So many drabbles are focused on writing about your muse and another muse doing something. But I’m terrible at writing other people’s muses. So, these drabble prompts are designed for inner monologues and the like.
Send me a number and I will write a drabble about my muse…
…doing something they know they shouldn’t
…being forced to watch someone they care about die
…realizing they have feelings for someone
…coming down with the flu
…getting dressed up for a night out with someone special
…writing a letter to someone they’ll never see again
…going somewhere they’ve never been
…receiving something unexpected in the mail
…doing something they normally wouldn’t do
…being caught in an unexpected rainstorm
…trying to catch someone who’s stolen something from them
…waking up from a very bad nightmare
…shopping for a present for someone
…visiting one of their favorite places
…experiencing a type of weather that they hate
…being told that someone they hated is dead
…getting crank phone calls in the middle of the night
…spending money any way they want to
…writing about something or someone who really makes them mad
Title: Memories and Lessons
Fandom: Legend of Zelda (General/AU)
Pairing: Zelgan
Words: 500
Summary: Romance to the tune of a piano.
Notes: So I just found out that it's Zelgan Week. I'm a little late but I wanted to contribute something, so here this is! Memories and Lessons was the prompt for Saturday, and I immediately thought about this lovely photoset when I read it- this turned out a lot different than my first vision, but I like it nonetheless. Many thanks to zavery-writes for help with Gan's characterization!
Her fingers fly across the keys of the piano playfully, an elegant melody sounding in the air around her as the Princess Zelda Hyrule hums along to the tune. “You see, you just have to keep on tempo,” she explains with her head inclined towards her companion, eyes closed and a smile gracing her lips as she loses herself in the sound. “You try now.”
“I think I prefer watching you.” The King of the Gerudo speaks from beside her, attention equally divided between her joyful expression and the way her delicate hands danced across the instrument, nimble fingers almost caressing each key as she played. “Your music is far sweeter than any I could produce, my Princess.”
A smile tugs at the corner of her lips, eyes opening to glance at him with a gaze full of mirth. “Now surely that's not true. One day I'll get you to play a tune with me yet, King Dragmire.” The formality of their titles contrasts sharply with the easy way Ganondorf shifts to accommodate Zelda leaning against him while she plays, how she gazes up at him adoringly, expression soft and completely at ease in his arms. They sit in comfortable silence together for some time, the only sound in the room that of Zelda's melody emanating softly from the piano.
It's a simple tune, easy enough to memorize, and after some time Ganondorf finds himself humming along as she plays, voice rumbling deep in his chest as he lets his eyes fall closed. Her voice joins him again as she starts the song over again, vocalizing high and clear notes that mingle beautifully with his low hums, and as he opens his eyes again to continue watching his gaze is drawn to her expression.
He can't help it- his voice catches in his throat as he watches her. Peace radiates from his Princess, a radiant smile on her lips and sheer joy clearly evident even with her eyes shut gently in concentration, singing in perfect harmony with the melody she plays. The King finds it mesmerizing, and he finds himself reaching out to stroke Zelda's hair.
She leans into his embrace almost before he touches her, nuzzling into his gentle caress, and he admires the golden sheen of her locks between his fingers. She's so bright– the gold of her hair, the shimmering sapphire of her eyes, the pale porcelain of her skin... Truly she could pass for a descendant of the Golden Goddesses themselves.
He's caressing her cheek without thinking, skin soft and smooth under his calloused hand, and tenderly he takes her chin between his fingers, holding her gently as if afraid he might break her. Zelda sings out a few final notes as she turns to face him, smile meant only for him as she closes her eyes and her fingers slow on the keyboard, and as the last note of her song resonates in the air Ganondorf leans in to gently press his lips against hers.
Bad guy falls in poop, classic element of physical comedy.
Now comes the part where we throw our heads back and laugh. Ready?
Whew! Okay, kids, let's settle down and review the important information.
___ is a big doofus.
Poor ___ was really shot, but can't die because let's face it, he's the hero.
"___'s secrets". There's the shortest book ever written.
Let's take care of him.
Well, now's a good time to forget it.
