#short story time

[nightmarenova-writer]

~Story Drabble Pt.7~

(P.S. this is something of a draft for my project that I briefly mentioned in my pinned comment, I kinda impulsively decided to type this down because its been driving me a bit crazy due to how much I could work with this. And since by the time March comes around, this’ll be my 2nd year of constant and detailed planning with taking stuff out and putting stuff in. And I’m hoping by next year or by December I’ll have enough to start posting my stuff. BUT there is one important detail with my project. It’s actually a large scale fan-fic that’s gonna have roughly 10-11(?) parts or “installments” so if that isn’t your thing then you don’t have to feel obligated to read these okay? If its not your cup of tea, then no hard feelings. Also just a heads up my grammar might be a bit sucky. Even as a native English speaker my grammar does go down when I don’t write for a while! But I hope you enjoy this! Without further ado, lets get to it!)

—Also this one is a long one, so buckle up and get ready for the ride! Might be a bit confusing at some parts but i tried to make it make sense lol. Enjoy!!—

When I came to, there was nothing around me. Not in the sense of it just being pitch black and void of signs of anything, but literally nothing. No noise, no air, not one tree or silhouettes, not even color. Just…nothing.

‘Where am I?’, I couldn’t help but think.

After all, the last thing I remember was laying down on my brand new bed I just managed to get and conking out. The gentle sound of the wind blowing the trees limbs, and the delightful soft, fluffiness of my blankets engulfing my small frame. Laying snug against the wall facing my bedroom’s door. As I closed my eyes, enjoying the silence and chance to get a full nights rest.

But now I’m here. Alone, in a place that even though I know I’ve never been to, seems so painfully familiar. And no matter how much I called out or tried to find anything, anyone there was nothing. Alone…I was alone. Where am I? Where is this? Why am I here? What is happening?!

No matter how many times I asked I didn’t receive an answer. Alone. I was utterly alone.

‘Someone…anyone…please someone answer me!!’, I screamed helplessly in my mind.

I don’t want to be alone. Please, I just want a sign. A voice, a color, a tree or flower, a person, it doesn’t matter. Just give me a sign!

L̶o̷n̵e̴l̷y̸.̷ ̶I̴’̸m̷ ̵s̴o̵ ̴l̷o̵n̵e̸l̴y̵.̸ ̶W̸h̸y̵ ̷i̸s̸n̴’̶t̷ ̸t̵h̸e̷r̷e̵ ̴a̸n̷y̶t̵h̶i̸n̷g̵ ̸h̶e̶r̵e̴?̸ ̷W̴h̴y̵ ̷a̶m̶ ̶I̶ ̵a̵l̶l̵ ̷a̸l̸o̸n̸e̸?̸ ̵I̷ ̵c̷a̸n̶’̸t̵ ̶e̶v̵e̸n̷ ̸r̷e̵m̷e̷m̶b̶e̸r̶ ̴h̷o̶w̴ ̶I̶ ̷c̴a̸m̶e̴ ̵t̷o̵ ̷b̷e̶.̶ ̵S̴o̷ ̵w̸h̷y̴?̵…̷A̸h̶ ̴I̵ ̴s̵e̶e̷…̷s̵o̴ ̵t̵h̸i̵s̵ ̷i̸s̴…̵b̴u̸t̵ ̴h̷o̴w̶?̴

‘Who’s there?! How are you here!?’

D̸o̶n̷’̴t̸ ̶w̸o̶r̶r̶y̷,̴ ̷l̶i̸t̸t̷l̸e̴ ̴o̶n̶e̸.̷ ̵I̶’̵m̴ ̶h̸e̶r̴e̷ ̷t̶o̷ ̴h̸e̶l̸p̵.̴ ̸A̷n̸d̷ ̴w̷h̵o̷ ̶I̴ ̴a̷m̵…̵i̷s̷ ̵n̴o̵t̷ ̶i̸m̴p̸o̵r̴t̷a̷n̷t̷ ̸r̶i̸g̴h̷t̵ ̶k̸n̴o̷w̵.̴ ̷N̴o̸t̷ ̸y̴e̷t̶.̶

‘You…what do you mean? Why are you lonely? Why….’

