Signe de la coccinelle

Forthrightly's Halloween Challenge

2008-10-28T01:54:02Z

Submitted for Forthright’s Halloween Challenge. 497 words.

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They had nothing in common; it was amazingly bad luck. Sango was barricaded in the school auto-shop with three other students after the Halloween Dance had gone horribly wrong. It figured that zombies would invade on Halloween, when it wasn’t immediately obvious that the bloodthirsty monsters were anything other than cleverly costumed teens. Not only had supposedly mythical cannibals ruined an otherwise lovely evening, but she’d been separated from her squad and thrown together with the most random combination of her classmates imaginable. And Miroku was giving her the eye.

“What?” she snapped at him.

“Nothing at all”, he replied beatifically. He seemed to be content in mortal danger, so long as he got to ogle a cheerleader at the same time.

Sango rolled her eyes again. Once again she wished that instead of a fetishistic geek dressed as a “Warrior Monk” she had at least one member of her squad for back-up; they were a team, darn it. Together they could have found a way out of this mess.

“Guys, this isn’t the greatest time for flirting”, Inuyasha said brusquely. Sango silently snarked that he wasn’t one to talk. In the initial melee he’d revealed a heroic streak (apparently the katana he’d worn with his costume was fully functional, which was a blatant violation of school policy). Now sweet, preppy Kagome was hanging on his every word, and the slightly creepy loner had never looked happier.

“Yeah, we need to work together!” Kagome enthused. “Assuming this isn’t an apocalypse , we need to figure out a way to get back to civilization before the government bombs the school to contain the plague!”

“Assuming this is an apocalypse, we need to prepare ourselves to repopulate the planet.”

Gah! When had Miroku gotten so close? Sango instinctively trapped him in a joint lock. “Tae-Kwan-Do black belt”, she informed him tersely, and watched with alarm as his smirk expanded. Great, he was a Lara Croft fetishist, too.

“Hey, kids? I’ve got an idea.” Inuyasha was grinning in a way she found vaguely disturbing, until he explained. Then she was grinning, too.

Twenty minutes later, they had taken positions in a mostly functional automobile that had been someone’s final project in Shop. Kagome held the driver’s seat (she was the only one with a license), and Miroku and Inuyasha had taken shotgun and rearguard respectively. Sango was prepared to unbolt the barricaded door, and then hop into their non-traditional tank. Inuyasha had wanted that role, but Sango’s athletic training and Pink Power Ranger armor gave her the greatest probability of injury-free success. Now that they’d gotten down to business Sango had to admit that their motley crew was exhibiting teamwork worthy of her cheer squad.

Kagome offered up a shaky smile. “You know, if we survive this, I think us four will be friends.”

To her own surprise, Sango agreed. Life and death circumstances could bind the most unlikely of allies.

“Okay team”, she said in nervous anticipation. “Let’s roll.”

The End of Inuyasha!

2008-06-20T05:35:24Z

So I found the last chapter of Inuyasha uploaded on someone's livejournal. I've only read a few of the chapters *ahem* but that was really good!
Great lines:
"You're a toy."
"Go slay the kitsune!"
"He made a really mean face at me" (Kagome, on having called Sesshoumaru "older brother"!!!) "And Inuyasha, now you're doing it too!"
Sooo sweeet! If I could have picked an ending, this would have been more or less it. (Question: Does Sango do anything other than make babies these days?)
An interesting note: Rin is apparently *not* going to follow Sess around for the rest of her days. Go figure, the girl wants a life. Good for her!</div>

Craziness

2008-06-19T02:59:31Z

Bizarre situations at home lead to not writing much fanfiction. I should get back to that...tonight? Maybe.

Challenge Responses Unsubmitted

2008-06-05T23:51:38Z

If I *was* going to join Firsttweak and submit an entry to the under-300-word challenge, prompt "Bell", this is what I'd probably contribute. But I won't for rather silly reasons. If I can't post it here, where can I post it? :-P Plus, this gives me an excuse to try out my Sango icon.
Anyway, genre is romance/humor, wordcount is 300.

"New moon nights used to be InuYasha’s least favorite time of the month.

More recently, circumstances had changed. Now he traveled with a group of warriors, all willing to defend him during his time of weakness. Even so, his anxiety was ingrained by the force of habit; InuYasha might never sleep comfortably as a human, but his vigils were no longer solitary.

