#this was so fun and relaxing to write

[whenyouwishuponastar7]

sedona red (1/1, 22427 words) Pairing: Billy Hargrove/Steve Harrington Rating: Explicit Tags: Modern Setting, POV Steve Harrington, Steve Has Bad Parents, Happy Billy Hargrove, author billy salesman steve, they're in their late 20s, Business Trip, Vacation, Cinco de Mayo Festival, Fluff and Humor, Getting Together, Drunken Flirting, Smut, Romance, Long-Distance Relationship, Falling in Love, Pining, Surprises, Happy Ending Summary: In which Steve Harrington has to fly to Sedona, Arizona to land a business deal. It’s one in the morning; he’s tired, moody, and not thrilled that the hotel he’s staying at is overbooked. There’s only one room. He might have to share it, and Steve isn’t at his best, so he promptly pisses off the other tired, moody guest.

But beyond a business deal, there’s a festival in town and Steve and Billy have front-row seats. Billy gets Steve to loosen his tie and have fun, and after that… well, after that, there’s a love story to tell. --- I had an absolute blast writing this. I really hope you enjoy it!! 💜

[letmetellyouaboutmyfeels]

As if I wasn't already exhausted enough this morning...

It's been brought to my attention that people are taking my fanfics, editing them, and sharing them around. I don't have the words to describe how not okay this is. If you don't like something about my fanfic, then I'm sorry to hear that, but there are a lot of other fics out there you can read instead.

I put time and effort and care into my writing, as does every writer. To take my work without permission and change it feels like someone just punched me in the gut. Frankly it makes me not want to share my work at all and to take down all the writing I do have up, because why should I share anything with people if all they're going to do is decide it's not good enough and they're going to do what they want with it and make it "better"?

And before anyone comes at me, this is not what a transformative work does. This is not the same as fanfiction. I'm fucking exhausted from working two eleven hour shifts over the weekend so my brain is not working so someone smarter and more articulate than I am can explain why. I'm tired.

This genuinely makes me want to take down all my works and not share anything new. It's very simple, kiddos: Don't like it? Don't read it. You will miss out on some fanfics that way, just like you'll miss out on some films, or books, or TV shows. I've missed out on really good fic, novels, films, etc, for the same reason. We all do. It's a part of life. Stuff will sometimes have things in it that you don't like. Skim those parts, fast-forward those scenes, grin and bear it, or just go and read/watch something else.

Normally I would make this post unrebloggable but I worry other writers in this fandom might experience the same thing and not realize it. So people are welcome to reblog this. Anyone who's an ass on it will be blocked, no second chances.

Just. Don't do this guys. Holy shit don't do this. What the actual fuck.

[corviiids]

fic prompt: light in a final day of the yotsuba arc timeloop where he loses and regains his kira memories every day (but retains awareness of the loop).

It's not until the fifth time around that Light slips up and answers the question before L's asked it.

L is staring at him.

Light clears his throat. "Sugars," he says. "Right? You were just picking up the bowl."

"Right," says L after a short pause, though his hand is nowhere near the sugar bowl. He plucks two cubes out with his fingers and plops them into Light's coffee, just like he'd asked. "I always forget how intuitive Light-kun is."

Those cold black eyes don't leave him for some time. Light stares at his hands, trying not to think about the yawning hole in his memory. Over the past five Thursday the 28th of Octobers, it's only grown deeper.

--

The traffic officer dies every time. Light's tried to stop it, but there's little he can do. He doesn't know the fellow's name to call ahead on the radio. He's never stuck around long enough for the investigation to complete, so he's never seen the man's ID. The day always resets before then.

He does, at least, manage to prevent his father from being shot. It's Wedy instead. The next time around, Light closes his eyes to his father's pained shout.

On one occasion, Higuchi dies before they can arrest him. L takes up his--

--something. Something. Something, and. They reclaim something from Higuchi every time they get him. It's small enough to fit in L's hands and every time someone touches it they scream. Something. Each time they reach the helicopter, Light reaches across L and plucks the thing out of L's limp hands, and then his memory goes white and the fourth day of the week begins again. It's the thing Kira uses to kill, it's the only important thing he's learned. Why can't Light remember what it is?

On that one Thursday, Light shouts a new instruction and Higuchi shoots himself in the head before anyone can comply. L takes up the something as Higuchi's body bleeds out. Light tugs it from his hands and his memory whites. With the white comes something else: panic, the likes of which Light had never felt, sickness somewhere deep and coiling. He wakes up on Thursday the 28th of October with the heavy weight of a damning failure resting in his gut.

But it's morning again. The sun warms L's pale, sleeping face and lights up the dark blood vessels under his eyes. Light swallows down a gag.

--

"You've been agitated today," L comments.

It's lonely not having a confidant. It's isolating. Light has thought about telling his father, but their relationship isn't confessional like that. He's thought about telling Ryuk, or even Misa, or Aizawa. But then, anyone he told, L would hear it too.