D̷o̶n̵’̸t̷ ̵f̷r̵e̴t̵,̶ ̶y̵o̷u̴r̷ ̶a̴n̸s̵w̸e̴r̶s̶ ̶w̷i̵l̶l̶ ̸c̵o̵m̷e̶ ̷i̵n̷ ̵t̴i̷m̵e̸.̷ ̸H̵e̴r̶e̷ ̵t̷a̸k̴e̷ ̸m̷y̷ ̷h̵a̷n̴d̵ ̶I̷’̶l̵l̴ ̵l̶e̵a̶d̷ ̸y̸o̷u̵ ̵a̶w̴a̶y̸ ̴f̷r̵o̶m̴ ̸t̵h̶i̶s̶ ̷p̴l̸a̸c̸e̶,̸ ̸a̸n̵d̸ ̷b̴a̷c̷k̷ ̷t̵o̸ ̴y̷o̸u̸r̷ ̸h̶o̵m̸e̴.̴ ̶T̴o̶ ̸y̵o̷u̵r̷ ̴f̴r̷i̶e̷n̷d̵s̸,̷ ̶y̸o̸u̸r̸ ̵l̵o̷v̶e̶d̷ ̴o̶n̵e̷s̷.̷

Then, just like a higher being answered my prayers, a hand reached out to me. A small, fragile hand that waited for me to place mine in theirs greeted me. Their skin was pale, and when I looked up to see who this person was. I was met with a blank, white silhouette. No features, or details to show who this hand belonged to.

Even when I knew I should be cautious, be afraid, to be on guard. I couldn’t bring myself to. It was strange, it felt like I was somehow looking in a mirror. Myself but not myself. A feeling of a connection that I shouldn’t have discovered just yet. That the right time wasn’t now, but further in the future…

This person didn’t mean me any harm. But the aura around this person…was so sad, so lonely, so desperate, and resigned. My heart clenched at the sheer despair they where openly showing, the heart break, the grief, and the self-deprecation. I could see it all. I wanted nothing more than to hug this person, give them words of comfort, of self worth, of saying that it wasn’t their fault, it never was.

This person was featureless, but they didn’t need features or words for me to see. I just knew, even without their aura, I just somehow knew. Me, but not me. A mirror. I didn’t even know I had started crying until they pointed it out, voice filled with tender worry.

W̴h̵y̷ ̴a̸r̵e̴ ̶y̷o̵u̸ ̵c̶r̶y̵i̵n̴g̶ ̵l̷i̸t̸t̷l̷e̴ ̶o̸n̶e̵?̸ ̸

Placing my hands against my eyes, I could feel the waterfall tears fall down my face in big globs. Surprising me as to how much I was crying, more than as to why. I knew why, but I also didn’t. Frustration welled up, but also sympathy I held for them. It was like they where the other side to me, another side of the coin, the reflection of me I would see in the mirror every day I would wake up and get ready for another morning.

‘A-ah! I…I can’t help it. I don’t truly know why, but when I look at you I can’t really help but cry. It’s strange just how much it feels like I’m looking at myself in some way, that’s mainly why.’

Feeling the caress of a hand against my cheeks, brushing away the tears. I moved my hands from my face in favor of gazing at their face, lightly placing my hand on top their own, holding it in silent understanding. Blank, but was somehow still expressive, speaking not in words, or facial expressions, or the light in their eyes. But with a simple touch, and the aura they held said it all.

Lonely….they said they where lonely. Something I’m all too familiar with, but overcame with the bonds I made with others. Why are they so lonely? Why do they hurt so? I didn’t know, and I also knew they wouldn’t tell me why until it was time. I don’t want to leave them here alone. They shouldn’t have ever felt these awful emotions in the first place, but there was no changing what they had been through.

