#accepiting prompts

[jmrothwell]

Another moodboard prompt: something for Closest to Heaven 👀

[littlebookreader]

Omnia bene, quod desinit bene

This has two parts: Information and the fic itself. For slightly easier accessibility, I will put both in this post itself.

Some information first:

Summary: Lester and Aurelia discuss the events of the past week.(For the Sunday prompt ‘ Favourite Minor/Background Character’ of the Victoriocity Appreciation Week 2021. Takes place a day after iustus alius dies ad domum.)

Fandoms: Victoriocity(Podcast)

Rating: Teen and Up Audiences

Relationships: Gen

Word count: 895 words

Characters: Lester Horrocks, Aurelia Bell, Julius Bell, Edward Sandringham(mentioned), Inpector Archibald Fleet(mentioned), Clara Entwhistle(mentioned). 

Additional Tags: Exposition-my beloved, haha, whoops, everyone being horribly mischaracterised(sorry about that), Lester really is my favourite supporting character though, not sure if he counts as minor/background, so characterisation is not in fact the only thing I’m butchering today, end of the line!(and the series),  can’t really think of much else, author regrets everything, no beta we anticlimax like Book, here you go

@victoriocity-appreciation for the Favourite Minor/Background Character.

Part 7 of Love, Actually.

This was the information. For the rest of the fic, it’s all under the cut.

Fic: 

Lester Horrocks, crime reporter with The Morning Chronicler knew a story when he saw one. He wouldn’t quite call himself virtuous, exactly, but in most cases, he knew where to draw the line. Julius Bell had assigned him a rather a strange task- send notes all around the city, understand how everyone involved with the madness of the past week would react.

Sure, it seemed like a benign enough task.

“It must not go further,” a message, received only the night before, told him. He had no such troubles with that. Though…..

He looked around for a locution glass, filled in the necessary details and waited patiently for Bell to answer. The vague impression of his face appeared on the third ring, looking rather surprised.

“Ah, Mr. Horrocks! From The Morning Chronicler, is it? I am terribly sorry about this, but whatever it is will have to wait.”

All he said was: “Nuntium accepit.”

Bell looked visibly shaken, a rare occurrence for him, Lester surmised.

“I do beg your pardon?”

“Message received?”

“Ah, yes, yes, Mr. Horrocks, my Latin isn’t quite so poor as all that, fortunately.”

Lester simply stared at the image, wondering HOW this man had gotten where he was today. He then remembered the saying about those in a position of power, and chuckled to himself.

“You had assigned me this task, Mr. Bell, and all I have to say is, nuntium accepit.”

“Oh. Well, then erm, that’s good. I was briefly worried that you’d go….rogue.”

Lester smiled at the image, clenching his fists behind his back, wincing slightly when his nails began to dig in his skin. Who did this man think he was, anyway?

“You needn’t worry about that, Mr. Bell. I’m no threat.” But I am a journalist, he thought. That should be cause to worry.

Out loud, he simply said, “I already have my story anyway, and I have you to thank for it.”

It took him a while, but Julius managed to piece it all together. The image fumed, bouncing around in the liquid in a rather amusing way.

“Goddamn you, Horrocks-“

Lester wasn’t having any of that now. He’d done his part, hadn’t he?

He disconnected the locution glass. He still had something to attend to before going back to work at the offices, and briskly walked back towards the street to hire a cab, filled with a renewed sense of purpose.

Some might have called it revenge for all those years ago. Bell would have called it an inconvenience. He simply called it redemption.

________________________________________________________________

“So, you spoke with Julius.” No question, no obvious intonation implying one. Just a statement, filled with a knowledge that the deed had been done, and was hence forth, irreversible. Not like he would reverse it anyway, Aurelia knew. Lester was almost as stubborn as Augusta, perhaps even more so.

Was it something with all these reporters, or did she simply continue to attract the most stubborn people in all of Even Greater London to her doorstep. She didn’t know, but she wasn’t keen to find out, either.

“Yes, he’s fairly baffled about it. For some reason, I got the feeling that he blamed himself about the whole affair.”

