15_minute_fic // Prompt word: garble // “Strange”

[katiefoolery]

My first ficlet in a very long time!  And my first ficlet for the new comm, too.  The good Gill (crazedturkey) kindly volunteered to post the first word so I could write a ficlet.  And she even more kindly emailed the word to me, as I can’t get to LJ while at work.  Thank-you muchly!

Extra bonus points (or an icon, whichever you prefer) for anyone who can guess the word here.  I honestly believe it’s impossible to guess.  I know I’ve said that twice before and been proven wrong... but I mean it this time.  In fact, I can’t even work out how this story came from the prompt word in question.

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Title: Strange
Fandom: Original
Rating: PG (language)
Word count: 424 words
Prompt word: garble


Strange, how my mind stops working properly when he touches me like this.  How the world seems to vanish and everything contracts to here and now and him.  How can a simple touch be responsible for losing the ability to think clearly?

Or to remember that there’s still a pot on the stove?

“Oh, shit!” I yell, leaping up from the couch and my comfortable seat on his lap.

Strange, how I can go from shyly wondering if I should kiss him to just desperately wanting to switch the smoke alarm off.

Wasn’t there a broom in this cupboard?  I’m sure there was a broom in this cupboard.  It was just the right length for jabbing at the stupid smoke alarm and I know I always kept it here.  All I can find now are towels.  Who the hell switched the broom cupboard for a towel cupboard without telling me?

I can hear him laughing, still on the couch.  It’s that low laugh I love; the one that usually fills me with warmth and sometimes makes my skin shiver with delight.

Strange, how I can go from thinking of something so pleasant to simply wondering why the hell he isn’t helping.

“The kitchen’s that way,” I snap.  You want to turn the stove off before the house burns down?  Or is that too much to ask?

I hear him moving towards the kitchen, stifled laughter following him as he goes.  It’s not funny.  It’s not funny at all.  Dinner’s ruined; I’m going insane from having to listen to this stupid smoke alarm; and now my perfect-length broom has vanished from the face of the earth.

“Relax.”  He’s right behind me, his breath on the back on my neck, followed quickly by a kiss.

“I'll relax when this is sorted out.”

Strange, how I tried to sound really stern and serious there but my words came out as breathy and distracted instead.

“Found a broom in the kitchen,” he says, holding it in front of me like it’s some sort of trophy.  He jabs it upwards and finally silences the smoke alarm.

I mutter my thanks, feeling foolish.  Why do I turn into a jerk over the smallest things?

“Is... is dinner OK?” I ask, almost afraid of the answer.

He places his right hand on his left shoulder with a solemn look to his face.  “Rest in peace, little dinner,” he says.  “We will honour your sacrifice by ordering pizza.”

Strange, how I can go from the depths of despair to smiling helplessly.

---

Comments and feedback are most appreciated. :D

Comments

[mawaridi.livejournal.com]

I have no idea what the prompt it, but that was adorable :)

[mawaridi.livejournal.com]

er...is, rather.

[naelany.livejournal.com]

who's in the icon? I love it! ^_^

[mawaridi.livejournal.com]

Hee! I love it too. It's Dr Wilson (Robert Sean Leonard) from House, being exasperate. He does it incredibly well :)

[naelany.livejournal.com]

indeed he does ^_^. Might one swipe the icon?

[mawaridi.livejournal.com]

Go for it :)

[naelany.livejournal.com]

thank you muchly

[katiefoolery.livejournal.com]

Thank-you muchly! I sometimes wonder at the strange connections my mind makes between things...

[naelany.livejournal.com]

valentine is going to be too obvious, isn't it *chuckles*. I do love the fic though.... *ponders*

[katiefoolery.livejournal.com]

Just a little. :D Thank-you muchly - I'm glad you liked it.

[naelany.livejournal.com]

hehe, didn't think that'd be it ^_~. Not that I can think of what it would be. And I refuse to "cheat" and go look lol

[crazedturkey.livejournal.com]

awww that's cute....

but you're right...I have no idea how it relates to the prompt!!! *laughs*

[naelany.livejournal.com]

dang, if you can't even see a connection...

[katiefoolery.livejournal.com]

There was a sort-of connection at the start... and then it just ran away from me. It was good to write another one, though. Thank-you so much for emailing the word to me. :)

[crazedturkey.livejournal.com]

meh never mind. That's kinda the point ain't it?

And you are quite welcome ;)

[blindmouse.livejournal.com]

This is lovely :-) I especially like the last line, and the "Rest in peace, little dinner."

[katiefoolery.livejournal.com]

Thanks muchly, good Blindmouse. :)

[starlingthefool.livejournal.com]

Aww. I like this, a little snapshot of a relationship. Knowing the prompt word, I can kind of figure out how it relates.