And so, onward and upward the tired trekkers trudged on feverished footsies over perilous paths. When they beheld the mighty Ape Mountain, the reacted with awe.
Awwww...
I said, "Awe." A-W-E.
I wish you would do something about all these monkeys. I feel like Jane Goodall.
I knew Jane Goodall and you are no Jane Goodall.
Don't worry. Nobody dies in this story. They just get really big boo-boos.
Twenty five years later, the bouncing baby boy has grown into a swinging jungle king.
Hey, I'm pretty good at that.
Did you just say "love"?
I love him! I'm out of here.
You can't love him!
Be careful out there, honey.
What would you have me do? There's obviously no stopping her.
God, that woman's a pain in the ass.
Later, in the Men's Department, after discovering his long lost brothers, the jungle king was pleased to find he looked pretty good in Armani.
So I'll tell my dad first thing in the morning.
First thing, I suggest you buy jungle man some clothes.
Nice butt flap
Something funny about this fella.
And you can watch TV, and eat, and relax, and I'll be back as soon as I can. Just stay here.
No four walls built by modern man can contain him
Now I can see why they made him king of the jungle.
Could you see if he's dangerous?
Yes, bartender, I'll have two black Russians and a white ape.
I'm chafing, ___. I'm chafing big-time.
Didn't I tell you not to wear twenty pounds of black leather in the jungle? Didn't I tell you? Cotton, I said. Cotton breathes.
When ___ returns, this wedding will proceed as planned. If you do ANYTHING to upset that, I'll remove your reason for wearing a loincloth.
I thought I heard the monkey talk!
I found your scrunchie.
I'd rather have my tongue nailed to this table every morning at breakfast.
Hey! Why don't you say something constructive for a change, like what we should do now?
Because I don't like you.
Well, I hate you, you snotty son of a...
I'll pretend I didn't hear that.
Did that monkey just speak?
You're sure you did not catch dengue fever?
Well, how's your temperature?
What about your, uh, mmm-mmm?
It's easy to be outnumbered when you're a zero.
I aced it all and I stood tall, and did it my way.
Wait a second! That's the guy. That's the guy who shot him. I never forget a face.
You know, you really should work on your anger.
Give him a banana
He's just tryin' to trick us, lead us off the short cut so we take twice as long on the regular trail
Are you gonna let a monkey make a monkey out of ya?
Send me “bad luck" for a drabble about your muse doing something that goes against a superstition my muse has (e.g. walking underneath a ladder, putting shoes on the table, opening an umbrella inside).
Send me “test subject" for a drabble about one of our muses being part of an experiment of some sort and the other breaking an entry to find them and attempt to free them. (Specify.)
Send me “that’s private!" for a drabble in which your muse has found and read mine’s diary and confronts mine with secrets they weren’t supposed to know.
Send me “just a nightmare" for a drabble about my muse being woken up by yours in the middle of the night after they’ve been screaming out in fear.
Send me “judgemental" for a drabble in which one of our muses doesn’t understand what the other is going through (could be a mental/physical illness) and hurting them by making assumptions about it and judging them. (Specify.)
Send me “leaving" for a drabble about one of our character confiding in the other that they’re seriously considering suicide and are asking for permission to leave. (Specify.)
Send me “runaway" for a drabble about my muse coming to yours in distress about problems they’re having with their family. (Could be abuse/someone dying/a misunderstanding of something important to my muse/etc.)
Send me “contains nuts" for my muse finding yours after they accidentally took something they shouldn’t have (e.g. mistaking pills for painkillers/drinking something laced with poison or drugs/eating something they’re allergic to.) (Specify.)
Send me “bar fight" for our muses being kicked out of a bar/club for disturbing the atmosphere. (E.g. they’re very drunk/someone picked a fight with them/they’re dancing just a little too close.)
Send me “five winters" for a drabble about our muses seeing each other again after they’ve lost touch for five years.