Light isn't sure why he's keeping the loop from L. He has nothing to hide from L. No reason to hide from L. The two of them, after all, are going to catch Kira.

"Did Light-kun--"

"I slept fine," says Light.

L's expression doesn't change. "I was going to ask if you had any questions for me," he says.

That isn't true. "Oh, sorry," says Light. "No, I'm good."

Each time the white fades and he wakes, L is the first thing he sees. Some remnant of the night before draws back hissing from his sleeping face like grease from soap. Light will watch him sleep until the revulsion eases, until it fades, and L's eyes open wide again. The man never blinks. The skin on his eyelids is thin. Light will not get to see them again until they sleep, so while L sleeps, Light watches him and tries to forget everything L had asked of him the day before, and fails.

--

Higuchi enters the office and takes out Matsui's CV. He pulls out a pen and writes the name down, then he leaves. Light is forgetting something.

"It has something to do with the name," he says desperately, casting about. "Something to do with the way he wrote down that name."

L looks at him strangely. "We know that, Light-kun," he says almost gently.

"No," Light says, frustrated. There's something. Something. Deep in the recesses of his memory, there's something he can't find, something that will lead them to Kira. Higuchi wrote Matsui's name and all the tension left his body.

In the helicopter, he snatches at the something like a vulture at dead flesh and the world goes white again.

--

What if, wonders a small voice. What if he didn't pick it up? What if, whatever the something is, Light left it in L's hands? Perhaps the dark would stay dark and Light might be permitted to see his next Friday. It's worth a try, at least. It's worth a shot. The cuffs slap onto Higuchi's wrists and Light lunges for the thing in L's hands once more.

[voidshrub]

“Time is running out… make a move!”

Heh.. I guess you could say…. he’s drowning in his own tho- *I am forcibly removed from the stage and thrown into the Abyss*

I tried out a bunch of new things with this one… I’m really happy with how it turned out :)

Kinda wish it could flash to the beat though…

Clicky wicky (pink bastard) belongs to @brightgoat ! And there’s a veeeeery brief appearance of @e40536 ‘s Link (green) in there as well! Next art will be an actual browser history post… two browser doodles in a month (hopefully) guys… I’m on a roll!!!

Individual frames under the cut for your viewing pleasure (and because I had to kill the gif quality a little to make it fit in the post)

[gingermintpepper]

I continue to be in the foulest of moods so here are some Zeus + Apollo headcanons because they make me happy :)

(Important note: this is largely specific to my original work and is not me making inferences from mythical or historical texts)

Zeus and Apollo spar. Like a lot. Like a lot. A big reason why Apollo gets so good at boxing is because he usually sparred with his father as a young god and getting hit with one of Zeus' punches is!! Not advisable. He focused on becoming fleet-footed to combat Zeus' more solid fighting style which was definitely helped by his dancing. Conversely, Hermes would later develop wrestling partially as a response to Apollo's annoying fleet-footedness in combat.

Zeus decides to tie his mind to Apollo's when the strain of Apollo's visions become too intense for him to handle alone. When Apollo first returns from his exile after slaying Python, his visions are so severe that he suffered from 'time-blindness' where he could only percieve the future and was completely unable to see the present. Zeus shoulders some of that strain until Apollo becomes strong enough to handle prophecy on his own - though Zeus is careful not to give Apollo absolute prophecy lest he get overwhelmed again.

Despite their closeness, or maybe because of it, Zeus and Apollo argue quite a lot. Usually it's banal things like administrative work or squabbling over which of them should get the larger portion of a hecatomb, but they do argue about how prophecies should be carried out quite frequently too. There's a general agreement for Zeus not to bring up Apollo's children after how messy Aristaeus' anointing was (and how angry Apollo was at Zeus' disagreement with his decision to make his firstborn son a god) but the odd occasion where it cannot be avoided is usually when they have their most grave spats.

One of Zeus' greatest regrets is his relationship with Ares, partially because Ares grows up seeing him dote and teach Apollo with his full attention. There is... a lot of himself that he sees in Ares. A lot of Kronos too and the part of Zeus that is a warrior before he is a king has done his best to keep the boy at arms length entirely because of that familiarity with the face staring back at him. It's another of the things he and Apollo have argued ceaselessly about. Naturally, Apollo has attempted to bridge that gap many times and while Ares is still quite close with Artemis, when it comes to Apollo, he is particularly sensitive.

Zeus is the one that ultimately decided that Apollo should never marry. Due to Apollo's love-curse and his already concerning tendency to be overly attached and committed to his mortal affairs and offspring, Zeus decided that marriage would be doom to Apollo's spirit and proclaimed him unfit for the ceremony and its status. Instead of the expected argument, everyone was quite surprised when Apollo merely bowed his head and accepted such an outrageous decision.

