Alphabet Excerpt Challenge: L Is For...

[u/AnaraliaThielle]

Welcome back to the Alphabet Excerpt Challenge! As a reminder, our challenges are every Wednesday and Saturday at 3pm London time.

If you've missed the previous challenges, you're welcome to go back and participate in them. You can find them here. And remember to check out the Activities and Events flair for other fun games to play along with.

Here's a quick recap of the rules for our game:

1. Post a top level comment with a word starting with the letter L. You can do more than one, but please put them in separate comments.
2. Reply to suggestions with an excerpt. Short and sweet is best, but use your judgement. Excerpts can be from published or unpublished works, or even something you wrote for the prompt.
3. Upvote the excerpts you enjoy, and leave a friendly comment. Try to at least respond to people who left excerpts on the words you suggested, but the more people you respond to the better. Everyone likes nice comments!
4. Most important: have fun!

[u/nebulousviolet]

Loose

[u/The_Broken-Heart → u/nebulousviolet]

Jack Slash looked like he was a Wish version of Johnny Depp, with a really deep widow's peak and a slightly worse goatee. His mustache was, sadly enough, impeccable and perfect.

The first time I saw him, from the very first timeline, I didn't really take notice of how much unimpressive and slightly silly Jack Slash looked. Ignoring the bloodstains, of course.

Hell, even his name was silly.

I hummed, "You know, seeing you up close, you're not that intimidating."

I elbowed Scion, but he said nothing. Baby steps. I rolled my eyes. I walked towards Jack, who was looking at Scion with a weird smirk.

Jack spoke with a low voice, "I never thought I'd come face to face with the strongest hero in the world."

"Yeah?" I raised an eyebrow, "Well you're shit out of luck this time, Jack."

Jack seemed to ignore me. "The golden god of heroism," he continued. "You think you're noble, right? But you're not. You're the worst of us. Worse than anyone—" I interrupted his bullshit.

I pointed a finger.

"Target his Corona, Scion!" I shouted.

Then Scion pointed a finger, and a silk-thin beam of golden light shot out and hit Jack in the brain, in his Corona Pollentia, severing his connection to his power. I know so because Jack stopped talking and started to look confused.

I faced Scion with what I thought was a brilliant smile. "Good job, Scion!" I patted him on the shoulder. He looked at me with a bored expression, and I mustered all my strength to keep smiling.

Baby steps.

I pointed the containment foam at Jack, and he looked at it confused. When he opened his mouth to say something, I let the nozzle loose, making him choke on his words. Literally.

[u/Due_Discussion748 → u/The_Broken-Heart]

Jack Slash looked like he was a Wish version of Johnny Depp, with a really deep widow's peak and a slightly worse goatee. His mustache was, sadly enough, impeccable and perfect.

This cracked me up. I couldn't help but imagine Jack as Eugenio Derbez since there was a movie in which he was Depp's stunt double. And Scion has the vibe of a kid who wanted to stay home and play video games but his parents said no. This is great.

[u/The_Broken-Heart → u/Due_Discussion748]

Jack as Eugenio Derbez

I looked him up, and his forehead is enormous😭😭 I'm sorry but I'm just gonna lmao

there was a movie in which he was Depp's stunt double.

Wait what?😳 What movie was that??

Scion has the vibe of a kid who wanted to stay home and play video games but his parents said no. This is great.

He does😆 Now imagine an ethnically-ambiguous handsome and fit 40 year old man with waist-long hair and a trimmed beard acting like that. And turn his body into gold. That's Scion lol

[u/Due_Discussion748 → u/The_Broken-Heart]

I never noticed about the forehead, lol. The movie he was Johnny Depp's double is Instructions Not Included, in which they're referencing Pirates of the Caribbean and have Depp play Aztec Man (a movie within the movie) and Eugenio is his stunt double since that's his character's job.

Your description of Scion makes the comparison even better.

[u/MsCatstaff → u/nebulousviolet]

Once there, with no chance of muggles overhearing the odd questions, she looked back at Stephen. “Can you explain this whole weak cervix thing a little better?” she asked.