“your country’s trying to take over/annex my country and you’re making it difficult to hate you because you’re so nice and attractive stop it” au
“we’ve been engaged to be married since we were three but this is the first time we’ve met and your portraits really don’t do you justice” au
“i’m a prince/ss and you’re a servant and we’re not supposed to hang out but we’re gonna fall in love anyways” au
“i’m a prince/ss and you’re my bodyguard and we’re so not supposed to bang but we kind of did anyways” au (bonus: limo sex is great sex)
princess diaries style “i grew up not knowing i was royal and suddenly my royal grandparent showed up out of nowhere and told me i was so now i guess i’m the heir to the throne and you’re my crush from my pre-royal days but i still have a crush on you” au
alternately, “i grew up not knowing i was royal and now i guess i’m heir to a throne and you’re the guy who’s supposed to be teaching me how to be royal bc i suck at it and oops we made out” au
"i’m a prince/ss from a small country nobody’s heard of and i’m in college pretending not to be royal and you’re another student who’s always calling me out on my bs” au
“my country’s going through some issues so i’m here in hiding and you’re a civilian who lives in the same apartment complex as me” au
Seriously. One thousand and one. Compiled and edited by yours truly (sarahbellcastiel). All credit goes to whoever made them up in the first place. Please give me creds for compiling all this, though. Enjoy!!! (Also, because I’m a lazy little shit, its all in one post)
•”These pair of pants are 70% off and these are the last pair in my size and apparently yours, I will fight you for them I swear”
•”Hey I sorta know you and my roommate just brought home a stranger and they’re going at it pretty hard can I stay here please”
•”My friend can’t cook and I may have let them into my kitchen and they kinda burned it down can I use yours?”
•”Hey I accidentally burned down my friends kitchen and I’m collecting donations to help pay for the cost, please donate I’m broke and they’re really pissed at me”
•”I think someone drugged my roommate, they’ve been yelling prayers in Latin and hitting people with crosses after eating one please help”
•”This is my fifth time visiting your place this month I’m really sorry but you shouldn’t have offered to help me for practice with your medical degree because I’m really accident prone”
•”You almost just ran me down and now you’re trying to leave the scene but I’m conscious you little shit, also did you fucking try to take my wallet?!”
•”You’re the only photography student who doesn’t have a partner for the collaboration between the art and photography clubs and I’ve absolutely hated you since fifth grade”
Title: Old Wounds
Fandom: The Immortalsverse (original work)
Pairing: Implied/platonic Zanumbra
Summary: Umbra doesn’t like talking about her past. But sometimes it just hurts too much to keep things bottled up. At least she’s got a friend to lend a willing ear.
Sand swirled around them as the group trudged through the desert, sun beating down on them mercilessly as they made their way towards their destination. "Is it nighttime yet," Zano groaned, miserable in his largely dark-colored outfit. "I am so ready for some nice refreshing cold air. You agree with me, right, Umbra?"
The mercenary in even darker clothes than his made no reply, which was strange in and of itself; usually she had at least a scoff or an eye-roll for his antics. When he glanced over she was simply staring out unseeing ahead of them, face as expressionless as a mask and apparently lost in thought.
He wasn't the only one to notice this, either. "Are you okay, Umbra?" Renai was asking, reaching out to touch her elbow softly and apparently jolting her out of her reverie.
"...I'm fine," Umbra said gruffly after a moment, shaking the elf off. "I just don't like this place, that's all."
"Have you been here before, Umbie?" Venas queried, bouncing slightly on her heels as she looked up towards the other, eager for a story.
"Yes." No further information was forthcoming, and with a huff the princess turned back towards Alin and Vera to continue their previous conversation.
"... I think we should break for the night soon," Aurick spoke after a moment, once it was clear no one else was going to address the whole group. "It's getting late. We want to be set up before it's too cold to be doing anything."
"Awww, but right now it's too hot to be doing anything," Venas whined, kicking at the sand and pouting.
Vera smiled indulgently at the child. "Wouldn't you rather take a break to set up camp than keep walking in this heat?" she pointed out sensibly.
"Well, I guess you're right..."
The rest of the group indicated their agreement as well, save for one. Umbra was silent, not uncharacteristically, but it worried Zano nonetheless. Still, there was nothing to be done about it. If Umbra didn't want to talk, there was no force in the universe that could change her decision...
