DONE. hmf. And still with the violence.

[elke-tanzer.livejournal.com]

This post totally made my evening. Thank you!

[marycrawford.livejournal.com]

Oh, yay! I'm so glad. :-)

(Hauling out all my old Labyrinth icons for this post. I'm pretty sure you linked me to them in the first place...)

[kseenaa.livejournal.com]

Those Labyrinth-once where really cute! And now I feel like watching the movie again... Oh well...

[marycrawford.livejournal.com]

Sounds like a good plan to me! :-)

[rowan-d.livejournal.com]

Hi--I came here by way of a rec in miriad's journal. I'd never read any Labyrinth fics before (though I've loved the film for many years). These were really beautiful, and now I find myself wanting to find more of the same.:) I know there's a lot of Labyrinth fic out there, and I shudder to think what one might run into exploring undirected; any chance you could point me toward some authors or archives?

Either way, beautiful fics, thanks for sharing.:)

[marycrawford.livejournal.com]

Wow, thank you for the kind words and for letting me know about the rec! *beams*

(And I've done a third Labyrinth drabble in the meantime, here (http://marycrawford.livejournal.com/132587.html#cutid1).)

I wish I could direct you to fantastic Labyrinth fic, but I've never made any in-depth explorations, for the same reasons you mentioned. But elke_tanzer has a neat collection of Labyrinth fic recommendations here (http://elke.slashcity.org/l-obsess.html).