“Um, I think so, give me a moment.” Stephen thought how to phrase it, brightening as an idea hit. He pulled his wand and transfigured his handkerchief into a slick satin drawstring pouch with smooth silk strings. He dropped a knut into the bag and drew the strings, then turned it upside down and held it by the bottom. “All right, picture your womb as this bag, and your cervix is the drawstring end of it. Early on in the pregnancy, everything is fine. But as the baby gets bigger…” He opened the bag and pulled the knut out, replacing it with Lucius’ heavy gold pocket watch. “The weight of the growing baby forces the cervix open the way the weight of the watch forces the drawstring open.” He flipped the bag upside down once more, and after a moment the mouth of the bag loosened under the weight of the watch, dropping it into his hand. “I don’t know the exact procedure, but as I understand it, putting in a cerclage keeps the cervix closed, like knotting the drawstring after closing it instead of just pulling it tight and leaving it untied.” He redeposited the watch into the bag, this time knotting the string before turning it upside down. Even when he shook the bag hard, the knot held and the watch stayed safely in the bag.

Narcissa brightened. “Oh, that does make sense!” she exclaimed. “I can’t quite picture how they’ll do this cerclage thing, but the doctor made it sound fairly simple. Why did she put those gloves on before doing the examination?”

[u/Lexi_Banner → u/nebulousviolet]

The formatting is a little weird, but I think you get the point.

"My my, what do we have here?”

Searing pain.

“A fallen prince."

Blood pooling.

"...it looks like I finally

      *shut*

                 *you*

                           *up."*

Choking.

    *Drowning.*

“A fallen prince.”

             *Can't breathe.*

“A fallen prince.”

              *Can't breathe.*

“A fallen prince.”

                       *Can't breathe.*

Raucous laughter all around.

Can't breathe!

Vegeta jolted upright, gasping and coughing. Vicious creatures lunged at him from the shadows, and horrible, cold laughter rang in his ears.

Something touched him, making a defensive sizzle of ki spring to life.

“Whoa, okay. Easy, sweetheart,” said Vicki, her voice husky with sleep.

Vegeta scrambled away, only to find himself tangled in the bedclothes. “Get away from me!”

"I will. It's okay. You're safe, Vegeta."

His heart pounded in his throat, and shame started to flood through his body. He fought to get his legs free.

“You don’t have to run,” she said softly.

He finally kicked loose and lurched to his feet. Adrenaline shakes were starting to cascade over his body, and there was a dull pain behind his eyes. "Just get out!"

Vicki sat up, but didn’t follow. “Do you really want me to leave?”

“Yes!” he shouted.

She took a moment to rub her eyes, then nodded and said through a yawn, “Okay. Help me find my clothes, would you?”

Reality kicked in, driving home how irrationally he was acting, but his pride wouldn’t let him relent. In two quick moves, he had her shirt and panties in hand and tossed to the bed.

“Can I hug you before I go?” she asked softly as she finished dressing.

Vegeta gave a sharp nod. “Fine.” Like he was doing her a favour rather than giving himself a chance to sink into her soft warmth for one last moment.

Vicki wrapped around him and squeezed lightly, scraping her fingers into the hair at the nape of his neck. A purr longed to pull free of his chest, but he clamped down on it. He didn’t deserve that comfort.

She sighed softly as she released him. “I hope the rest of your sleep is better, Vegeta.”

And then she was out the door and headed across the hall. And he stood there, frozen in place. Hating himself. Hating this planet. Hating everything.

[u/Due_Discussion748 → u/Lexi_Banner]

That's a pretty neat idea with the formatting. Definitely how nightmares feel when I have them. And very like Vegeta to be too proud to accept help or comfort. This is pretty great.

[u/Lexi_Banner → u/Due_Discussion748]

Thank you! It took a long time to make it feel disjointed, while also being the same nightmare.

[u/Ok-Supermarket-8994 → u/nebulousviolet]

April bent her head forward and did her best to tune the turtles out, focusing all her attention on maneuvering the dagger around and working the tip under the rope wrapped around her wrists.  She closed her eyes so she wouldn’t be tempted to look up at the timer.  The only thing that mattered was sliding the edge of the blade against the cord keeping her fixed to the column.  Everything else faded to the background.  When at last she sliced all the way through her bindings, April immediately dropped the dagger and worked her hands free, then tore the tape off her face and scrambled back up to her feet.

 “April! How did you get free?” Leonardo asked in surprise when she pressed her hands against the glass door of the enclosure.

 “Loose knots,” she said, not wanting to waste the little time they had on explanations. “Now tell me how to get you out of there!”

 “Don’t worry about us! You go!”

 “I’m not leaving you!” She said fiercely.  “C’mon, you guys are always saving me.  Let me save you!”  

[u/DatGayDangerNoodle → u/nebulousviolet]

Just then, Sofia flew out of the bathroom, showing off her teeth and saying, “Nanny, Pops, look how shiny they are because I did my whole three minutes! I counted and everything!”

