Metafic meme!

[owlmoose]

I so do not have time for this but I am totally unable to resist it. :) So I will make time. Ganked from muggy_mountain and hinikuish.

Pick one of my stories and write a deleted scene or drabble based on or inspired by it. Post it here and I'll do the same for you. Have fun and spread the fandom love!

Fiction on LJ or ff.net.

Comments

LVL 3 pretentious title: Into the Rising Sun

[bottle-of-shine.livejournal.com]

The metal under her heels made sounds like bells as she walked over to where Baralai was sleeping at his post, curled into the leather of his seat. His breathing was easy and face smooth, light playing over his features. Beyond the windows of the glass in front of them the sun, still hiding behind the horizon, was teasing the sky a shy pink and orange. Paine smiled at it, thinking back to days where she had watched the sun rise on the Celsius every morning.

Nooj's approach was told by the sound of metal on metal as he made his way from the hall into the room. He never stayed in bed long after she rose and hadn't for quite awhile. "So much for our navigator taking the night watch."

"The autopilot can handle it," Paine said. "Gippal made sure."

Baralai shifted and mumbled, but didn't wake as Paine stepped up into the pilot's seat. Nooj reached her and placed a warm palm on her back. "I suppose Baralai has extensive plans on where we'll be going today, prepared before his nap."

"No." Paine stared through clouds as they passed them. Under her, the faint vibration of her ship—their ship—set her more at ease. "Today's the last day before we go back. Today is just going to be for us. No sphere hunting today."

Nooj tightened his hand on her back. "Where do we feel like going?"

Paine just smiled back at him, and shrugged. "Wherever we want. As long as it's together, right?"

A smile—not so rare as they used to be, but pleasing to her anyway—crossed Nooj's face. "That's correct." He raised his eyes to look ahead, glasses glinting with a brand new sun. "Take us away, pilot."

Re: LVL 3 pretentious title: Into the Rising Sun

[owlmoose.livejournal.com]

This is quite possibly the sweetest P/N story I've ever read. I love how at ease they are with each other, and the way the story implies that they've faced all the hard stuff and come out the other side. The sunrise imagery is perfect, as is Baralai sleeping in his chair.

It ties back in perfectly with "Darkness, Dawn", too.

Thank you so very much. :) I hope I can return the favor even half as well...

This might suck, but I had fun writing it; I hope that counts for something. :)

[owlmoose.livejournal.com]

The letter sat on the desk, an innocent square of paper with Isaaru's name scrawled on the outside. Baralai hung back in the doorway as Isaaru walked into his office and picked up the note. He unfolded the sheet of paper, then read with a smile that was first thoughtful, then wistful. Once he had finished, he looked up and waved Baralai into the room.

"How goes the restoration of the Crusaders?" Baralai asked as he approached.

"Quite well, it seems." Isaaru scanned the letter again. "The ranks are growing much faster than Nooj had expected. Fortunately, most are former Crusaders, so they only need to relearn discipline; Lucil isn't training raw recruits from scratch. And her ability to impose order sounds quite impressive." He set the sheet of paper down, clasped his hands behind his back, and turned, looking out the window. "They’ve come a long way from the wreckage of Operation Mi'ihen, and that is good news for Spira."

Baralai stood behind Isaaru and laid a hand on each shoulder. "You miss him."

Isaaru took a deep breath, his shoulders rising and falling under Baralai's palms. "He is where he belongs. As is Pacce. I can't begrudge them that."

Baralai tightened his grip. "Still, it's not wrong for you to miss them." He brushed his lips against Isaaru's temple; the other man's left hand crept up to grasp his fingers. They stood like that for a long time: Baralai's chest pressed into Isaaru's warm back, hands interlocked, the two of them breathing together.

The sound of footsteps in the hallway floated through the open door; Isaaru cleared his throat and turned to face Baralai while stepping away. "I should write him back."

"Of course." Baralai took a step backwards as well. "Will you join me for dinner?"

Isaaru nodded, and then Baralai left him, giving him some time alone with his brother.

[muggy-mountain.livejournal.com]

I'm not entirely sure about this ficbit, but I suppose they don't all spring fully-formed from the head of Zeus.

From Landing (http://owlmoose.livejournal.com/204912.html#cutid1)

Note: I haven't read A Guardian's Legacy yet, but Landing seemed to billed as a stand-alone, so I hope you'll forgive if I make any canon slips.

---

"Mmm. I've asked myself that so many times. And it was not easy to answer, even to myself." Lulu drew in a slow breath. "I love him, Yuna. We brought a child into the world together --a wonderful, vibrant little soul who astounds me everyday. But..." She lowered her eyes.

"But it just wasn't meant to be?" Yuna offered softly, placing a hand over Lulu's.

"No. I would never say that. Vidina came from what we had together so I would never, ever say that it was not meant to be. For the time that it was, it was meant to be. And I will always cherish our time together and our shared memories. I have nothing to regret."

"But time keeps moving."

"Yes, it does. As does the heart. And I came to realize I was just clinging. I had spent my entire life clinging."

"We all did, then. We clung to a false hope and to the wrong stories."

