Short Prompt #560

Warning: betrayal, wounds/injuries.

“Well, well..., would you look at that?” - the supervillain mused with a grin. They leisurely strolled over to the bloodied figure twitching on the ground. “Looks like they left you behind, hmm, little Hero?”

The hero remained silent, glazed-over eyes staring off into the distance as their body screamed with every shaky breath they took.

Supervillain’s smile faded at the lack of Hero’s usual witty comebacks and playful personality. A deep frown settled over their features as their henchman surrounded their defeated opponent.

“What should we do with them, sir?” - one of the minions asked, making their boss’s brows furrow in thought.

“Take them to the healer.” - the master criminal eventually decided. “I want them alive.”

My family is not very religious most of the time.  We pray at Christmas and Easter and Thanksgiving dinners, and my mom’s entire side of the family excluding her parents and siblings is hardcore religious so whenever we do anything with them it’s kind of religious.

But the point is, most of the time we aren’t, but every year at Christmas time, a church in the next town over puts on a Bethlehem and it’s kind of a tradition to go.  They go all out.  The building is massive, and they’ve got it all decked out.  There’s animals and stalls and everyone is in costume and in character.  When you get there, they give you some pennies and you can go and barter for cool little trinkets, and there’s other more expensive things you can buy with your own money.  And they have the best apple cider.  All in all, it’s pretty cool.

But anyway.  We go every year, bundled up in hats and scarves and mittens, and have a good time.  We’ve been doing it for as long as I can remember, and my mom talks about going when she was a kid.

I’m going to mention again that everyone is massively in character, especially the really super hardcore religious adults.  Because this is an important fact.

Every year since I was about thirteen or so, there’s been this one lady who worked at a stall selling ponchos (I have, like, three.  They’re really cool).  She was probably there before that, but I was thirteen when she started trying to barter for me to marry her son, who was also about thirteen.

“What a pretty little thing.  I think you’d make a very good wife for my son.  These are your parents?  I’ll give you six goats for your daughter’s marriage to my son.”

Her son, meanwhile, is in the “shop” behind her looking absolutely mortified and like he’d rather be anywhere else than there, and I’m pretty sure I probably looked just as embarrassed.

My parents gave her some sort of excuse, like it wasn’t enough goats or they weren’t ready to marry me off yet or something, and we moved on.

The next year we’re back again, and come up near to the same stall.

“Ah!  You’re back again!  Have you married your daughter off yet?  I can up my offer to nine goats and three chickens for your daughter to marry my son.”

Somehow she remembered the exact people she’d tried to buy their daughter off of for an entire year?  So my parents are refusing her offers again and me and the son are trading embarrassed looks and we go on our way.

And then it happens again.  And again.  And again.  Each and every one of the last six years this lady has tried to buy me in goats to be her son’s wife. 

 A couple years ago when we were waiting in line to get inside my mom jokingly said that they should accept this year and see what she’d do and I completely refused because it was mortifying enough as it was.

One year we brought my friend with us and we’re waiting outside and my sister was like “Are you gonna sell Kee this year?” and my dad was like “Maybe if there’s enough goats” and my friend was confused as heck and I was like “This lady tries to buy me to marry her son every year.  I told you that” and she’s like “Yeah but I didn’t think this was a thing that actually happened” and she was still skeptical and by the time my parents had finished refusing the lady’s offer, she’s killing herself laughing and then spent the next few months telling me I couldn’t look at guys because I already had a fiancée.

Anyway, it happened again this Christmas and the son has somehow gotten almost ridiculously attractive since last year.  The speech this year had something to do with how I was far too old to not have a husband yet, and the son and I just rolled our eyes at each other as his mom tried to barter with my parents for me.

This year’s offer was twenty six goats and nine chickens.  My sister looked up how much goats are worth, and was mad our parents didn’t sell me so she could have sold the goats and gotten $2000-$8000 for them.  My dad says they’re waiting out on an offer of a camel.  My brother thinks they should have it more than once a year so he can get more apple cider.

Now I’m back at uni, and in my first psych class of the semester the guy sitting beside me looked really familiar.  

As in his-mom-tries-to-buy-me-with-goats-every-Christmas familiar.

That kind of familiar.

We introduced ourselves before class started and I sat there for a couple minutes readying to make a total fool of myself in case I was wrong before turning to him again.

“This is going to sound really weird if you aren’t who I think you are, but by any chance does your mom try to buy you a wife with goats every Christmas?”

His friend gives me a weird look as he walks past me to sit on the other side of him, but he’s definitely putting the pieces together.