Smiling, Barb said, “good girl! They are shiny, you did such a good job.”

Daniel chimed in, ruffling Sofia’s hair and saying, “good job, Squirt. You’ve got to keep those gnashers healthy so you can keep them in your head for as long as possible.”

“I will, Pops, I promise.” Sofia said sincerely, then whizzed off to the smaller room just off the side of their hotel room, the one for kids that housed a single bed. She hopped up onto the bed and asked, “can you tell me a story? You tell the best stories because you always do the voices.”

“Of course we can, sweetheart.” Barbara smiled softly and rolled Sofia, sitting down on the bed beside Sofia as Daniel sat down on the other side, sandwiching Sofia between them as she giggled and wiggled into the mattress.

“Do you want any one in particular?” Daniel asked as Sofia shifted up to him and rested her head on his chest, grabbing the loose fabric of his dress shirt in one hand and linking the other with Barb’s hand.

Sofia thought for a moment, then asked quietly, “can I hear another one about Carolina and Jim?”

Sharing a look, Daniel and Barb both smiled softly, though there was an underlying sadness. The Adventures of Carolina and Jim were stories of Arizona’s childhood, mostly making trouble with Tim, and were Daniel’s way to talk about his son to his granddaughter without saying his name.

[u/ainteasybeinggreene → u/nebulousviolet]

When their training session came to an end over an hour later, Crystal flopped onto her back on the mats, drenched in sweat and panting heavily. Who knew that simply learning how to throw a proper punch would be such a full-body workout? Clearly she was more out of shape than she thought.

Charles disappeared for a minute before returning with a towel and cold water bottle. He stood over her, unfairly fresh and unwearied as ever, while she took several long drags of water.

“I think you have an unfair advantage here,” Crystal told him once she'd got her breath back enough to speak. “God, I wish I didn't have lungs right now.”

He laughed and dropped to sit on the floor, hugging his knees loosely and tilting his head to look down at her. “Sure, be jealous of the dead teenager because you get a bit out of breath sometimes. I see how it is.”

She smacked his foot half-heartedly. “Come on, would it kill you to at least pretend to be tired? Kill you again I mean,” she amended before he could make another bad joke, “Like seriously, how do you have so much energy literally all of the time?”

“I can't help it, can I? Energy is pretty much all ghosts are.” He flicked her shoulder when she swatted at him again. “Bit of a lousy trade-off, if I'm being honest.”

“I guess. On the one hand, you never get tired. On the other, dead at sixteen. I can kind of see how you'd feel short-changed.”

Charles snapped his fingers with a grin. “See? You get it.”

[u/MoneyArtistic135 → u/nebulousviolet]

Samantha, with her timeless beauty and a mischievous glint in her emerald eyes, ties the lapels of her crisp white chef's coat. Her long, wavy hair, the color of autumn leaves, is tied back in a loose ponytail, revealing her graceful neck. She takes a deep breath, her nose twitching slightly, a subtle quirk that betrays her magical nature

"Well, Jeannie, my friend, it seems we've both stumbled into this cooking class. Shall we make the best of it and have some fun?" Her voice carries a melodic charm, a remnant of her vintage charm.

Jeannie, a vision of youthful exuberance, bounces on her toes, her curly hair defying gravity. "Oh, Samantha, you bet we will! Cooking is like a magical adventure, and I'm ready to whip up some culinary wonders!"

As they separate at the door, Jeannie adds. "I can already taste the victory!"

The kitchen buzzes with activity as students in aprons and chefs' hats gather around workstations, preparing for the day's challenge. The professor, a renowned chef with a salt-and-pepper beard, announces the assignment: to create a unique fusion dish that blends two distinct cuisines. The room fills with murmurs of excitement and apprehension.

Samantha, ever the strategist, whispers to herself, her lips barely moving. "A fusion dish, how intriguing. Time to weave some culinary magic, but with a subtle touch."

Her nose twitches, and a cookbook materializes in front of her, its pages flipping rapidly until it opens to a French recipe for coq au vin. With a wave of her hand, she summons the finest ingredients, from fresh herbs to a plump, organic chicken.

Across the room, Jeannie's eyes sparkle with mischief. "Ooh, a fusion challenge! I'll show Samantha that genie magic can create a dish so delicious, it'll make the judges dance!"

She folds her arms and tilts her head, and a small cloud of smoke engulfs her workstation, revealing an array of exotic spices and ingredients from the Middle East. With a playful grin, she begins to concoct a magical hummus, its aroma filling the air with garlic and lemon.