A group of ruins appeared on the distance not five minutes later, and it was unanimously agreed that they'd continue on until they could set up camp there for what little extra shelter the worn-down structures could provide. Umbra seemed to withdraw more and more as they continued on, seeming to be in a world of her own.
But the mercenary snapped out of it when they finally reached the ruins and Venas screamed. "Venas, what happened?" Renai cried in alarm as the rest of the party turned to look, hand twitching towards her gun as she rushed over to the girl and grabbed her protectively, looking around for the danger.
"Th... There's a skeleton there!" the child wailed, pointing at a spot just ahead of her. Sure enough, a few weathered bones were peeking up from beneath the sand, enough of the skull exposed to show its bony rictus. "I nearly tripped over it and what if something had happened?!"
Aurick had knelt to brush some of the sand off the bones, straightening up with an encouraging smile for his young charge. "It's alright, Princess. It's no undead creature. Simply a dead man. It won't harm you." Slightly reassured, Venas continued to cling to Renai nevertheless as the group turned to continue onward, and as he turned with them Zano noticed Umbra staring straight down at the corpse, pale as a ghost.
No one else noticed. Then again, perhaps it was only because he had known her for so long that he was able to pick up on the signs. Either way, he'd barely taken a step towards her before she shook herself and turned away from it, headed rapidly in the other direction, and with a reluctant huff of breath Zano let the matter go. She'd hate it if he pried, anyway.
But when her footsteps on the sand and stone woke him up later that night when they had all called it a day, he just couldn't hold back anymore. Rolling over and being careful not to step on Alin, the thief stood, stretched, and began to follow the mercenary to her destination.
It didn't take long for him to catch up; she had stopped exactly where he'd guessed she would have, kneeling in the sand staring down at the years-old bones. Zano hesitated, watching her reach down to touch the skull with more tenderness than he had ever seen from her before, and started to reconsider. This was obviously important to her- should he really intrude?
"You can come out. I know you're there."
Looks like he didn't have much of a choice now. Zano stepped forward until the moonlight illuminated him as well, waiting for Umbra to stand and face him. "I knew you were gonna follow me out. You never could keep your nose out of things that weren't your business."
The normal venom and annoyance that might have coated her tone weren't present, replaced with a low weariness, and that worried Zano more than anything. "Yeah, well," he replied with a shrug, trying to act casual. "You had your lips zipped even more than usual, I got a little worried. Wanted to make sure you were alright and everything." The young man paused, glancing back down at the skeleton before speaking again. "...This your mom?"
Umbra shook her head. "Nice guess, but I buried her back in Emerald Vale. This is... my dad."
"That piece of shit who--" Zano started in surprise, but the mercenary cut him off with another shake of her head.
"No, not Jack. My real dad. ...Asher."
He'd only heard that name a handful of times before, and Umbra had never seen fit to go into details. Stepping closer to her and hoping, he prodded gently, "Asher?"
"Raleigh Asher. He's the one who taught me everything I know." Umbra took a seat on the sand, staring off into the distance, and after a moment Zano followed suit.
"What was he like?" he questioned, desperately curious as to the identity of this rarely-mentioned father figure of Umbra's.
"He was a great man," she replied, corners of her mouth quirking up in a sad smile. "Friendly, patient- he would've had to be to put up with me. He never lost his temper no matter what shit was going down, but he had a stubborn streak a mile wide- never gave up on something once he'd put his mind to it. I... I really loved him, you know?" The mercenary paused, angling her head down and closing her eyes. "He died just before I met you."
Zano could believe that; they'd both been in really bad places their first few encounters. Umbra had kept him anchored through his grief over losing Belle, but never had he thought that maybe he had done the same for her. "What happened to him?"
For a long few minutes, Umbra didn't answer, and Zano had just started to think that maybe he'd pushed too far when she began to speak in a low, quiet voice. "After I killed Jack, I didn't know what to do with myself. My mom was dead, and I didn't want to stick around Adrian any longer. So I left town. Would've died from exhaustion a few days later if Asher hadn't been passing through. He stepped in, saved my life from a pack of monsters, and in return I pretty much demanded to become his apprentice."