“That’s you?  Bethlehem in [city name], right?  God, my mom is so mortifying.”

And we both kinda laugh and meanwhile his friend is giving us both weird looks now because apparently he didn’t know that his friend’s mom was trying to buy him a wife using livestock.

So he turns to his friend and is like

“Oh, I forgot to introduce you.  Danny, this is my fiancée, Kee.”

And I kinda rolled my eyes and was like

“I’m not actually your fiancée.  Your mom hasn’t offered my parents enough goats yet.  But apparently my dad will sell me for a camel.”

And he laughed and shook his head like

“I am not telling my mom that.  I don’t want to see what she has planned for if your parents ever accept.”

So yeah.  His friend was really confused by that point and we explained it to him and it turns out he’s pretty cool and we’re Facebook friends now and hang out in psych classes.  Apparently his mom only ever tries to buy me for him and she and my mom had gone to the same church growing up which is why she can always pick us out.

So yeah.  That’s the story of how some lady tries to use goats to buy me to be her ridiculously attractive son’s wife every Christmas, and how he’s in my class and we’re friends now.

It was the 23rd of December, 2017, and my sister had convinced her friend to come with us this year.

“And that’s where Kee’s fiancé usually is,” Sam explained as we stood in the line waiting to get inside.  Her friend gave her the same sceptical look she’d apparently been giving since Sam had first told her.

“He’s not my fiancé,” I pointed out, trying to rub some feeling back into my hands.  The Goat Guy had been texting me updates since that morning.  The organizers had discussed it at length, but apparently temperatures of negative eighteen, thirteen inches of snow, and a blizzard warning weren’t quite enough to have Bethlehem cancelled (or for my parents to decide to skip it this year).  Hashtag Canada.

The line was long this year, and we’d already been standing out in the cold for the better part of half an hour.  My brother was loudly lamenting the fact that we couldn’t get to the hot apple cider until we’d made it inside.

My phone buzzed in my pocket, and I braved taking off a glove to check it.

“Who do you keep texting?” my mom asked, not-so-subtly trying to peer over my shoulder at my phone.

“Gregory from psychology,” I told her, sending off a text informing him that we were still in line.  It wasn’t technically a lie, since, you know, that was his actual name and he was in my psychology classes.  It wasn’t my fault that my family only knew him as the Goat Guy.

Keep reading

’Twas the fifteenth of December, and all through the house Every creature was stirring, yes, even that mouse “Every creature was stirring?  I don’t know about that!” Well, you see, our protagonist had a final about stats 

She used t-values and r-values and z-values galore And she continued to probabilize when she thought she couldn’t anymore Then she handed it in and she packed up her car And she drove home for Christmas, it was actually kinda far 

She said hello to her dogs and hello to her mom And she ate up a hot dog and some curly fries, yum! Then they piled into the truck and drove to the next town Because it was time for Bethlehem 2k18 to go down

Keep reading

He asked me when I fell in love with him and I knew it sounded dramatic to say the moment I saw him, so I told him this story of my grandma who had Alzheimer's- she forgot her name and the words for fruit and food, she forgot her address and how to use the washroom, all her life lost to the disease. The only thing she remembered was her son's name and when that began to fade, the one thing she always remembered was that she loved him, even in illness, even in insanity. She saw this 6 foot 2 man with a scrubby beard and she didn't know him but she said she trusted him, she asked him to hold her hand when she died. When does memory end and love begin? All I know is- she loved him before she remembered him.

-Ritika Jyala, excerpt from The world is a sphere of ice and our hands are made of fire

people get so confused trying to figure out the Lois/Clark/Superman situation that somehow they come to the conclusion that Clark is cheating on Lois with Superman

I mean Lois clearly has nothing to hide, everyone from here to Krypton’s seen Superman fly her with a chaste hand around her waist. but Clark puts an awful lot of effort into making sure no one ever gets a pic of him and Superman together

what is he worried Lois will see

people shake their heads sadly every time Superman visits the Daily Planet and then Clark emerges from a closet disheveled and tucking his shirt back into his pants. but if Lois won’t see it there’s nothing they can do

The feminine urge to say “have you no compassion for my poor nerves” every time something goes wrong with my life

the way p&p 2005 said: here's one of the most beloved enemies to lovers romances of all time, we don't need to change anything but here's keira knightley and the most socially awkward mr darcy you have ever seen. we're going to sprinkle in a hand touch and an almost kiss during an argument following a love confession in the pouring rain. what excellent boiled potatoes. yearn. you will think about this movie every day for the rest of your life.