[sparrowmoth]

do you ever think about a wesper romcom anime or are you normal

[necrotic-nephilim]

https://www.tumblr.com/necrotic-nephilim/761747687384252416/i-dont-care-how-much-you-hate-me-you-need-to?source=share

so i'm imagining that tim gets free

(maybe it's steph who's on the outs with tim and doesn't believe him about bruce but sure as fuck doesn't approve of whatever the hell this is or maybe it's damian who's jealous that tim is getting any so much of dick's attention despite the fact that he's the heir and robin)

regardless tim gets the fuck out of gotham and goes on his international art theft adventure to find bruce

unfortunately for everyone dick processes to lose his shit and now damian (and steph to a lesser extent) is doing for dick what tim did for bruce

also a lot of heroes are drawing parallels between this and b reaction after jason died

anyway tim gets his proof (and get saved by jason bc jason's looking at dick all "this is really creepy actually and i don't want you anywhere near tim despite how bad our relationship is")

tim then goes to green arrow with his proof because he knows that man would call dick out no matter what costume he's wearing and he actually does an ok job with all the kids he picks up

there's a jla meeting and dick sees tim and is just as unstable as tim guessed he would be and it's pinging everyone's radar as A Problem now

but obviously they get bruce back and no this is his problem bc literally everyone in the league is like "pls keep dick away from tim, his behavior has passed weird and gone into extremely unsettling"

i can't see what happens next bc i can't imagine bruce actually being help but i can see him being a disaster when he tries and that would be funny

this is SO good anon i love all of these things based on that fic so much aaaa

personally when i was writing it, i imagined Jason being the one to break Tim free. not out of wanting to save Tim or anything, but more so seeing it as a chance to make Tim owe him, and just to fuck with Dick. Jason will cause problems because He Can, and while i don't think he would particularly care for the moral implications of Dick holding Tim hostage (Jason was morally all over the place during Dick's Batman era i fear) he's just morbidly curious. that said the idea of Steph being the one to do so is also fun, because for her it *would* be the moral issue as well as caring about Tim. i think the most fun option is somewhere in the middle, where Jason and Steph are forced to team up, each with different end goals and not trusting each other whatsoever. so when they succeed and get Tim safely out of Dick's hold, there's a deep disagreement and slight scuffle over what to do now, Jason trying to manipulate Tim further against Dick and onto his side, whereas Steph is just prioritizing Tim's safety. i think it's fun if Tim is slightly mentally broken, just from how long he was held captive and the realization of Dick's feelings at the end fo the fic. so he's distrusting of anyone he's once trusted, even Steph, that he just slips away to focus on getting Bruce back, leaving both Jason and Steph trying to chase Tim. and course, Dick.

because Dick would of course try to get Tim back, again and again. Damian is trying to reel Dick back, just because he wants Dick's attention and he does sort of believe they should focus on Gotham. and then Steph is also trying to distract Dick to protect Tim. so everyone's tail spinning in the most complicated game of cat and mouse. Steph and Damian are forced on the same side, trying to get Dick to focus on Gotham instead of Tim, just for now. Steph is promising to keep an eye on Tim, Damian is insisting Gotham needs Dick's attention and combined, they're able to at least keep his immediate focus away from Tim, giving Tim time to find his proof. Jason having to save him is just *fun*, because it reinforces how sort of helpless Tim is. he's not up on his training and his become soft and with Dick's need to catch up to him eventually, it puts him in a vulnerable spot he would *hate.* he'd despise needing to be saved by Jason of all people. it'd fuck him up so bad, because all the bad things Jason is saying about Dick are technically true and somehow, the world is so flipped upside down that Jason is the reasonable one. i think it'd make Tim isolate more and more, distancing himself from the Batfamily, even the ones he should trust like Steph. sure, he's on the outs with her (likely still upset from the Search For A Hero arc) but she's looking out for him. and maybe he knows it, deep down, but Tim is just terrified of trusting anyone associated with the Bat name.

and since he can't go to the Batfam with his proof, him going to Oliver is *so* fun. i adore any concept where Oliver is the one to notice something is very wrong in the Batfam i swear anon it's like you're connected to my BRAIN. because sure Oliver doesn't *like* Bruce, but even Oliver knows this is fucked up. the story Tim tells him is a horrifying one. Oliver has always done right by his kids, or at least tried his best to. so to know what Dick pulled is horrifying. there's this implicit trust the entire hero community has in Nightwing that would get badly shaken up and i think that's fun. the Justice League meetings about it would be a shitshow. someone like Clark who's as close to Dick as he is would want to at least hear Dick out, try to understand his point of view. maybe Dick was in the wrong, but he had to have been doing this out of a place of concern and Tim's just twisted up about Dick's intentions. at the very least, trust in Dick is shattered but no one can agree on what to do, if they can do anything at all. it's agreed to keep TIm safe and away from Dick and long talks are had with Dick, but Dick is disturbingly good at being charming and manipulative, convincing them all he's sorry and he knows he took it too far, it's just the stress of the mantle that got to him.