Kagome would often willingly share new moon insomnia. As time passed and the pair became more than friends, the solitude and darkness allowed them to shed inhibitions and explore what ‘more than friends’ could mean. A kiss on the hand was a small step, and a peck on the cheek came naturally a month later. Unfortunately, their first foray into proper kissing was halted in its tracks by the law of nature causing Shippo to investigate at inopportune moments.

“Is he asleep yet?” Kagome whispered shortly after the kit had returned to bed.

The dark shape beside her shrugged; she couldn’t see his face, but she knew he was blushing.

“I guess there’s no reason we can’t try again tomorrow”, she offered wryly.

“You’ll need to sleep, to make up for tonight. And Shippo’s…getting older.” InuYasha muttered.

“What’s that mean?”

“He’s kitsune. He can mask his scent, and move quietly enough I can’t hear him.”

“Ouch. We could go to my house…” But even the possibility of her mother walking in on them had her blushing, too.

The next day Kagome returned through the well, bringing back a gift for Shippo. A “good luck charm”: a bell that had once belonged to Buyo. Its piercing chime ensured he would wear it; the kit gloried in loud noises.

InuYasha found himself counting the days till the next new moon, which was rapidly becoming his favorite night of the month. "

I'm very aware of a number of problems with this. For one, totally implausible. Shippo would only wear the bell when it suited him, not all the time. For another, the excuses for confining make-out sessions to new moon nights were totally spurious. I just liked the full-circle aspect of the first and last sentences. I also liked making a point of InuYasha/Kagome first kiss not immediately leading to sex, like it does in so many fanfics. And once again, if I can't post it here, where can I post it?

Bits and Pieces

2008-06-05T23:42:58Z

First of all, I don't know where I got this icon, but it's gorgeous. I probably stole someone's fanart; I hope I'm not breaking any rules.

Anyway, I just joined the IY Blind Community. I have somewhat mixed feelings about this. It was created with the intention of bringing less known writers to popular attention, and ensuring that voting isn't conducted based on popularity. The second will likely be accomplished, but the first I truly doubt. I think it will probably be the same approximate set as those who write for FirstTweak, or IYFic, etc, which is fine, but I'm not sure I want to join such a niche group. Then again, my aquisitive half thinks banners are pretty and *wants* one. And is there anything really wrong with participating? With having one's writing read?

The idea became irresistable when I read what had been written so far, and the comments. People are guessing who wrote what, and as I'm virtually unknown and have actually written very little, I'd love to see who people guessed I was. Also, comments are including genuine, somewhat harsh criticism. This is a major plus! Something about the idea of honest-to-god concrit makes me jump up and down with excitement. Of course, after I get some, I might feel differently.

Here's to writing a 500 + word story from the idea I've got, and navigating the perils of submission and voting. Not like I've got much else to do, this summer :-)

Second Entry!

2008-05-22T04:24:32Z

Testing a second userpic...just for fun.
Harlyn is pretty obviously not my real name. I came up with it in middle school as a pseudonym, and when I created my fanfiction handle a year ago I didn't see a reason to change it. I think I originally took it from Harley, the robot monkey in a science fiction novel. Anyway, this is what Wikipedia has to say on "Harlyn".

"Harlyn is a small village in Cornwall, United Kingdom situated by Harlyn Bay. It is a popular holiday resort with a caravan park and public house. Most houses in the village are let to holiday makers.

North-facing Harlyn Bay is a popular destination for surfers and has a Surf School.

Harlyn is close to the town of Padstow and approximately 1 mile from the village of St. Merryn. To the east is the village and beach of Trevone, while to the west is Cataclew headland, followed by Mother Iveys Bay - home of the local lifeboat station - and Trevose Head. The bays at Constantine Bay, Porthcothan and Treyarnon are also nearby, linked by the coastal path that runs across the beach and is covered at high tide. A short detour along the road can be used at these times to continue along the coast. There are several camp sites and hotels in the surrounding area.

Harlyn is a "low slope" beach, suitable for surfing beginners. The car parking is relatively cheap, and sometimes there is a donkey derby in the top field. As with other beaches in the area parties often happen here in the summer evenings after the pubs empty."

First Entry!

2008-05-22T04:21:28Z

I'm not sure how much I'll be using this journal. We'll see :-) This is mostly a test entry.