#alternative prompt

[99aceace]

Omega is trying to sneak out in the middle of the night to do some exploring. But Crosshair won't let her go alone.

Summer of bad batch week 4. Alternative prompt: "You really think you're going without me? Not going to happen."

@summer-of-bad-batch

[kybercrystals94]

I Miss You

By KyberCrystals94

Read on Ao3 here!

Whumptober 2023|Day 5|Alternative Prompt: Playing Cards

Bad Things Happen Bingo|Prompt: Crying Themselves to Sleep

Rating: G

Words: 785

Summary: Echo discovers a message from a brother.

“Those look so old!” Wrecker declares, leaning on the upper bunk to scrutinize the playing cards Echo is sorting through.

Echo smiles. “That’s because they are old. I pilfered them off a graduated trooper when I was a cadet.”

“You stole them?” Wrecker sounds as impressed as he is surprised. “I thought you never broke a rule in your life.”

“With the right motivation, I’ve been persuaded to bend a few.” Echo chuckles. “Technically, they were contraband for the guy I stole them from. So, really, I was doing him a favor.”

Wrecker grins. “That’s neat you still have them even after they thought you were blown up.”

Echo’s smile falls slightly as he continues to set the cards out, dividing them into suits. “Yeah, when they thought I died, they went to my old batch mate, Fives. After Fives, they went to Rex, and then Rex gave them back to me when I-"

"Came back to life?” Wrecker offers.

“Sure,” Echo says. “When that happened.”

“I don’t think you could even shuffle them if you tried.” Wrecker laughs.

“They’ve definitely seen better days.”

The cards are dogeared, and every one of them has been folded into quarters because of the time Cutup tried to cheat at Sabaac. He folded a few of them so he could identify them in someone’s hand. When the other Dominos found out, they had painstakingly copied the folds on every single card so they all matched. Echo had been so angry at his squad mate, but he desperately wishes he could take back the harsh words that came out of his mouth. After all, they were just cards. A toy. Nowhere near as important as the individuals that played with them.

Echo finds the card he is looking for, the one that had made this deck obsolete. He had accidentally dropped the card in his cup of caf, discoloring it. Fives had suggested they stain all the cards in caf to match; however, Echo decided to retire the deck and get a new one. The old deck was tucked away in his storage bin in the barracks on Kamino, carrying too many memories in its deteriorated fibers to throw away.

Echo holds up the stained card for Wrecker's inspection. “I dropped it in my caf. It’s the reason we didn’t play with this deck anymore,” he explains.

“What does it say?” Wrecker asks.

“What does what say?”

Wrecker points to the back of the card. “On the back. There’s writing.”

Echo flips the card around, squinting to make out the ink of a pen on the intricately designed backing.

I miss you.

Echo feels like the air has been stolen from his lungs.

Fives wrote those words. There is no doubt in Echo’s mind. Not before the Citadel mission. After. After Echo died. After Fives went back to Kamino. Echo can see him. Sitting in their barracks, sorting through Echo’s meager collection of personal effects. He’s searching for a playing card stained in caf. He writes the three words, handwriting ragged by a trembling hand. A note for the brother he lost. That he'd never get back. I miss you.

“Echo!”

Echo blinks and finds that Wrecker has half climbed into the bunk with him, a hand on each of his shoulders. “You with me, buddy?” Wrecker asks.

“Yeah,” Echo croaks. He clears his throat. “Yeah. Sorry.”

Wrecker’s good eye searches Echo’s face, trying to understand. “You scared me there for a second. You sorta zoned out, and then your breathing got weird.”

“Sorry,” Echo says again. Emotions bubble up, threaten to burst out of him, card still gripped in his flesh hand. Dark, inky, familiar script carving into his mind. I miss you. I miss you. I miss you.

“Did I do something?” Wrecker asks, climbing down from his precarious perch.

Echo shakes his head and tries to reassure the man with a thin smile. “No, you didn’t do anything. It’s just…” Echo holds up the card. “The writing. It’s a note from my batch mate, Fives.”

He leaves it at that, and Wrecker doesn’t ask for more. Instead, he offers Echo a kind smile. “I'm gonna go start my watch but let me know if you need anything.”

“Thanks, Wreck, I will,” Echo says, and he means it.

Wrecker leaves the bunk room, and Echo gathers up the cards, tucking them in their tin. He keeps the caf stained card out. He lies down, back to the room, facing the wall, and holds the note in front of him. The last words his oldest brother ever gave him blurs in his watery vision.

“I miss you too,” Echo whispers, and silently cries until sleep claims him.

END

Read the prequel, You Promised, here!

[mj-iza-writer]

Whumptober Day 9

Learning everything ain't what it seems that's the thing about these days / Polaroid / Mistaken identity / "You're a liar" I used the alternative list for "Reluctant Whumper"

"Please I don't want to do this to them", Whumpee shakily held onto the crowbar.