Was there truly no way to help them? To make them feel that they’re not truly alone? I racked my brain for any solution, any possible answer but there was none. As if there was already no possibility in the first place, that this person right in front of me already used that chance and was left as their current self.

But how do I known this? I’m sure I shouldn’t know this, and I’m already treading on dangerous territory the longer I stay in this place. Even now, my train of thought is changing, adding things to my thoughts as they come to me.

…I don’t care though. All I care about for is this person in front of me. Their touch is cold, when they speak it sounds lightly scrambled, their hand is soft yet has muscle. Committing all of these sensations to memory, although it would no doubt be locked away for the future.

I̴t̴’̶s̶ ̵a̶l̴r̷i̴g̷h̵t̷,̴ ̶t̷h̴e̷r̷e̴’̴s̸ ̵n̷o̶ ̴n̷e̴e̶d̷ ̸t̵o̸ ̸c̴r̶y̶.̴ ̸I̸t̸’̷s̵ ̶t̶i̴m̶e̶ ̸f̵o̸r̴ ̸y̷o̸u̴ ̴t̴o̶ ̷g̴o̸ ̵h̶o̷m̸e̸.̶ ̷I̴ ̶h̷o̶p̴e̶ ̷t̷o̶ ̴s̷e̸e̵ ̸y̷o̵u̶ ̴w̸h̶e̷n̸ ̷t̴h̸e̶ ̴t̸i̶m̵e̷ ̴i̵s̸ ̵r̶i̸g̵h̷t̶.̶

‘Wait please, don’t let me leave you all alone again!’

I̴’̸m̸ ̷n̸e̷v̵e̵r̸ ̷t̸r̷u̵l̸y̴ ̶a̷l̸o̶n̵e̴,̴ ̴n̴o̸t̸ ̸w̵h̵e̵n̶ ̸I̷’̸m̸ ̸h̴e̴r̴e̵…̶.̵f̷a̶r̵e̷w̶e̵l̵l̸ ̵m̸y̵ ̸@̷$̷%̸#̴&̸!̸%̷!̵&̷.̴

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Pa…wa…u! P…ge…w..ke…p! Page wake up!”

I woke up gasping for air, my lungs burning in need to the blessing of one of life’s driven forces. My body shaking, throat aching in protest, and my cheeks wet from the tears I shed in my sleep. Finally recognizing the feeling of hands pressed firmly on my shoulders, I looked at the person who woke me up with wide eyes.

“Hey, are you okay? Me and @#%! heard you crying from our room.”

“Oh, I’m sorry @!#$&%!^. I just…had a bad dream?”

“A bad dream? Do you want to talk about it? I wont mind if you don’t want to either of course. I don’t want to make you talk about it if you don’t want to. After all bad dreams suck.”

I chuckled at @!#$&%!^’s response. They always found a way to make me laugh, even it was unintentional. That’s the kind of person they are, I’m glad they’re my friend.

“Well I couldn’t even if I wanted to. Since I can’t even remember what the hell went on in it.”

“Well, that’s good I guess? I don’t know what else to say really since you don’t remember it. But do you want to go back to sleep or do you want to stay up for a bit to drink some hot cocoa to calm down?”

“Mmmm, I should try to go back to sleep. After all, we have the !@#&*@%@!#% !@#%$ to go to later on today.”

“Ah your right! Well I’ll go back to my room, goodnight Page. Sleep well.”

Before they could leave I grabbed onto the back of their shirt. I don’t want to be alone, I don’t think I could handle being alone right now. Even though I don’t remember my dream, I could still feel the powerful feeling of loneliness that came from it. As well as the feeling of being powerless. Two emotions I absolutely hate experiencing, as the memories attached to them are memories I wish I was able to erase completely.

Regardless, those moments made me who I am today, made me stronger. Made me more determined to protect my people. Even then, there are times where even I need comfort. Although I try to not let it show, I break down, I cry, I hurt too, away from their eyes.