and Bruce coming back would further complicate things in such fun ways. because Bruce will *always* protect and side with Dick. yes, he's worried about Tim, but he refuses to let any negative blowback hit Dick for this. because sure, Bruce would've never done that, but also, Bruce has done equally shitty things so, he's also not going to fully question it. Dick made a judgment call in the heat of the moment, and now, Bruce is going to defend his right to do so. it sends the League even more out of control, because they didn't expect Bruce to be so deeply on Dick's side. the phase "what would Bruce think?" got thrown at Dick a lot by all of them and now, well. they look a bit like fools for it because Bruce has made it clear what he thinks is that Dick had the right to make the call he thought was best as Batman. so while Dick is socially exiled, he doesn't face any *real* consequences. he's still in hero society and is respected as Nightwing and allowed to exist on the League. Dick just patiently waits for it all to blow over because eventually, there's always something more important to focus on that will make people forget about this outside of just a weird bad mistake Dick made.

and the longterm for TIm is fun. because I think he'd keep his distance from Gotham and Bludhaven, mostly keeping around Oliver, given Oliver is one of the few League members still refusing to let it all go, and it gives Tim some kind of safety net. but i think Dick would still try to pursue Tim. Dick would convince himself he just went about it the wrong way, he came on a little too strongly and he can still fix it. he keeps harassing Tim and trying to get Tim to like him back, making it clear he has no real regret for his actions. i think it's fun if Tim is forced to fake a relationship with someone else to get Dick to leave him alone. maybe Jason, maybe Steph. (honestly, this being JayTimSteph could be fun) and that fake relationship ends up developing into something more real, which would make Dick *insanely* jealous. i'm torn between Dick actually taking it too far (possibly forcing himself on Tim) or keeping his distance because both are fun. i'm partial to him forcing himself on Tim, just for the fucked up non-con that Tim has to cope with, knowing nothing he does will get Dick to leave him alone. he learns the best ways to stay safe, but it essentially kills his ability to have a vigilante career bc it puts him too out in the open. he takes a more Oracle-esque role (Tim working with the Birds of Prey could be a lot of fun) and always lives in some kind of fear of Dick catching up to him. it's so fun and fucked up that even when Tim escapes, he doesn't really and he knows it.

[humanmorph]

"This is a message to you, who listens. You must trust me, because we are friends. You just don't know it yet. "

(The Road to PARTIZAN 05 : Ech0 & dusk to midnight)

currently halfway through PARTIZAN (making my way towards palisade extremely slowly. see u guys there in a month or two) & this is to date my favourite intro Austin has done. what an great introduction to an extremely cool character

[rakiah]

Aside my current LV comic, I also work on another LV story and here its setting via some Ship meme ✨

[alottodix]

Hephaestus kid Craig being an asshole is my Roman Empire

[robotsandjunk]

Maybe something like Soundwave in subspace after a heavy scene and his partner is taking care of him by praising, cleaning and cuddling him

Soundwave can go very easily into subspace with the right person however he’s also very susceptible to internalising what happens during a scene. If he’s told he’s misbehaved or gets punished he’ll take it to heart, the best way to bring him out of this is to settle down for a nice hot oil bath. As his partner cleans and strokes his frame they can tell him how wonderful he is and how hard he works for the Decepticon cause, usually a good tactile overload whilst he’s being praised does wonders for bringing Soundwave out of subspace and making him more accepting of his positives

[bluepallilworld]

Palida's Day

The sky is blue, blue like the moon. It is salty too and she's unsure if the wind is soft or harsh. Her hands squeeze hard on fur as the surroundings shifted at an incredible speed. A laugh bubbles its way out of her non-existent throat and orange fireflies start to dance around. Her giggles are loud and clear and nature bursts into life with each vibration, growing with bright blasts of colors that end up covering the sky. Her loyal rabbit stops and she flies out of the saddle. A cloud catches her. A dizzying light envelops her, flashing rapidly from a dull red to vivid blue-green, each flicker sending subtle jolts along her spine.

Palida awoke with a bustling energy coursing through her every limbs. It was exhilarating.

She jumped down her bed like a spring and took a moment to twirl and jump with happy little shouts. It always helped to get some of the extra energy from the sleep out right after waking to avoid getting into situations like running into a wall trying to do anything. She giggled and flapped her hands, kicked her feet and just had fun being as loud as she could do without making someone scramble to her room in confused panic. Once her morning routine successfully finished, she could already feel her internal fire chill down a bit. Just what was needed to not get into troubles but not enough to feel sleepy too early in the day. She should be able to go all the way through to her afternoon nap without faltering this time! And her parents will tell her how proud they are of her and maybe she'll have two desserts instead of one! With that very thought sitting right in front of her mind, the young girl runned down the hallway. Direction the kitchen. She sangsung while trailing her hand along the wall, jumping above imaginary lines and dodging invisible dangers.

