#comfort path

[aspenxlabyrinth]

Augusnippets 2024 Day 2: Hair Care

TW: This story contains potentially triggering content including insanity, imprisonment, and slightly tragic sibling dynamics.

This story centers around two original characters. Ophelia, and her twin brother Galen. Written for @augusnippets whump challenge.

Ophelia descended the spiraling steps of the tower carefully and slowly. There was minimal lighting, with only small windows to break the darkness every couple of levels of the rounded and crooked wooden stairs. While nothing about the inside of the tower was stable, the stairs were especially bad. Ophelia, however, pressed forward, unbothered by the creaking beneath her feet. Her presence there wasn’t actually allowed, but she assumed that wouldn’t be a problem. It's not like anyone in their right mind came down there anyways, and even if they looked down from the entrance, her dark clothing and hood would conceal her more than enough.

As she reached the bottom of the steps, the guard in front of the tiny barred cell raised an eyebrow at her from beneath his helmet. She reached into the pocket of her cloak and produced the official notice from the new queen that she was an authorized visitor, and without another word, the guard opened the door to let her in. She didn’t even need to take a step inside for her heart to drop at the view.

Inside, curled up in the corner, was Galen, her twin brother. Her twin brother who had brutally overthrown the kingdom and exiled her and so many of their friends. Her twin brother who had tragically lost his mind before she could do anything to stop it. He was sitting against the wall with his knees pulled to his chest, and his forearms cuffed to each other behind his back. His long black hair hung over his face in clumps of unwashed tangles.

Ophelia stepped forward and kneeled in front of him, hoping that seeing her would cheer him up at least a little bit, she received no response at all. She wasn't sure why she expected anything different, it wasn't as if he'd been particularly responsive during any of her other visits. With a sigh, she reached forward and pushed Galen’s hair back and away from his face so that she could see those steely blue eyes that had once been so vibrant and full of life and humor. Her chest and head ached with mourning over the future that Galen could have had if she had only noticed his spiraling mental state sooner.

“I’m so sorry Galen. I’ve been talking with the queen about letting you go, letting me take care of you. If she says yes, then that means you can come home! Wouldn’t that be wonderful?” she asked with a forced smile.

Yet again, no response. Just the same cold silence as before. She pulled the brush from her cloak and decided to at least help him feel a little more comfortable in his own skin, regardless of how much of him was left. She gently took a third of his hair into her hand and closed her fist around it so the brush wouldn’t pull while she worked out the tangles. Slowly but surely, section by section, from bottom to top and all the way around, Ophelia brushed Galen’s hair out until the matted mess that she’d arrived to see was replaced with the long sleek and smooth hair of the brother she once recognized.

A soft melody carried through the small dark space of the cell, and Ophelia looked at Galen in shock. His eyes were closed, and he was slowly rocking himself back and forth while humming a hymn from a religion the twins had long since abandoned. Ophelia could have started crying in that moment, but she bit her lip to hold it back. It was the smallest of signs that Galen might just still be inside this weak husk in front of her, and that he may still have some of his memory. A small but genuine smile crossed her face, and she continued brushing his hair while standing behind him and listening to him hum.

[dead-girl-tells-stories]

DC x DP Idea

After several years, Danny and Damian meet each other again at a gala. But there was no heartfelt reunion since the moment they led eyes on each other it was all-out war. Damian takes out a sword from somewhere and Danny just starts throwing hands.

The fighting is intense, and blood is being spilled (what are those glowing green specks?). They are screaming at each other in Arabic as it's easier to slip back to your mother tongue when in rage right? This makes the fight more personal.

Most people don't understand what they're saying but those who do look at the boys then Bruce. Bruce then back to the boys again. Like B, we know you're stupid but you fucked this person twice.... did you NOT see the red flags the SECOND TIME!?!?

The fight ends with Damian on the ground with the sword grazing his neck. He looks up to Danyal with the fear of god in his eyes, knowing that with one swift movement, he'll be dead on the dance floor. But Danny's eyes were cold and tired, they were dead. No spark, no sense of life in those chilling blue depths.

Calmly, Danny spoke to Damian. His voice was crystal clear, cool like a mountain stream.

"Just because you jumped into the fire behind me doesn't mean you felt the pain I did.  Your hand was held above the flames while I was being burnt in the fucking fire."

Damian begins to cry because he knows that Danny is right. No matter what he went through, it would never compare to what happened to his big brother. Even more so, when he feels long lanky arms wrap around him, a cool hand rubbing his back soothingly, and whispers of sweet nothingness entering his ears.

He cries because no matter what he does he will never be like his big brother.