Back then i wouldn’t even think of seeking comfort for these moments, my burdens, my promises, my duties. But now….I’m slowly beginning to let myself lean on my loved ones shoulders in times I need it. After all this time my older siblings told me that it’s alright to lean on others for comfort, to let them hold me as i cry, and tell me it’ll be alright. I’m slowly, but surely letting myself be more open, this moment being one more to add to my memories.

“Wait! Can you…do you think you could stay with me? I don’t…I don’t want to be alone right now…please.”, I whimpered.

A soft sigh was the response @!#$&%!^ gave me, small smile plastered on their face as they gave me a nod, “Yeah I can do that, let me get !@#& and well go to sleep alright?’

“Okay, bring a extra blanket with you too.”

“Hai hai.”

Watching @!#$&%!^ leave my room for theirs I laid back down in my spot against to wall, curled into the cool surface as i waited for them to come back. Listening to the soft murmurs and rustling come from their room, next door to mine. A small smile made its way to my face as I saw @!#$&%!^ come back into my room with !@#& in their arms, a royal blue blanket draped over their shoulder.

Scooting a bit more into the wall, as they place !@#& down on the bed first, before climbing in themself. Shuffling a bit to get comfortable, and turning to face me once they did. The air was soft, filled with comfort and warmth. It made me feel safe, made me feel like everything was going to be okay for the rest of the night. Reaching my hand out I latched me hand onto theirs, intertwining our fingers as I gave their hand a squeeze in thanks. They squeezed back, that small smile still on their face as i closed my eyes once more.

This time I wasn’t scared of anything that could happen inside my dreams. After all I have them next to me to make sure i don’t. I trust they will wake me if I do once more.

Once again i fell into the grasps of sleep, unaware of the soft, endearing look my friend held on their face as they watched me fall back asleep without any problem. Silently cheering that I didn’t put a strong front to hide my suffering. And was opening up with letting them comfort me whenever i needed it. They would have to let the others know about this, after all this was a big step not only for me, but for them too, and our ever blooming relationships.

[casadegatos]

Favorite thing I wrote today, I Need More Sleep Edition:

Bright green grass rustled in the light breeze all around Julia's head. In this new dream, she could still taste the last concoction she drank. She felt for Khalid's hand and grasped it briefly.

"Am I still asleep?" His voice was low. She had almost lost count of how many times they’d had this conversation. Almost.

[ayoharuko]

Done doing my Science exam(Online), so lemme tell u a show story, when I looked at the questions my mind just went blank.

Also went ‘’Wtf is this?’’ 

I looked at my notes and NOTHING WAS IN THE EXAM

I felt like I was gonna throw up and cry....

But then my Housemate(Also bff and classmate) came to my room to tell me sh finished her Science exam...

I told her about the situation and I SWEAR SHES SUCH AN ANGEL

SHE HELPED ME DO SCIENCE AND BRUH I WAS SO THANKFUL 

She told me that I forgot to note 3 lessons that was important for the exam and I was like ‘’Fuck my adhd T-T’’

I gave her my thanks and ordered Starbucks for us, I also gave her a tight hug because she's my angel and savior~

Moral of the story: Get urself a friend who’ll help u in times of need and who is always there for u.

[listen2lizzy]

Just so you all know I don't write anything over 18+ so please keep that in mind while requesting :)

[admiralgiggles]

I used to scribble the bands name all over my book covers when I was in high school. Miss Amato thought it was because I was really enthusiastic about her lit class.

Sure Miss Amato, Beowulf rocked my socks off. 💀😂

[atetheship]

Shout out to this fanart for being the reason I'm a damitim shipper!