"You can pick another weapon, but we all know they deserve it, you can do it", a masked man stood behind them watching.

Whumpee eyed Whumper, who was tied to a chair in front of them. Whumper yelled through their gag.

The masked man glided towards Whumper. He grabbed Whumper's chin and pulled their face up to look in his eyes.

Whumper's eyes were wide in fear, they breathed heavily into the gag.

"You deserve everything you are about to receive, I've watched for to long before I could act", the masked man dropped Whumper's head, they looked back at the terrified Whumpee, "Whumpee will get their revenge, one way or another", they sighed.

"Okay go to town", the masked figure stepped aside.

Whumpee looked at Whumper, then at the crowbar, "I-I can't", the crowbar fell to the ground with a heavy klink, "I'm not them, I can't do it, I'm sorry."

The masked figure knelt down and cocked their head to the side. They studied Whumpee for what felt like eternity.

"I'm sorry, but who are you?", Whumpee looked at them, "you said you've been watching for a while, but I've never seen you before."

"Some have called me an entity, a watcher. I prefer magician myself. You called me to you a while ago, you never realized, but you've felt my presence", as though he knew what the next question was, "I had to wait for my strength to gather before I could offer aid, I am not from your plain of existence my power isn't as strong here and it takes a while."

Whumpee whimpered, "I remember a ghostly figure once."

"There is no need to be afraid of me, I was called to you because you needed my help. I am your protector now", the masked figure stood back up, "I almost expected you to not be able to hurt Whumper, I wanted to know for sure though."

Whumpee looked at Whumper, then back at the masked figure, "I can't, I'm not Whumper. Causing more violence to an already violent situation will not bring peace."

A chuckle came from the masked figure, "you will be an honor to protect, so pure. Even in the face of evil you offer forgiveness and peace."

Whumper thrashed in the chair bringing their attention back to them.

"Unfortunately, I can not let you go unchecked and unscathed", the masked figure sighed, "you are to dangerous, I'm sure by the time I'm done with you, you will wish they enacted their revenge, not left me to do it."

"Whumpee I will enact your revenge, I will cause them the same grief and pain they've caused you. They will feel how you felt for so long", the figure picked up the crowbar, "these earthly weapons mean nothing to me, but I have to conserve as much power as I can."

Whumper looked at him terrified.

"Please no", Whumpee pleaded.

"I'm sorry, I know it's horrific to your tender soul, you do not have to witness it", the masked figure sighed, "if we left them like this they could get free and hurt someone else. You have to let me."

Whumpee reluctantly looked at Whumper, then at the figure.

"They could hurt others?", Whumpee looked up sadly, not realizing that truth sooner.

"Yes."

"Are you going to kill them?", Whumpee sobbed.

"You do not have to witness it, you can go wait a few rooms over", the masked figure stated again.

"Your not saying no", Whumpee sobbed more.

"I am bonded to you, I am not able to lie to you, but i don't have to tell you whats going to happen", the masked figure crept closer to Whumper, "I'm starting in 10 seconds, I suggest you leave now. I will join you when I am done."

Whumpee whimpered and glanced at Whumper. The masked figure was standing in front of him now.

Whumper shot a terrified glance at Whumpee, then looked back at the figure. They screamed again into gag.

Whumpee watched the crowbar get raised. They darted out of the room as fast they could. They heard the crowbar make contact. They heard rhe scream.

Whumpee hid in the living room and buried themself under blankets and pillows. The figure both comforted and terrified them. What did they mean by protect and not being part of this existence.

They couldn't hear what was going on though so that was good.

Back in the room, Whumper squirmed as the crowbar came down again.

The masked figure searched the room for Whumpee, "I had hoped they would leave so I can show my true form, I mustn't allow them to see that side of me." The figure removed the mask to reveal their face.

Whumper weakly looked. The horrid face wasn't even a face, no eyes, no mouth, no nose. Whumper screamed.

The face morphed, "I take on the form of what scares you most, that is why I wear the mask", the figure chuckled, "hmm, this figure haunted your nightmares when you were young. I'm glad this is who will kill you in the end."

Whumper screamed again as the figure came closer.

"I'm going to eat you now, that way you are completely removed from this existence", the figure removed the gag.

"No don't, I'm sorry, I'm sorry", Whumper thrashed.

"It's to late to apologize."

Whumpee jumped when they heard a loud scream.

They peaked out of the blankets to see the masked figure standing at the doorway to the room.

"The deed is done, they can not hurt you anymore", the figure bowed, "any request for me."

"Can I ask a question?", Whumpee shook.

"Yes of course", the figure lowered itself to kneel, "you may notice, my form is my hazy now. I am but a shadow in this existence, it takes a lot of my energy to materialize."