"And everyone was just clinging to life, as though holding our breath in fear for Sin. People clung to each other because they were alive in that moment. One more year, one more day, one more second. I clung to death, Yuna. And I was not happy, you knew that. Anyone could have seen that. It took me a long time to stop doing that. When the pilgrimage was over, I visited Guadosalam one last time to say goodbye. I said goodbye to Lady Ginnem." Lulu's voice broke slightly. "I said goodbye to Chappu. To my parents. To Luzzu. To Sir Auron. And Tidus." She paused at the mention of Yuna's beau, reddening slightly.

"I thought I'd left him at the farplane, too." Yuna glowed with a smile that belonged to young love.

"I said goodbye to everyone, every death I had ever mourned. And when I returned to Besaid, Wakka was there. So full of life, like always and I thought it was what I needed. And maybe it was, then. I needed life. And it flourished between us." Lulu brought her hands together and raised her shoulders. "But then, not so long ago, I realized I hadn't so much as summoned a minor water spell in months. I hid indoors and sealed the windows during the storms rather than reveling in the elements laid bare. I'm a mage. I was clinging to the life I had thought I should be living at the cost my being."

Yuna nodded, her eyes beginning to glisten.

"I love him and I love what we have made, but I did not love that life. I will not cling anymore. It's time for letting go."

"I've been waiting since the day you left on Lady Ginnem's pilgrimage." Yuna half-swallowed a sob and drew Lulu into in an embrace. "Welcome home, Lulu."

[owlmoose.livejournal.com]

Ooh, a lovely conversation; it's great to see the other side of this relationship and its ending. Lulu's self-analysis feels really true, and I love how she refuses to deny the past relationship. I always enjoy seeing supportive Yuna, too -- it seems like a role that an adult Yuna would slip into really easily. Thanks so much for this! :)

In general, I'd say it works within AGL quite well. Luzzu is alive in that universe, but of course, you would have no way of knowing that. ;) That's just my thing -- I prefer killing off Gatta, because I find the scene between Wakka and Luzzu at Djose afterwards to be quite powerful.

SURPRISE FIC ATTACK!

[bottle-of-shine.livejournal.com]

"The cake is pretty good," Rikku said. The delicate white material of her dress wasn't stained yet, but Paine thought it wouldn't be long at the rate she was tearing through the buffet. "She was pretty, wasn't she?"

Paine looked toward the beach where the villagers had strung lights in a haphazard circle to create a lit dance floor for later that evening. Yuna and Tidus were swinging each other around to a fast tune from the band near the cliff. "Yeah, it was a nice ceremony." She frowned. "Well, except when Vidana—"

Rikku winced. "I didn't leave them out on purpose."

"I'm sure having a two year old wear your underwear on his head during a wedding is fine." Paine wasn't paying attention any longer—she had seen who she had been waiting for.

Rikku was silent beside her. "I wondered if he was going to haul you away immediately." She popped the rest of the cake she held into her mouth. "Guess he at least let you hang around a little while. This is really it."

Paine looked away, down to the sand. "We had a good run, Rikku." Of all of them, Rikku was the most upset about the end of the Gullwings—and it wasn't even truly the end, to Paine's eye. "You told me just three weeks ago you didn't mind Leblanc that much anymore."

Rikku wrinkled her nose. "Yeah well, it's not the same! You're going to go off and make spheres; Yunie's going to do whatever it is married people do. It's not really the Gullwings without you guys, even Buddy says so."

Paine was surprised at that, but shrugged it off. "Things change."

Rikku sighed and nudged Paine to the right with her shoulder. "Go on, he's waiting on you." She winked at Paine, and Paine smiled at the crumbs still on her lips—Rikku would always be Rikku. "Don't be too grumpy all the time, okay? Having a boyfriend is supposed to make you happy." Paine rolled her eyes as she walked away—Rikku would never be convinced Nooj made her happy.

He didn't watch her approach, his eyes on Yuna and Tidus, now pressed closed, not even bothering to dance anymore, even though the music was still upbeat. Paine thought she understood that feeling. "Is it time?"

Nooj's glasses caught the setting sun. "Whenever you're ready." He sounded happy, and Paine had been waiting a long time to hear it in his voice, just like that, happy just because he could be.

She reached out and linked their fingers, pleased when he squeezed back. "Let's go home," she said.

Re: SURPRISE FIC ATTACK!

[owlmoose.livejournal.com]

And again with the sweet but oh-so-true feeling Paine/Nooj fic. :D You have a feel for this theme, definitely, and I'm loving it. Thank you. :)

I think my favorite part is how Rikku doesn't understand that Paine can be happy in her own quiet way; it's not how Rikku would show happiness, but she's happy all the same, and then you show that same contentment in Nooj. I also like how Paine thinks that it's not really the "end" of the Gullwings -- they can still have adventures, even though it won't be the same as living together on the ship all the time. There's too much all-or-nothing in post-game fic, I think -- either YuRiPa are all traveling around Spira as a unit or they barely speak to one another. I think there's a middle ground, that no enough people explore in fic.

Anyway. Enough blathering. :) Thank you thank you thank you. Again.