"Kitchen, kitchen, let's go to the kit-kit-kit-kitchen!"

The monster pushed the door open and stormed into the room, eager to start the day. She hopped on a chair and finally looked around to see who was up.

On the chair right across the table was sitting an owl, busy meticulously peeling off the skin of some tomatoes before eating them. That was the last visitor, Charley. Or was it Jone? Asturd? She just couldn't remember it right now and she couldn't care less. They were a very boring guy... They didn't even glance at Palida as she made her chair wobble in thoughts. Nobody else was in the kitchen yet. With a determined stare at the big clock over the oven, she determined it might be a bit too early for her dads.

Meaning!

She could eat whatever she wanted for breakfast!

Not wasting a minute, Palida jumped down on the floor tiles.

The action made the room swim for an instant before she readjusted herself. Aw, the sleeping rush was already ending... No more running around until she got something tasty in her belly she guessed.

Well, she just had to rummage through the closets for a second and she would bounce back for at least another half hour!The chair's feet made some unholy screech as she dragged it to the cupboard, making the visitor groan. There! Palida cautiously climbed back on it and stood on her tippy toes to reach her potential breakfast. Surprisingly, she did not fall during the adventure and the girl felt very smug about it. She really was getting better at this! Once the monster got her hands on her favorite cereals, some really sugary things shaped like carrots, she scurried right back to the table and wasted no time plunging her hand into the box with all the attention to scarf down the food the fastest possible.

"Pali, what did we say about eating right out of the box?"

The girl gulped down what was in her mouth before turning towards the new adult in the room, who was currently leaning on the door frame. Wearing a louse black shirt and a lopsided crown.

"To... not do it?"

Palida answered her papa hesitantly, scrunching her memory trying to remember the exact phrasing of the advice she heard almost every morning.

Dream sighed and yawned once before approaching the cereal mess on the table. He softly brushed his hand against his daughter's cheek, making her look at him.

"Yes and to clean after if you inevitably end up doing it again."

"I was going to!", the girl lied easily, not even trying to look shameful about the endeavor.

"Sure, you were."

Dream crossed his arms, his only functioning eye light staring at his child, a slight grin making the expression softer. Palida watched her papa slowly retreat in the corridor and swiftly come back with a hand hidden behind his back, her head tilting in confusion. What was he holding onto now?

"Now guess who got out all clean and fresh from the laundry washer?"

Red and beige fabric, floppy ears above a limp cloth like body.

"Bunby!"

"Oh, is that its name today?"

Palida ignored the question and jumped on her beloved rabbit plush she reluctantly let go of yesterday after a jam accident. She squeezed it in her arms, letting the smell of clean fabric rubbed against her nasal bone. She stayed that way as her papa swiftly picked her up and busied himself cleaning her food mess, content to just cuddle up there silently.

After the table (and floor) was clean again and some conversation went over her head between her papa and the guest, she stretched up to pat her hand against the adult cheek.

"Yes my light?", he answered after some frustrating long seconds, glancing at her.

"Is Popy still on bed?"

"In bed, lil' star. And yes, I do believe so. Should we...?"

The girl giggled and nodded vigorously. They should!

They made their way quietly towards the biggest bedroom of the house, barely glancing back when a soft sound and a squick told them their current guest had finally left this plane.

The door creaked despite their best attempt at staying discreet.

Warm room. King sized bed. A shape hiding under a fuzzy blanket, curled around a pillow.

Palida stared at her papa. He stared back for a minute before grinning.

And just like that, she was launched like a canon-ball on her still asleep father. Action that allowed a loud screech of surprise out of the victim and a loud fit of laugh out of the victorious warrior.

Cross, now fully awake, looked at the bundle of energy sitting on his chest with a quirked brow.

"Pal, pumpkin, are you obligated to wake me up like that, everyday?"

She knew that despite his words, her popy was not mad. Mostly because he was half grinning (and that was not a mad grin! She was really good at noticing those!) and his hand was softly brushing the top of her skull. So she just giggled and went for what would be the funniest.

She pointed at her other parent, leaning on the far wall and took her most innocent voice.

"Papa idea!"

"Oh so that's what it is? Dream was the real culprit this whole time?"

The "culprit" barely had a second to widen his eyes and even less to attempt a desperate dash towards the exit before a cushion violently hit his chest and made him awkwardly stumble backward.

Palida shrieked in delight watching the pillow fight start between the two. Laughters filled the room as various soft weapons flew in the air. She bounced on a corner of the king sized bed, clapping her small hands.

That was so fun!

The world exploded into tiny little shards of light and darkness. Pain erupted from her face and soon her back collided with the floor. She had tumbled down the bed after an accidental pillow hit her square. For a second the air felt still, no one in the room dared moving.

Then a wail resounded, loud and clear, escaping from the girl's mouth as her whole body shook. It was all it took to make the adults scramble to her side, whispering sweet comfort and apologies and promising treats.