Whumpee nodded, "I'm sorry, but I'm comforted by your presence, but still scared of you. What are you here for?"

The figure sighed, "about a month ago, you asked for help in a way that invoked my presence to you. Unfortunately my presence isn't the best here, so I had to wait to gather strength to aid you. I tried my best to comfort you though. I'm bound to you until you ask me to leave, I will take the form of your shadow, and go with you."

Whumpee looked at them confused and lost for words.

"I will explain more later", the figure stood and cautiously approached Whumpee, "you must rest now, you have been through a lot in a short time. Rest now."

"What do I call you?", Whumpee watched the figure.

"You can call me magician, everything will be alright. I promise to take care of you."

Taglist: as always please let me know if you want to be added or taken off of the list. It's not a problem at all. @villainsandheroes @the-beasts-have-arrived @sacredwrath @porschethemermaid

[underwanderingstars]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: X-Men - All Media Types, X-Men (Comicverse) Rating: Mature Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Remy LeBeau/Rogue, Irene Adler (X-Men)/Raven | Mystique Characters: Rogue (X-Men), Remy LeBeau, Raven | Mystique, Irene Adler (X-Men) Additional Tags: Rogue/Gambit Week 2024, Rogue/Remy Week 2024, Day Six, Vow renewal, Alternative Prompt, Fluff, Mild Sexual Content, ROM Space Knight! Summary:

Remy and Anna attend the vow renewal of the summer.

Will Remy survive? Why did he bring his terrible mother-in-laws the rings? And how did two such evil women raise a hero like Rogue? Answers to these questions and more inside!

Written for Rogue/Gambit Week 2024. Day six: alternative prompt: vow renewal, with the tiniest dash of space adventure.

[jamietarttsnorthernattitude]

Jamie has a nightmare at an away match and Declan comforts him.

For the alternative prompt: shaking.

Read on ao3

[melanie-ohara]

In The Woods Somewhere

Whumpuary2024, Day 05 - (Alt) Prompt: Stabbed

Something in Sabine's burgeoning connection to the Force draws her out to the woods just as the Peridean sun rises…

AO3 Here

Sabine jolted awake and sat bolt upright in her bunk with a gasp. The lights in the room were turned low and the chronometer told her there were a couple of hours to go before dawn, so she slumped back against the pillows and tried to figure out what it was that had woken her. It could have been a dream, but since Mandalore she never remembered her dreams, and she had a distinct image of a forest in the rain still in her mind. It didn't look like anywhere she knew, but the trees looked distinctly Peridean to her. When they had been on the Ghost together, Ezra had visions through the Force - but they were strong and overwhelmed him while he was awake. There was something, though. Some strange pull she felt that coaxed her out of her bed and out of the ship. Ignoring it just made it stronger, so she sighed and got up. 

Ahsoka was probably already awake, so she didn't bother moving quietly when she left in full armour, carrying both blasters and lightsaber. Shin and her bandits hadn't appeared for weeks now, but they were still out there - along with wild Howlers and probably countless other predator species - and it paid to travel prepared. Sabine hopped down from the idling T6 into the Noti camp below it, and made her way to the edge, aiming for the tree line in the distance. Her plan was to walk until it started raining, and then look for a place that matched her vision, but she was still wary: their slow pursuit of Baylan Skoll had skirted around the trees so far, and from what she had managed to decode of the Noti language, they feared the forests as much as the ancient Nightsister ruins. 'The domain of betrayal', if her translation was right. Still, the Noti were pacifists, and Sabine had weapons and armour that far outstripped anything the locals had access to. 

The rain started and the pull got stronger. Ahsoka had told her so often to surrender to the Force when she felt it, but Sabine still found herself trying to resist it: trying to guide herself to a destination she would never find without the help of the Force. It was the Mandalorian in her, determined to make her own way, and while she still hadn't decided the path she wanted her life to take, right now she needed Jedi instincts to find whatever was out there. Something about the pull had changed now - it felt urgent. Desperate, even. Something in the dark between the trees was calling out to her like a distress call. Sabine paused, shut her eyes and took a deep breath, and waited until she could stop second-guessing herself and follow her instincts. When she opened them again, she was already walking.

When she next glanced up from the ground, placing her feet to avoid a series of knotted roots, what she saw in front of her lined up so immediately with the image from her dream that Sabine almost fell over in surprise. At the exact same moment, the tug at her guts disappeared like a cut cord, and she was left standing alone and unsure in the darkness and the rain. Outside the forest, the sun would have risen by now, but under the canopy there was barely enough light to see. 

"Hello?" she called, but received no answer. The trees absorbed her voice before the echo could get very far. She doubted anyone would hear her over the rain.