I was aware of batcest from the main gen tag and people not liking it and tagging many batcest ships with it. I love damitim platonic relationship and decided why not lol

I mean there was a period of time I stayed away because I firmly thought of the bats as family only but if you think about it often enough you'll get curious so

This was the first fanart I saw and it made me laugh. Such a fun pic that made me jokingly ship them and you know the pipeline from joke shipping to actually shipping lololol

my first time properly drawing damian

[bastardlybonkers]

i feel like not enough ppl are factoring in the cultural clash between laios and shuro and the many micro agressions shuro faced while being in their group. literally the name 'shuro' in itself is one

his name is toshiro 😭 lets also not forget that he has his own communication issues, in the opposite way that laios does- thats literally a factor in their argument, that his envy for laios's ability to express himself sincerely manifested as part of his distaste for him.

ig all this to say like, was their fight heart wrenching, especially when reading laios as autistic? absolutely. anybody whos ever been in laios's position knows how much it hurts to realize someone you thought was your friend doesnt actually like having you around, especially when they didnt tell you and you had no way of knowing due to not understanding their cues. but im begging yall to step back and see the nuance of this situation cause im gonna be real a lot of you are kinda just brushing over it acting like everything is toshiros fault and that hes a terrible person when in reality hes an average guy who really, really clashed with laios and it led to a very long misunderstanding due to their supremely opposite methods of communication. even laios and toshiro, after letting everything out in their fight, were able to come to an understanding and start a foundation for an actual friendship built on better communication

ok yknow what Edit: i shouldve made it even more explicit at the end of this post, i hadnt thought i would need to since i started the post with this, but i think a few too many people are missing my point so i just wanna clarify. i shouldnt have said 'really clashed' and left it at that because yeah they did, but it wasnt just their opposite methods of communication, it is also very much that toshiro was experiencing microaggressions via laios. it may have been unintentional on laios's part, but it still happened and wore him down, made it harder for him to communicate on top of both the more subtle social cues that he was raised with and his own communication difficulties. i also want to say that the fandom reaction to toshiro and the complete ignorance of this point is also racist tbh or at the very least ignorant. i understand that the anime did not cover this panel, and neither did the manga, as this was an omake, but im gonna be real with you guys. there are enough context clues within the story to clue you into this. if you didnt pick up on it thats ok, but i think this is a good lesson in picking up subtext in the stories that youre watching and/or reading. kui shouldnt have to explicitly say 'by the way laios was racist to toshiro' for this point to be understood, and at the very least, when the author portrays a character in a sympathetic light (as kui clearly does) it should make you question Why they are doing so and what makes them sympathetic, rather than youre immediate and only reaction to be 'well i hated what this guy did/said so i hate them and they suck'. idk exactly how to finish this, just. idk. question your biases and gut reactions to things you see in media and stories, and think about whether or not theres subtext that youre missing.

[sheamcgeeme]

Short Story Time: "In A Heartbeat"

Happy Friday and good morning from my side of the world (SoCal to be somewhat exact)! Mercurial is in retrofit so things are a bit wacky (internet at my home is out, power is out…very peculiar), but I’ve been feeling…hopeful. Strangely enough. Slowly, creativity is starting to seep back into my veins little by little, my youngest is starting to get a bit more “independent” meaning he can go run…

[nenoname]

Cute wholesome fics where Stan teaches Soos or Wendy how to drive were always so funny to me because...

And while he insists that everyone in town has ran over McGucket before, we also know he ran over Toby too and absolutely did not give a shit (understandable in that case)

But then again...

Also bless Mr Honeypants

And another detail I love is that his car is casually filled with parking tickets

How many tickets are in Ford's name...

[mslanna]

second short story this month coming along fantastic? here for it

[nipuni]

So I watched Good Omens 😊 It is very cute, I really enjoyed the character design!

[mellosdrawings]

Twisted Stories: Suboptimal situation

[PREV] - [NEXT] - [MASTERLIST]

[neil-gaiman]

Hello!!

First of all, THANK YOU!!! The world has been feeling harder and more hopeless to me in recent years, and individuals like yourself help more than I will ever be able to express to bring light and hope back into my world. Loving and obsessing over gems like Good Omens, and American Gods (the novel at least, I must admit I never saw the show 🙈) have always given me motivation, sparked my creativity, and made me feel so much love for this, often unfortunately cruel, world. I can't express the solace it brings to me when the creators of the things I love are thoughtful and decent human beings. So, again, THANK YOU 🫀🫀🫀

I just finished my second viewing of Season 2 and have a question for you (my apologies if it has already been asked and/or answered and I missed it)!! 