“Did-“ she steeled herself. “Are you gaslighting my brother?”

He shrugged. “I could be. God knows he owes me a lifetime of it.”

“I know Vidocq’s son-“

“Edward Sandringham,” he supplied.

“Right, yes, ‘Edward’, knew all about it?”

“Of course, he was the one who gave Balmoral the almonds. I simply slipped in the note while he wasn’t looking. Somehow, he managed to figure out almost immediately that it was my doing!”

She chuckled. “I may not know him very well-“ As she said this, Lester visibly shuddered. He had a whole history with his father, after all. She knew that it was something of a sore subject for him. “But his only weakness appears to be his partner. Makes me wonder…”

Lester didn’t reply, so she added: “You already told me that the inspector and Ms. Entwhistle reacted poorly. “

He pursed his lips slightly. “On further reflection, not quite. I mean, the three of us knew that I was the one sending the notes. They didn’t. The assumption was reasonable actually; their mistake lay in approaching their landlady.”

Aurelia smiled. “The one who thought you were a ghost.”

“The very same.” They stood their for a moment, not quite knowing what to say next, after which both piped up: “It’s getting late-“ “I should probably get going-“

They stared at each other for a brief minute, confused and maybe even a little bit embarrassed. This time, Lester was the one to break the silence. “I had just received a tip, and something tells me I should act on it. Au revoir, Ms. Bell.”

“I hope you-“ she started to say. I hope you have feelings for me too? I hope you know you can call me Aurelia? What? What did she want to say? She decided to start simple for now. Not exactly a good look on her, but it suited Lester just fine. “I hope you find what you’re looking for.”

He smiled back at her again, a combination of that charm and wit she’d only read in his articles as a teenager. “I already have.”

With that, he left, while she rushed back inside to get ready for work. It may have been a somewhat anticlimactic ending, then again, the last thing anyone in Even Greater London needed was excitement. 

Maybe, it was better off that way. 

[voltage-vixen]

I'm happy you found a solution that works best for you regarding the requests. Does that mean you won't be accepiting prompt requests anymore on the 21st?

Hi Nonny!

Thank you!

And I still will be taking the writing prompt requests on the 21st. I’ll post more info about it once we get closer. 😊

[nirikeehan]

Latin Phrases Prompt List

Adapted from here

ad astra per aspera - to the stars through difficulties

alis volat propriis - he flies by his own wings

amantium irae amoris integratio est - the quarrels of lovers are the renewal of love

ars longa, vita brevis - art is long, life is short

aut insanity homo, aut versus facit - the fellow is either mad or he is composing verses

dum spiro spero - while I breathe, I hope - Samson & Barris

ense petit placidam sub libertate quietem - with the sword, she seeks peace under liberty

exigo a me non ut optimus par sim sed ut malis melior - I require myself not to be equal to the best, but to be better than the bad

experiential docet - experience teaches - Thalia/Cullen meet cute

helluo librorum - a glutton for books (bookworm)

in libras libertas - in books, freedom

littera scripta manet - the written letter lasts

mens regnum bona possidet - an honest heart is a kingdom in itself

mirabile dictu - wonderful to say

nullus est liber tam malus ut non aliqua parte prosit - there is no book so bad that it is not profitable in some part

omnia iam fient quae posse negabam - everything which I used to say could not happen, will happen now

poeta nascitur, non fit - the poet is born, not made

qui dedit benificium taceat; narrat qui accepit - let him who has done a good deed be silent; let him who has received it tell it

saepe ne utile quidem est scire quid futurum sit - often, it is not advantageous to know what will be

sedit qui timuit ne non succederet - he who feared he would not succeed sat still

si vis pacem, para bellum - if you want peace, prepare for war

struit insidias lacrimis cum feminia plorat - when a woman weeps, she is setting traps with her tears

sub rosa - under the rose

trahimir omnes laudis studio - we are led on by our eagerness for praise

urbem latericium invenit, marmoream reliquit - he found the city a city of bricks; he left it a city of marble

ut incepit fidelis sic permanet - as loyal as she began, so she remains