Her nasal bone hurted and her back was on fire! What were they talking about stuff being "fine"? She was literally dying! She tried to muse her thoughts aloud but she could only get out pitiful and retched sobs making her body feel all fuzzy and twitchy.

Strong arms picked her up, rocking her gently and hummed words made their way through her mind. A song she knew well wormed its way through the pain.

"Hey there firefly, what's going in your mind? Hey there firefly, why is your light snuffed out?

The night is dark and my fingers are frozen...

Will you warm me up, dear firefly?

Will you light my path, dear firefly?

Will you hug my heart, dear firefly?

Hey there firefly, what's going in your mind? Hey there firefly, why is your light snuffed out?

If you're tired, I'll bring you to bed, dear firefly!

If you're sick, I'll take care of you, dear firefly!

If you're sad, I'll hold you close, dear firefly!

So please stick around firefly...

Lay your head in my arms...

And... take a nap with me..."

Words started blurring at the end, exhaustion spreading through the small monster limbs and soon everything gently turned to black.

"She fell asleep."

Cross examined his daughter's face, lingering on a small scratch on her nasal bone. His partner leaned against him, sighing. He delicately put their child in his husband's arms to let him fuss for a minute. Once they were sure no real damage was done, they decided to tuck her into their bed to let her nap in peace. The red light pulsating under her bones indicated she was in "low battery" mode. Cross grinned as he knew how much Dream loathed when he used that to describe her state.

A cat, a cat is lapping from the water in her hands. It pours out of her hands. Onto her lap. Onto the floor. It makes a pool. Shimmering like jewels. It is dark. Black. Dark. Wet. She doesn't like it. Her movements are snailish. Light. Sudden. Disappear. Appears. Dissed a pear. Black again. Again. Again. Again.

Palida woke up for the second time of the day. But this time she wasn't as energized as she should after a good sleep. The child groaned and turned around, wiggling like a crazy little worm. She finally peeled open her eyes, only to marvel that she was laying in her parents' bed! The big bouncy bed! She didn't jump on it however, simply tapping her hand on it appreciating the texture of the mattress.

Glancing around, she narrowed her eyes at a pillow lying on the ground. Meanie.

Palida rolled until she sat on the side of the bed, tugging a light sheet on her shoulders as she carefully set her foot on the ground.

Now.

What to do?

Where was everybody, she mused.

Humming and huffing, she strolled towards the corridor in quest of some living beings that left her all alone. Then she noticed a smell. A food smell! And run right to the kitchen. Before stopping and running right back into the bedroom, grabbing her plush then she trotted back through the corridor.

The sheet fell at one point and would lay on the ground for a while.

"POPY! PAPA! WHAT'S COOKING?"

She burst into the room, her arms already up to be grabbed.

And grabbed she was, picked up and put in her chair in front of a plate of food.

"Hey there, sleeping beauty, are you feeling better? We're sorry for the flying cushion."

Cross was promptly ignored as the child marveled at what was seating on her plate. A steak shaped like a kitten and yellow beans.

"KITTY MEAT!"

Maybe the others continued to talk but she couldn't care less with how busy she quickly became trying to cut her steak. One ear. Then the other. The head. The paws. The tail was the funniest part! Worm. And whatever the rest was. She attempted to eat the beans, one by one, but they kept fleeing so she just grabbed them with her bare hands when she thought nobody was watching.

Palida was smart like that.

She jumped out of her seat before getting any dessert. Something was ringing and she had to figure out what was ringing exactly.

Nobody shouted after her to come back so she figured it must be fine.

Now the ringing.

Back to the corridor.

She already heard that ringing before.

Palida checked the bathroom.

No ringy here.

She checked the big mystery closet (because it was so big inside) of the living room.

Not there.

What did that ringing mean anyway?

It was not the oven ring.

It was not the fridge nor the washing machine.

What was it again?

Palida turned to her plush and stared into his fabricated eyes, to see if the answer was hidden there.

It was not.

She readjusted its hat and continued hunting for the treasure noise.

It was important.

It meant something important.

The child ended up in her room, glancing around, smiling at her various toys laying around.

It must have been here, she looked everywhere else.

At the end, her eyes stopped on the high shelf who held stuff she didn't have the right to play all the time with but were still very much hers.

She could see a bit of red from a device from her position (standing up on her bed).

...

THE FRIEND PHONE!

Knowing there was no way to get to it without help (believe her, she tried before), the small skeleton rushed back to the kitchen where her parents were cleaning the dishes and doing other boring adult things.

She all but bolted, launching herself to her papa's back, giggling and screeching.

They asked her what was up and she gleefully explained with all the strength she could muster at the moment.

"THEPHONEFRIENDISRINGINGPLEASEHELPMEICANTREACHIWANTTOIWANTTOWHATIFTHEYHANGUPQUICKQUICK-"

Seeing her magnificent try to explain fast was only provoking (very funny) faces of confusion on the two, she changed her plan and grabbed their hands to drag them where they needed to be. Right now.