[magicshop]

his smile could cure the world ♡ [for @morshiberna ♡]

cr. 0613data

[histhoughtslately]

You’re not behind; however, life will continue to go by while you’re standing still. Just remember, little steps matter, too. ❤️‍🩹

[homriette]

Sketch Commission work, Mia from Fire Emblem!

I was a bit gone from tumblr bc I was trying to decide if I wanted to post stuff individually or do art dumps, I ended up deciding why not both lol

[naffeclipse]

Okay hear me out.... Journey to west au. Sun being the monkey king from the book and Y/N a traveller. Y/N rescues him from under the mountain and he joins them in their travels. Moon is a demon that's terrorising a town until Y/N and Sun stop him. Moon then joins the two. Finally Eclipse is another demon that kidnaps Y/N in order to eat them but instead is so utterly charmed by them that he joins the party. Shenanigans ensue... Thoughts?

The great monkey king is indebted to a mortal but he has little qualms with escorting you on your travels as a way to give his thanks for rescuing him from underneath the mountain. His magic and strength are at your disposal. Strangely, you prefer traveling peacefully and quietly, avoiding trouble and helping those in need when the two of you come upon them. The monkey king thinks you are vulnerable and too trusting, and he decides to protect you at all costs.

The lunar demon does not take kindly to his mischievousness and destruction being wrought, but when you and the monkey king stop the mayhem he inflicts upon a small town, the lunar demon can't help but become amused and intrigued by a daring, bold mortal who is so calm in the face of dangerous, sharp teeth, red eye demon. He thinks you are naive and foolish, but he follows you and the monkey king because who else will watch over you at night? Who will keep you safe from the other toothy and red-eye demons?

It is not too long down the road of your seemingly endless travels that a problem arises. The monkey king and the lunar demon venture to the river to fetch you food and drink and while you toil, you feel the shadow of a great personage fall upon you before you are snatched away. You struggle and call for your dear, new friends, but the dark being smuggles you into his cave. He ties you up and leaves you on the floor of his home as he prepares to eat you. You, however, remain calm and speak with the great demon and learn he is the eclipse prince. The eclipse prince wants nothing more than to cook and devour you, but you convince him to allow you to serve him tea first. Pleased by the offer, the eclipse prince unties you. You serve him a tea you have used to comfort the monkey king and calm the lunar demon, and speak with the eclipse prince. The conversation continues until the pot of tea is gone and he tells you to prepare another, pot after pot until he is laughing and telling you that he has forgotten his hunger—your charm and allure have sated him. He will let you go and return you to your companions, but you invite him to join your company.

The eclipse prince is pleased to accept. He opens his cave and returns with you to the monkey king and the lunar demon. When you come upon them, they are furious and frantic. They act quickly to take you back and prepare to attack the one who carried you away before you calm them. The eclipse prince stands rather unapologetically as you explain that he is now joining the three of you. The lunar demon does not take kindly to this change and the monkey king hovers close to you, refusing to let you leave his sights while the eclipse prince seamlessly joins the camp and prepares a pot of tea for you to drink.

You continue your travels, glad to have such devoted company.

[phoenixcatch7]

Loz fandom stop being angsty and give the daydreaming kids on big fun adventures with a cool glowing sword some actual whimsy and joy challenge

[lunacelebrateslife]

[haunted-xander]

So. Fatebreaker, right? Ryne's biggest fears made manifest, daddy issues personified, yes?

He's an amalgamation of Thancred and Ran'jit, his face, his voice and his weapon is Thancred's, but his body, his fighting style and his words are Ran'jit's.

Throughout the fight Fatebreaker constantly makes comments about how only he can protect Ryne, only he can provide for her, only he has even the right to so much as stand beside her, to be in her general presence. He's possessive and obsessive, repeatedly asserting that she is HIS and his only. Which is exactly what Ran'jit says basically every time we encounter him.

But this time it's in Thancred's voice. This time it's with the voice and face of a man she actually cares about.

Ryne isn't scared of Thancred, she never has been. Even when she first met him she was barely even nervous (as clearly shown in Thancred's short story). There's a lot of different feelings happening between those two, but fear has never been one of them.

But now, after things have gotten so much better, she is scared of Thancred becoming like Ran'jit. Because if Thancred was just a little further gone, if he was just a little less compassionate, he would've. It wouldn't be hard for him to go down the same path as Ran'jit did, to be incapable of letting go of the ghost of that girl he loved so so much to the point he'd stubbornly grip anything close to her he could. He didn't, but the fact he could've is terrifying.

It makes his final words, words that are Thancred's, so very important. This is her deepest fears made manifest, but he still says he wants her to be happy. Her happiness not only matters, but is important to him.