PRIDE AND PREJUDICE (2005) + letterboxd reviews 

(insp.)

I love that the end of Pride and Prejudice is just the vindication of things sometimes being good, good all the way down. Lizzy struggles the last third of the novel with trying to reconcile what she thinks life is, as a self-professed cynic/realist/someone who is not going to fall into dumb traps that will ruin her happiness, and what she hopes it WILL be as a woman who has actually met the love of her life. And it ends up being all that she wanted and more. Darcy’s love is not only unchanged by all the things she was afraid would undo it, the depth and enduring quality of that love has been revealed to her by those very things. The end of the book confirms his generosity, his heart, his faithfulness in ways she could never dream of hoping for, and in those last several chapters desperately tries not to hope for, constantly tries to talk herself out of wanting or expecting. But it’s all true. He is handsome and he’s rich and marriageable, he checks all the standard boxes, but so much more importantly he’s also good and faithful and sensitive and endlessly generous and the most ultimately solid and trustworthy and good person she’s ever met in her entire life. And she gets to marry him! The fairy tale, in this case, is TRUE; her cynicism–and even her funniest most light-hearted truest jokes about the unfairness of the world were still a kind of cynicism–is not. I love it, it’s everything.

Nothing is funnier to me than Mr Darcy telling his best friend not to propose to the girl he loves bc 1. Her family are unsuitable and 2. She doesn't truly like him enough to marry... only to then himself propose to a woman who is 1. From the exact same family and 2. Has done nothing but roast him since they met

I want a love worth waiting for...

Little Encanto Details (From The Books, Not The Movie)

Note: I don’t know if the two books I read are considered entirely canon, so take all of this with a grain of salt. I read the Encanto Deluxe Junior Novel and Encanto: A Tale of Three Sisters to find these little things. (Now has a part 2 here!)

• Bruno’s room has a picture/sculpture of him with the eyes scratched out.

• Señora Guzmán is Mariano’s abuela, not his mother, and she has a reputation for being very proper.

• Isabela actually broke Mariano’s nose during the proposal.

• Bruno carries a gilded case of matches in his ruana (and the book actually called it a ruana!)

• I’m slightly unclear on this one, but the junior novelization seems to imply that Bruno’s gift can be physically painful for him to use.

• Pedro was a shopkeeper when he met Alma.

• Pedro could sew.

• The candle is Pedro and Alma’s wedding candle.

• Dolores ends up marrying Mariano.

• Mirabel eventually gets a door, which the whole family has decorated with something that reflects them.

• Mirabel owns and can play an accordion.

• The horsemen were apparently bandits.

• Isabela secretly wishes that her gift was more useful.

• Mariano often sent presents- chocolates, trinkets, and bouquets of flowers- to Isabela before he proposed.

• Pepa sometimes worries about the fact that Antonio doesn’t talk very much.

• Everyone loves Luisa’s hugs.

• Isabela made Luisa a flower crown to wear when she had her Gift ceremony.

• Antonio used to hate baths.

• Antonio has a river dolphin in his room.

• The candle never melts or drips, as well as never going out.

• Isabela doesn’t like messy foods, in case she spills them on her dress.

• Abuela’s room is very basic, not like the magical ones.

• Luisa’s room has weights, pulleys, ropes, and bars in it.

• Luisa likes hummingbirds.

• The townspeople refer to Abuela as “Doña Alma.”

• Camilo loves playing football with Casita. (Note: football in Colombia is what Americans call soccer.)

• Antonio has a box full of seashells.

• Julieta has a favorite hat that has peacock feathers on it.

• The fish lady’s name is Señora Osma. (Maybe Pezmuerto is her last name?) Update: Señora Osma/Ozma is actually the lady who asked Luisa to reroute the river. The fish lady is Señora Pezmuerto.

• Camilo often shows up at meals as someone besides himself.

• Bruno’s ruana is three sizes too big.

• Antonio used to have nightmares, and Mirabel would sit on the edge of his bed and put her hand on his arm to calm him down.

• Antonio can be a tiny bit scary- Bruno asks in Antonio’s room if the jaguar is going to eat him, and Antonio’s reply is a shrug and “not today.”

• Bruno doesn’t wash his underwear. (Update: this has been confirmed to be a joke.)

• Antonio likes to catch and release butterflies.

• Isabela thinks Mirabel is Agustín’s favorite.

• Félix can get fed up with Camilo’s shapeshifting into him- he’s described as looking “ready to box Camilo’s ears” in one scene.