Once that task achieved (all by herself, they did not follow, she had to drag them!), Palida pointed to the shelf and exclaimed with all the will of a master ordering its pet around:

"Bring me the phone."

They stared at her for a minute then at each other as if debating about something (nothing more important than bringing down the phone, she was sure of it).

Finally, her papa chuckled softly and reached for her treasure.

It was still ringing.

She answered the instant the object reached her eager hands.

"HELLO HELLO DO YOU HEAR ME?"

A chorus of voices answered, all mixing so horribly it was impossible to understand a thing.

The girl did not let go of the red engine however.

One last shout rang before a voice louder than the overs quieted the rest.

"Come on, kids, we talked about it... One at a time."

"LINTY!"

Palida had no struggle recognizing her older friend's voice and yelled her name excitedly.

"Hey, lil' star, it's been a while. I hope you're doing well! And your parents too."

Her parents exchanged a few greetings with their former guest and now the long distance friend of her daughter before said girl could continue the conversation.

"I'm dooing good! Popy sent me a cushion straight in the face and I didn't even cry!"

Her dad looked amused at the lie but didn't comment.

"Oh that's my warrior! I'm sure-"

A mix of voices stopped her a second.

"Palida, girl, you can tell me all your adventures later but the kids and I, we have something we need to tell you before. Can you turn on the video feed for me? It's the bottom button, the yellow one."

Her papa reached over her shoulder to point at the button and the child pushed it. A fuzzy image slowly appeared on the device and, squinting, Palida could make out the figures of maybe all of the children of Lint's orphanage, the adult holding the friend phone high.

The video shook a bit but got clear fast.

She didn't know all the kids' faces but she recognized some in the front row.

Abigail and Giren. Ebony. Lili in the chair on the right side. The selkie monster she liked but always forgot the name. Tuna maybe? Solky the fire chicken that claimed he was a phoenix. Even Dalty grumpy is there, frowning slightly less than usual.

Most of them seemed very excited about something.

Were they wearing party hats?

"Are you ready kids? At the count of three like we practiced!"

What?

"1"

Palida looked, confused, as the youngest wiggled around impatiently.

"2, Tody, I see you, get that flamethrower away."

What was happening?

"3!"

And at that moment, many sparkles appeared around the group. Magic was thrown, strings of water, fire and various magic bullets made the image crinkled and blurred.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY, PALIDA!"

The whole thing is joyful, chaotic and she swore the boy Lint called "Tody" did not put that flamethrower away.

But Palida stayed stuck as the shouted words wormed their way into her mind.

The girl turned around to face her parents and spluttered the beginning of the question, searching for the answer in their eyes.

"Is it really...?"

And they both smiled at her.

"Yes, it is your birthday, firefly."

That day promised to be great!

***************************************************

Dream belongs to jokublog, Shattered!Dream by galacii-gallery and post!dc!Dream is based on @zu-is-here's story Cross belongs to jakei95

My girl birthday was on the 19th but I forgor 💀

[imtrashraccoon]

I don't know how to say this but I've decided not to keep up the Paptober'24 fic. I'll finish the storyline I had in mind for Scar but I came to the conclusion today that I'm burning myself out trying (and failing) to write a chapter everyday. I love the plot I came up with and I love the characters but I can't force myself to be creative. I feel so silly because I've done this two times before so other than not having time to really plan out the plot, I thought I should have been able to do this.

[mothman-can-write]

Have a little snippet from my current wip that has accidentally ended up with the working title of 'tractor fic'. its not even about a tractor. the tractor plays a minor roll. there is ten thousand words about the tractor. (its about maria visiting clints farm and being incredibly awkward about it) (she visits to fix the tractor and then ends up staying much longer)

Cooper sits on the other side of the table as he munches on his own sandwich and he stares at Maria with all of the open intensity of an eight year old child. “Is this your boss?” he says to his dad without swallowing. 

Clint laughs as he finishes making Lila’s lunch and Maria takes a sip of the lemonade if only so that she doesn’t have to answer. It’s a little tart, but sweet enough that it goes down easy. She isn’t sure she could make better lemonade herself. 

“I guess she is, yeah,” Clint says eventually, folding ham neatly within the borders of the bread. “She’s sort of everyone’s boss.” 

“Everyone?” Cooper swallows his mouthful at last. “She can’t be everyone’s boss.” 

Natasha places her drink down in front of her, sitting a space away from Maria and directly opposite him. She leans forward ever so slightly, conspirational over the table as she lowers her voice. “Oh, she is. She even tells the president what to do sometimes. If someone has a boss, it’s her. Even your mom.” 

She straightens up again with a glance to Maria, picking her drink back up to hide her smirk around the straw. Maria tries not to roll her eyes as Cooper gawks. She downs the rest of her lemonade, avoiding eye contact as long as possible, and the moment she sets it back down, Laura is there beside her to fill it up again. She’s trying not to laugh along with everyone else and it makes it that much harder for Maria to keep a straight face too. 