How did you select the song "Everyday" by Buddy Holly? It is absolutely perfect on so many different levels, and for so many different threads and characters, all while still encompassing the perfect feelings of this show. I always include playlists with the stories I write, and often agonize over which song is the best choice for certain moments. You had to pick one song to encompass the entirety of it, and it truly blew me away! 

Thank you this Season and for everything you do; it really does mean the world to so many of us 🫀🫀🫀

In February of 1991 (I think) Terry Pratchett and I were staying in the Chateau Marmont hotel in LA. These days it is a very fancy hotel but back then it was pretty manky and run down. We were being put up by a film company and each morning we would fax over an outline for a new version of Good Omens the Movie and each afternoon we'd go to the studio for a meeting and we would realise that nobody had actually read what we had sent over that morning. Then we would go back to the hotel and work on trying to incorporate the studio notes on the outline they hadn't actually read into what we were doing.

We worked up in Terry's room because it had heating, and it was incredibly cold in LA that February, especially cold because I was in a chalet out in the grounds and there weren't heaters or extra blankets or anything in the chalet.

And at some point in there we were talking about music, and I suggested a few scary and ominous songs that might work to signal the end times. And Terry said "What about Buddy Holly's song Everyday? It sounds so upbeat and cheerful. But what if it was about the end of the world?" And I got all excited at the idea of Everyday being the Good Omens theme song.

So it's really just there to make Terry happy.

[egophiliac]

BIRD SSR????????????

NOOOO I wasted all my keys on Platinum Malleus, HOW CAN THEY DO THIS TO ME

(I do kinda love that this is officially "Raven Jacket" Crowley though) (does this open up the possibility of a selection of future Crowley fashion cards)

[takatul]

Twisted Wonderland self-aware!Yuu except they’re empathic.

When I say self-aware!Yuu I don’t mean a scenario where Yuu transmigrated into Twisted Wonderland with memories intact.

When I say self-aware!Yuu I mean someone who knows themselves better than anyone else.

They know they have flaws. They know that, sometimes, their flaws will get in the way. Whether it’s shutting down emotionally, not being able to express themselves properly, or something to do with a physical ability. Their flaws will always follow them around. Even in Twisted Wonderland.

And yet, self-aware!Yuu is still kind. Still loving all of their strengths and flaws.

Ace needing a place to stay after Riddle off’d-his-head? “Yes, of course you can sleepover.”

Deuce breaking down after letting his delinquent side out? “No, you’re not a bad guy— you just protected me and Grim from those bullies!”

Riddle having a crisis after his overblot? “I don’t accept your apology. Not yet at least. But I can understand why acted this way… you’re allowed to feel angry about your past. You didn’t deserve that kind of treatment.”

No matter how wrong the opponent is, self-aware!Yuu always empathizes with them in the end.

Maybe one day, someone confronts them about it. I can see Leona or Azul or Rollo and maybe Jamil. They’re people who have experienced and or seen how terrible people can be.

“Why are you so nice all the time? You’re too thought. Too kind. Good people like you always end up last.”

Perhaps self-aware!Yuu will look at them with a stoic face. Perhaps a shocked expression, accompanied by a frantic gasp. Perhaps even small laugh at their question. And just as the confronting student was about to retort again, self-aware!Yuu will smile.

“Well, I’m not a good person. I just do what I think is right.”

Self-aware!Yuu will sit down, watching activities unfold around them— heart still bursting full of kindness. They’ll pat the empty space beside them. An invitation, but it’s up to the student to take the initiative.

“It’s everyone’s first time living after all. May as well make it kind.”

Soon enough, if the student plucks their courage, they’ll sit and slowly learn how to become self-aware too.

banner credit: @bunnysrph

[iffasart]

@campbenji JWCTcountdown: release day / free day

HAPPY CHAOS THEORY DAY!!!!

I'M SO EXCITEDDD :D

Edit: added some close-ups under the cut