Title: Fearless
Rating: M for Language, Violence, Grotesquerie, and General Trippiness
Summary: A girl suffers trauma to her temporal lobe. The result: no fear. ~ Uh, I guess you don't have to squint for romance anymore. 1000 words per drabble.
Disclaimer & Important Notes: Don't own Freddy; don't own the rhymes. You know the drill.
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Frosting
(Night 120)
"I did it!" she squealed, and he winced at the sound. It was something he rarely heard from her—had he ever heard such a thing from her?—but it sounded exultant, and not remotely frightened.
He didn't think he liked that either.
"What?" he demanded, glaring, even as she slammed down a small plastic canister in front of him. He blinked and looked up at her, and she grinned recklessly. Sometimes he forgot that she was capable of excitement.
He stared at the little white canister with the red lid. "Duncan-Hines?" he read blankly. "This is what you're so excited about?"
"I was thinking about how those silly kids dragged you out of the dreamworld, and I wondered if I could drag something in." Her tone was irreverent, self-pleased. "I've been practicing for weeks."
It was hard to tell when his brow furrowed, on account of the scars. "Weeks?" he repeated. "And this is what you brought?"
She raised one brow. "I could have tried to bring a child, but you know I don't approve of you snacking on those."
He grinned in spite of himself at her spunk. Of course, his grin would have made lesser women run screaming for the hills, but Ash Kindwall did not even flinch. Her pulse neither stopped nor sped. It made him grin harder, baring teeth.
"Anyway, it's for you," she said firmly. "Tasty dessert from the real world. I was going to try for ice cream, but—melty. And I think cake is too large for a beginner like me."
He blinked up at her and tried to stow away some of his humor. "Bitch," he said flatly, "I'm a fucking dream demon. Anything I want: I make."
She shook her head. "Don't even try to tell me," she scolded, "that anything you create tastes even remotely as good as Duncan-Hines Chocolate Butter Cream."
A little boy whose name was Tim
Once ate some jelly-cake for tea-
Which cake did not agree with him,
As by the sequel you shall see.
"My darling child," his mother said,
"Pray do not eat that jelly-cake,
For, after you have gone to bed,
I fear 't will make your stomach ache!"
But foolish little Tim demurred
Unto his mother's warning word.
That night, while all the household slept,
Tim felt an awful pain, and then
From out the dark a nightmare leapt
And stood upon his abdomen!
"I cannot breathe!" the infant cried-
"Oh, Mrs. Nightmare, pity take!"
"There is no mercy," she replied,
"For boys who feast on jelly-cake!"
And so, despite the moans of Tim,
The cruel nightmare went for him.
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This drabble is dedicated to Xoomis for the prompt, "Frosting."
It is 314 words long, and it is DESTINY.
The fact of the matter is that I had been toying with this idea much earlier in the sequence, but hadn't put anything to paper (or, well, hard drive). It seemed a little too silly and frivolous. And then the next day, while I was still just thinking about what relatively innocent fun I could get up to with a highjacked can of frosting, never intending to actually write it, Xoomis reviews with this playful little suggestion, and I knew:
it was fate.
I thought about naughty but went with mostly-nice instead, because I don't want to be predictable. ;) Also, I again remind you that I take great pains to not use the prompt-word explicitly in the development of the writing, which was a slight challenge during this piece (there's isn't really another word for frosting…I considered "icing," but it's not the same). Then I had to go and do research, which unfortunately did not involve taste-tests. Damn. I also wanted to show a little glimpse into Ash's more playful, excitable side. She doesn't have fear or anger reactions, and it hinders her from a lot of feelings of empathy and instinctual emotions, but there isn't really a limit to the other end of the spectrum.
So: thanks, Xoomis, for kicking my ass in gear and making sure I obey my muses. It's way appreciated!