“That’s right,” Clint says from the kitchen counter. Maria watches him cut the crusts off of the bread before handing the plate to Lila. “That means you have to listen to everything she says when you’re in the barn.” 

Cooper nods into another bite of his sandwich, his eyes wide, and Maria gives him a tight sort of smile. Natasha is still looking at her too, even as she eats her own lunch, and Maria suddenly feels like a bit of a spectacle. It makes Natasha’s eyes crinkle, just so, and that really doesn’t help.

[sneezydarliing]

Close Quarters (Gen/Shin, CynoNari)

Hi um. Me after posting late to my own event. nyways this is for @hachiibun !!!!! thank you So much for your patience i hope you like this. I tried to go insp from some art you've posted so i hope its to ur liking!!!!

Cyno was familiar with Tighnari’s nose. Sensitive and easily set off, it wasn’t uncommon to witness one of his fits if you spent a day with him. His ears would twitch and flick, tail swishing with agitation, nose scrunched up against a wrist until he finally succumbed. His awareness is what led to the sinking feeling in his stomach as he watched the other. 

The two were cramped together in a small inlet, waiting for the moment to strike against a large group of enemies. They crouched side-by-side, shoulders pressed together. Cyno quietly observed, watching the furrow in Tighnari's brows, the flick of his tail, watching him scrub a gloved hand against his nose. The two locked eyes, Tighnari’s eyes red-rimmed and watery with unshed allergic tears. He worried his bottom lip against his teeth, sending a message they both knew. Tighnari needed to sneeze, and there was very little he could do to stop it.  

The specks of pollen coating every surface was the clear culprit. While neither of them were allergic, it was nearly impossible to not feel itchy with the sheer amount of it. Even Cyno, prideful of his own control, had to resist the urge to rub his irritated eyes. Tighnari, however, was fighting a losing battle. He aggressively pawed at his nose, leaving it red and angry looking. They both knew his sneezes could never go unnoticed- Tighnari’s fits were pitchy and desperate, demanding attention whether he wanted it or not. 

Cyno adjusts, freeing a hand, prepared to help if needed. Sure enough, Tighnari’s slow, controlled breath snagged, entering a desperate cresendo as he fought against the itch, battle quickly lost. Cyno watches as he crushes the release against his glove, knowing the control will not last. Tighnari’s nose is never satisfied with just one, and a wet sniffle and the crinkle in his nose confirms his theory. He gives cyno a watery look, warning him of what he already knows.

He slowly manevours around so that he's facing tighnari, ignoring his quiet hiss of “what are you doing?!” then, he brings up his hands, gently presses tighnari against his body, and locks eyes with him. Tighnari  nods, breath already stuttering. Cyno can almost feel the tickle, watching his nose wrinkle as he brings up another glove to scrub at it. His breath takes on an almost desperate whine, and he buries himself into Cyno’s shoulder

As it came to a peak, Cynos hands wrapped around hjs head, pressing him further into him. The fabric against his nose set him over the edge, as he tries desperately to silence the much-needed release. 

“h’NGT! h-N’’gXT-h’NdT’iew-! hhI- hN’GT-hH’NDGT-ieww!” Tighnari panted against the rapid releases, and Cyno felt a dampness in his shoulder. “Done?” he whispered, knowing Tighnari’s sensitive ears would pick it up. Tighnari lets out another whine-like breath, hitching and stuttering. “I don’Hht-! Don’t know how many more I.. nGHT-! snF! Can hold back..” he mutters, congestion clear in his voice. 

Cyno presses his hands against the back of Tighnari’s head and presses him further against him. “Let them out. It’ll be okay.” 

Tighnari opens his mouth to object, but with his loss of focus, the need for release overcomes him. He buries himself in the crook of Cyno’s neck, each sneeze more desperate and itchy sounding than the last. 

“hIH-iSHhiew-iShh-i’tSCh’iew-! hAh.. hiDT’sCHh’u! a’TSCHh-sCHh’ieww-! n’GTCh-! iSCHh’u!” Tighnari gasps for breath against Cyno as he watches their targets warily pack up their camp and leave, made nervous by the sudden activity. He releases a deep breath, but there’s no use in being angry. It was an unavoidable outcome. He releases his grip on his companion, trying to plan a next move as he listens to Tighnari’s wet sniffles as he attempts to clean himself up. 

“I’m sorry, Cyno.” He says after a few moments, voice thick and raspy from strain. Cyno shakes his head in response. “It was bound to happen. I’m sure they’ll return.” He stands, dusting the dirt from his clothes, and offers a hand to Tighnari, who takes it after another itchy sneeze aimed into his shoulder. “You need to go home and wash the pollen off.” 

[wetcatspellcaster]

↑↑ Live action footage of me, lying in my bed and trying to sleep after drafting A Big Scene and Having A Plot Revelation