[rad-roche]

he's never come up but it is with a heavy heart i say this. dogmeat never factors into gloria's story at all because she hates dogs. plus on the walk to diamond city she's got other things on her mind. nuclear future half her face falling off sepsis and a bad case of dead husband. she'd see that gentle fellow and be like oh not today of all days

[our-inspire-verse]

I always feel so out of place even in system communities. Does anyone else relate at all??

Like, idk some system memes are cool and relatable bc obviously not everything is gonna line up, but so much of it doesn't click with us.

We've almost never been put off by the voices, we all wanna communicate, we don't think less of each other or think 1 deserves more front time than anyone else, etc. Idk, there's so many memes about denial and eating each other's food and all this distress. Which is i know, a major part of many system's lives. Part of what makes a meme is the repeatability and a lot of systemhood IS struggles in that area.

But what about systems who do everything right (in the sense that we have healthy coping and such)? What about systems who unconditionally love each other and dissociative barriers are something we work around instead of fighting? What about the systems who love the voices?

[who-is-hex]

SELF INDULGENT MINI COMIC TIME LETS GOOOOOOO!!! And it's the fated Conversation from Pathologic Classic!!! with some added dankovsky perspective because there's no way he just looked at him and decided to say that shit without an inner monologue. Anyway I put my ass into this for the last couple weeks or so and even put in some smimbolyanisim so I'm quite proud ❤️

[chubbychiquita]

What's the point of being stuck on the couch and squandering your talents when you can use them to your advantage on the road to turning into a hot sexy blob?

excellent point, i have some killer vba code for a new weight gain spreadsheet, u guys are gonna be so horny for my graph formatting and formulas

[histhoughtslately]

As soon as you move away from the wrong people, places and things; the right people, places and things start coming in…

#OutgrowingIsHealthy

[asaethiel]

black sails redraws 1/?

+ video

[the-rad-pineapple]

day 26 of @augusnippets

bonus prompt: whumpee wearing caretaker’s clothes

part 1 | part 2

Whumpee sits up gasping, body covered in sweat that’s now too cool. He shivers and lurches across the bed to flick on his lamp, scattering the shadows lingering in the room from his dreams. He still hasn’t caught his breath when he swings his legs over the side of the bed, resting them on the floor. He puts his head in his hands and closes his eyes. 

He didn’t used to get nightmares so badly. Only after Caretaker left Whumpee’s team. Caretaker’s presence has always been calming to Whumpee, and he’s always had Whumpee’s back. But Caretaker has been gone. He decided he needed a break and left for the main HQ nearly four months ago. 

Whumpee hardly sleeps due to the nightmares. He got his first write-up in his life this week because he messed up a training exercise two days ago because of how sleep deprived he is. He’s embarrassed and more stressed than he’s ever felt for this long. He’s exhausted in a way he’s never felt—a hollowed-out shell, empty and brittle.

He’s been putting off what he knows will help, but now he thinks it’s finally time. His sleep deprivation is negatively impacting his life. …Besides, Caretaker isn’t even here. 

Whumpee stiffly stands and sluggishly makes his way to the door. The way to Caretaker’s room is muscle memory. So is punching in the code to unlock his door. A ghost of a smile tugs at Whumpee’s lips when it unlocks. Caretaker still hasn’t changed the code. 

Caretaker’s room is cool. Whumpee considers turning on the light but decides against it. He’s too tired. 

He wants to be completely submerged in the covers, so he begins to take his clothes off. And that’s when his sleep-deprived mind whispers to him the sinful idea of wearing Caretaker’s clothes, too. As if sleeping in his bed in his room wasn’t enough. 

But Caretaker isn’t here, and Whumpee can have his sheets and clothes washed by tomorrow evening, so what’s the harm? 

Whumpee knows where Caretaker keeps his sleepwear. In the closet on the left. Whumpee grabs the first one he sees and immediately puts it on.

It smells like Caretaker. Like home. Like safety. 

Whumpee feels his muscles relax. He didn’t even realize he’d been so tense. He plops into Caretaker’s bed and slips under the covers, practically burrowing underneath. 

~ ~

Whumpee awakes slowly—peacefully—something that hasn’t happened in a while. He’s grown so accustomed to adrenaline and fear greeting him when he wakes.

He slowly blinks, movement catching his eye. 

Caretaker is sitting in the desk chair beside Whumpee, idly reading something on his tablet. He has the chair facing Whumpee. 

Caretaker flicks his gaze up, and their eyes lock. Caretaker immediately straightens and carelessly tosses his tablet on the desk. 

Then he leans forward and smiles, his eyes crinkling in the corners. It’s been a long time since Whumpee’s seen that smile. 

And Whumpee smiles back. It’s been a long time since he’s smiled, too.