[katiefoolery.livejournal.com]

I'm glad it does relate in some way! And thanks muchly. :)

[funaga.livejournal.com]

There is no way I could have ever guessed, so I went to the comm and had a look at the word. And I DO get it, so that's very well done :)

[katiefoolery.livejournal.com]

So I was right about no-one being able to guess it? It just ran away from me once I got the first line out, so I'm glad it does still have some relation to the prompt word. Thank-you muchly. :)

[rilla06.livejournal.com]

Awww, that's so sweet! :D

And I can't even begin to guess the prompt word :P

[katiefoolery.livejournal.com]

Thank-you, Rilla. So you're not going to head for the thesaurus again? :D

[flippyfrog.livejournal.com]

Nyaaaaw that was cute!

[katiefoolery.livejournal.com]

Awww... thanks. :)

[poisonheadache.livejournal.com]

I really enjoyed reading that. The 15 minute ficlet idea is great and really makes me want to join up and give it a go.

I had no idea about the word at all. I was guessing something like "inconsistency" and headed to the community to find out what it was. Once I knew I could see the connection but I would never have guessed.

[katiefoolery.livejournal.com]

Thank-you muchly. :) I do hope you decide to join up and write some ficlets - I can't recommend the idea highly enough.

I am glad people can see the connection once they know the word. :D

[silver-pegasus.livejournal.com]

OMG Bunne, your writing is exactly the reason I would never have put anything up if I'd read anyone else's first. I love it.
I can sort of see the word, but only cos I know what it is :P

[katiefoolery.livejournal.com]

Oh, thank-you muchly, good Tanya. I'm just going to sit here and watch my ego swell now. :)

[silver-pegasus.livejournal.com]

That's actually quite clever what with yout eyes and you're ego both being inside your body and all.

[katiefoolery.livejournal.com]

Well, I never said it was going to be easy... :P

[drscruffy.livejournal.com]

It could be that I'm just overwrought and overly emotional right now, but I loved that... It brought tears to my eyes and made me want to go and find Mr Scruffy and squeeze him - I love the way your writing is real. It's kinda like you've been spying on my living room - you haven't been, have you?

[katiefoolery.livejournal.com]

*quickly stows incredibly expensive and powerful telescope out of sight*

I don't know what you could mean there! I'm glad you enjoyed the story and I hope Mr. Scruffy ended up getting that hug after all. :)

[eslyssa.livejournal.com]

Lovely.

As it happened I saw the prompt word before I read that, so I confess I did kinda see it - far more subtle than my interpretation! - but really, really very lovely and sweet. The dinner... Aww...

[katiefoolery.livejournal.com]

I'm glad the prompt word does have some bearing on the story after all. :D Thank-you muchly - I'm glad you enjoyed it.

[pitkat.livejournal.com]

At first, I couldn't for the life of me figure out what the word would be and then I went to write my own ficlet. This makes sense. I love the randomness of it. Very sweet. :)

[katiefoolery.livejournal.com]

Thank-you muchly. I'm glad to hear that there is a connection there, too. :)

[elfie-chan.livejournal.com]

That fic just made me feel happy. ^_^ I love it. Your use of active words (jabs, silences, snap) is great. Also, I giggled like a loon at "his" last line.

Thank you for writing this. It made my day and made me want to go and hug my husband, which I shall do now.

[katiefoolery.livejournal.com]

I'm very proud of this little story - so far, two husbands have gotten a hug out of it. :D Thank-you muchly for your comments, good Elfie.

[snarkymonkey.livejournal.com]

Oh, Katie, I love this little snapshot. It flows quickly and gives you just that quick glimpse of someone else's world. Kudos!

[katiefoolery.livejournal.com]

Thank-you muchly, good Karen. I'm very glad you enjoyed it. :D

[mkirara.livejournal.com]

Wow! I had a really clear picture as I read this - hehe nicely written Katie :D I enjoyed it muchly.

What I really like about this 15 minute fiction thing is how everyone takes such a different twist on the word given. It's very interesting :)

You left a comment on my fic for the #2 word - and I wanted to reply... but I wasn't sure how to (I'm just new to LJ) - so I thought I'd just leave the comment here:

I'm glad you liked my story. I'm not sure whether I shall continue it or not... there are definitely things I need to fix up - like pick my time period properly :P I was aiming for WWII London - but it's hard to write about something when you aren't quite sure about it ^.^;

I'm off to read more stories now :D

[katiefoolery.livejournal.com]

Thank-you muchly, good MornirK. I'm glad you enjoyed it. :D

If you want to reply to comments in your own LJ, you can do it just by clicking on the reply link on the comment, as in this screencap:



You need to click on that "Reply" link so that the person who left the comment will know you've responded to what they've said.

Your piece reminded me of a very good book I read about how evacuation and wartime affected children in London... but I can't remember the name of the book at all! There are bound to be some great sites about that on the internet, though.

[mkirara.livejournal.com]

Aww - that's a shame - well if you ever happen to remember let me know! I don't know why - but that subject interests me. Have you seen Narnia? I liked the start of the movie how they incorporated that whole evacuation of London into it.

Oh and thanks for the help :) I was hoping that I would have been able to quote your comment and then post it into yours... but it didn't seem to have that option.

Oh wells :D