• Isabela’s room has fireflies in it.

• Isabela doesn’t like to have anything in her room out of order.

• Luisa is afraid of the dark.

• Abuela used to call Pedro “Pedrito.”

• Camilo doesn’t like it when Pepa and Félix get mushy in front of him.

• Antonio pretends to feed the stuffed jaguar Mirabel gave him.

Little Encanto Details From The Books, Part 2!

I was blown away by the response to my first post about this! (Read the first part here!) I went back through the two books and wrote down every tiny thing I could find. I think I won’t have any more until Disney releases a new book about Encanto, which hopefully they’ll do soon!

• Pepa and Agustín call Mirabel “Mira.”

• Bruno, if not the rest of the family, is Catholic (he crosses himself when meeting Antonio’s jaguar.)

• Abuela is considered the heart of the Encanto.

• Casita grows and expands to fit all the family members.

• Agustín and Félix are very close and are constantly talking.

• Isabela sometimes thinks it would be nice if she didn’t have a gift.

• While they’re both twenty-two, Isabela is older than Dolores.

• Antonio snores.

• The last time Abuela hugged Mirabel was before her failed Gift ceremony.

• The roof is Mirabel’s favorite spot in Casita.

• Casita likes being touched.

• Agustín is a pianist.

• Isabela always carries a handkerchief.

• After Luisa got her gift, she spent the rest of the night doing tricks with it for the townspeople.

• Luisa doesn’t care what she wears as long as it’s comfortable.

• Isabela drinks café con leche.

• Luisa’s ears turn red when she’s embarrassed.

• The man who told Luisa that the donkeys got out is named Señor Rendon, and he’s described as “sometimes careless.”

• Three other townspeople are named Señora Ruiz, Señora Flores, and Señora Uriarte.

• Luisa never took naps before the events of the movie, believing that “nighttime is for sleeping, daytime is for getting things done.”

• Casita is very gentle when playing with the younger Madrigals.

• Isabela never gets in trouble.

• Isabela thinks Mirabel and Camilo are too old for toys.

• Abuela and Señora Guzmán have a somewhat tense relationship- described as a “battle of politeness.”

• Mirabel’s palms sweat when she’s worried.

• Luisa loves bright colors.

• Mirabel sneezes around things like sand or dust. Or salt.

• Félix rarely worries about anything.

• Isabela has a pond in her room filled with water lilies.

• Camilo and Pepa are both able to pick up and carry Antonio. Antonio especially likes to ride on Pepa’s shoulders.

• Isabela never wears her shoes on her bed.

• Luisa has panic attacks.

• While Isabela doesn’t love Mariano, she does hope to marry someday.

• Abuela secretly thinks Mirabel is a lot like Pedro was.

Happy New Year, Scoundress lovers! 🥳 2020 wasn’t the best year, but at least we had fanfiction to distract us from real life for a little while. So, like I’ve done for the past couple of years, this is my highlight of fics I read in 2020 (some new, some old) that I want to recommend, both as a treat to readers and a thank you to the authors 💖

Remember that this is a personal list reflecting my personal preferences and nothing more, I don’t owe anything to anyone, and all the usual disclaimers.

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Adventures by madame_alexandra

Building a garden by @ellielstories

burst me into bloom (i dare you to) by @yoyomarules

Cover me by @lajulie24

Dirty hands by @contrivedcoincidences6

Falcon’s Phantom by @bookishbrigitta

Formal functions by Chanel19

Masquerade by @ellielstories

Not the time by junebugrebellion

Of Alderaan by IsleofInk

peel away the gray by @yoyomarules

Perfect cover by @lajulie24

Revelations by Chanel19

Seduction by @ellielstories

so many dreams I’ve yet to find by fm1978

Stand by me by @jakku-princess

Sweet escape by @graciecatfamilyband

That’s no moon (cookie) by Knitzkampf

The opening by @onwardintolight

The reunion by @theorganasolo

the universe was made (just to be seen by my eyes) by JuliaRose12

Two into the Maelstrom by @corellianangel

When you hold me, I’m alive by @lajulie24

With new eyes by @queen-space-mom

You give me fever by @organanation

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[2017 rec list | mid-2018 rec list | 2018 rec list | 2019 rec list]

If you read and enjoy any of these stories, I encourage you to take an extra second of your time and show the authors some love in the fics themselves by leaving kudos/reviews/faves/bookmarks! Writing is hard and validation motivates us to keep going :)

I love this so much