She'd never been this open with him before. Zano listened in rapt fascination as she continued. "He was a nice enough guy to take me in, and I traveled with him for a year or so. He was a mercenary, or something along those lines. I... I know he worked for someone; there was someone who handed him all his missions instead of letting him pick and choose his own. But I still don't know anything about them; Asher never talked about work besides what our latest task would be.
"Whatever the case was, everything was fine for a little bit over a year. Then he got this letter that his sister had died. And he started getting sick."
She fell silent once again, and though he wanted to hear the conclusion to the story Zano started to feel some semblance of guilt. "Hey, if you don't wanna talk about this any more..."
Umbra just wordlessly shook her head in response before picking up her tale. "I tried to take care of him for the next few months, but he just kept getting worse. But no matter what, he just insisted that we keep going along and doing the jobs he kept getting sent. We were traveling from Halcyone to Carnelia when he finally..."
The mercenary took a deep breath, opening her eyes to stare unseeing into the distance again as she spoke in an emotionless voice. "He told me to end it."
"...Did you?" Zano murmured, pieces falling into place. Umbra must have killed her father-figure and friend here; no wonder she hated this place so much.
Her next words surprised him. "No. I couldn't bring myself to. ...I was a coward. I ran away." Umbra let out a shaky breath. "I should've just listened to him then; it would have been so much easier." Zano barely had time to formulate a theory about her hating the desert ruins because she left Asher there to suffer and die before horror struck him at her next words. "The very next day, I woke up with his sword buried in the sand next to my head and my ear bleeding.
"I didn't know what was going on. I... Goddess, I still fully don't. But instead of dying he'd turned into a madman, and apparently all he wanted from life was to hunt me down. I fled further into the desert, but he just kept following me. He... He had this nickname for me, and he just kept using it and calling out for me and goddess, Zano, I'd never been so terrified in my life. I was fifteen years old and my dad was trying to kill me- what the hell was I supposed to do?
"I tried to just run and hide for as long as I could. Even though he'd turned into a monster, he was still the best father I'd ever had. I didn't want to hurt him. But he finally cornered me in these ruins." Zano had a nasty feeling that he knew how this story was going to end. "He was taunting me, saying how he was going to torture me, a-and I... I didn't want to die. So I killed him instead."
Umbra was almost curled up now, and Zano was sure that in her place, speaking about his past so openly, he'd be weeping like a baby. But her eyes were dry, though wide with pain. "And the bastard... The bastard had the nerve to say he was glad I did while he was dying! After everything he'd done betraying me like that, how could he--" She broke off, knowing as well as Zano did why. Fathers- good fathers- didn't want to see their children hurt.
It took another few moments for her to go on, and when she did her voice was flat again. "I buried him in the sand here. Went on to Carnelia in his place. Took his job clearing out a monster nest. When I didn't know what to do after that, I went back to Halcyone to look for work in Alerra."
"And that's when we met," Zano spoke quietly. The bitter, angry teen he'd first known Umbra as, her reluctance to trust anyone; if she'd lived through all that, it was no surprise that she would have been opposed to letting anyone in again.
She confirmed his words with a nod. "Yeah. And somehow you managed to annoy me into not giving up on the world as a whole."
It took a moment for him to recognize the joke for what it was, but when he did he laughed. "Hey, if I can't annoy the desire to keep moving forwards into people even if it's only to get away from me, what else am I good for?"
Umbra half-smiled, though it faded moments later. "Hey... You think you could give me a few moments alone with my old man?"
Though reluctant to leave her, Zano understood that desire well enough. "Yeah, no problem," he replied as he pushed himself to his feet with a half-smile of his own. "Think I'll head back, get some sleep. Catch ya in the morning, Umbra."
"Hey, Zano?" she called to him as he was walking away, making him pause in his tracks and strain to hear her final word. "...Thanks."
For every ∯ I get I will say/confess something without specifying for whom it is meant
eg:
∯ || You told me once that I was the only person on that team you might consider a friend… I can say now that I should have taken you at your word long ago.
∯ || I wish we had more occasion to speak. I can’t say I’ve ever disliked your company.
∯ || Leave the van Gogh works be; you’re going to give him an ulcer.