Sabine tried to place her trust in the Force and took a few steps forwards, but when her gut instinct insisted she was going the wrong way, she couldn't help turning back. And there, slumped against a rock between two trees, was Shin Hati. Her hair was starting to grow out and she had pinned it back behind her head, and her clothes and armour had been adapted and added to with bandit equipment, but it was definitely her. 

Caution dictated she draw a weapon and approach slowly- after all, Shin was a deadly assailant who had spent their entire time on Peridea trying to kill her. It could be a trap. Sabine dimly recognised that after she had started running towards her, and by the time she had crashed to her knees in the mud by Shin's still form all of her weapons were still clipped to her belt. 

"Shin?" she demanded, grabbing her by the shoulders and shaking. "Shin, wake up!" 

Why did she care? Why was there a roiling, sinking sensation, like a battleship going down, churning through her guts? Why was Shin not moving? Her hair was plastered to her face, which looked even paler than usual, and when Sabine lifted her eyelids she found her eyes rolled back into her head. Her pulse was thready and unstable, but it was there. She wasn't dead, but she was dying. 

Sabine glanced down, and saw that Shin Hati had been stabbed. 

This wasn't the neat, perfectly circular mark of a lightsaber blade - like the one Shin had given her when they first met - this was a messy, jagged incision that left blood and severed skin behind rather than a perfectly cauterised scar. A lightsaber, even in the hands of whatever Shin and Baylan were, was a Jedi weapon first and foremost, and killing was a last resort. This had to have been a bandit weapon. 

A soft cough turned Sabine's attention back to Shin's face, where she saw the briefest flicker of her eyelids. Her throat worked to swallow, and Sabine tried to shake her again.

"Wake up, blast it!" she growled, but Shin remained silent. "Karabast," she muttered, reaching into her armour pouch for a bacta spray and unclipped the cover from the nozzle. "Don't blame me when you're not ready for this," she said, and pressed the tip against the wound in her stomach.

Shin's eyes shot open and she screamed as the bacta started to knit severed veins back together and stem the bleeding. The sound wrenched at Sabine's heart as much as it did her ears, and she gripped Shin's shoulder with her free hand to try and soothe her.

"I know, I know," she said, concentrating on running the device all the way around the rough edges of the wound. "It stings, I know." 

Sabine had been unfortunate enough to learn a lot of battlefield medicine during the war, and she knew when someone wasn't going to make it without a full bacta immersion. She didn't know if there was a full-scale tank on the T6, but the alternative was that Shin Hati would die out here, from a wound inflicted by her own allies. 'The domain of betrayal' wasn't a myth after all. 

"I have to get you to the ship," Sabine said, trying to sound reassuring and not let on that she wasn't sure that would save her either. The helmet made her sound insincere so she took it off with one hand, scrabbling for a bacta patch with the other. There was no way it would heal Shin's slashed organs or repair her internal bleeding, but it might seal the initial flesh wound enough for Sabine to carry her. She wished she had brought Mirshko the Howler with her, but there was no point thinking about it now.

"Sabine?" Shin's voice was a thin whine that Sabine barely heard over the rain.

"It's me," she said, lifting the tattered remains of Shin's bloodstained robe to press the patch to her skin. The wound was so big the strip barely covered it, but at least the infusion had stopped the more severe bleeding. "You can murder me once I save your life, okay?"

"Took… lightsaber," Shin managed. Her eyes opened for a moment, and a lump rose in Sabine's throat as she saw how bloodshot they were. A second later they closed again, and Sabine worried she had been too late.

"Shin?!" she shouted, and the other woman stirred very slightly. 

"It's a trap," she said. "They're… they're coming."

Sabine's blood ran cold.

[nade2308]

Day 24 is reserved for Mac and Carl. Not much whump, just Carl being cold and Mac having the need to wrap him in ten blankets so he feels warmer. And of course, she puts her foot in her mouth about something connected with Carl, oops. This fic goes through the episode plot faster than usual, but I only needed a few scenes to be adjusted to add Mac in them.

I love Mac and Carl so much.

Hope you enjoy.

@thethistlegirl

[rhythm-catsandwine]

I hate it. No you don't

“I hate it.” Adam complained about the riff he had written himself.

“No, you don’t,” Danny argued.

“Yeah, I do.”

“Then why do you keep playing it over and over again?’

“This is going to be one of those times that what I write goes to Justin, and I’m back to having nothing.” He Adam growled. 

“Perfectionistic ass” Danny grumbled.

“Fuck you.”

“Here, drink,” Justin handed Adam a mug full of wine. “You’ll feel beter.”

“Justin, I don’t need a drink.” He smelled the grapes Maynard turned into wine. “Wait is this the new thang Maynard came up with?”

“Yes.”

Fluffy October or Ao3

[graygiantess]

Who needs sleep when you can make Armand and young Daniel get up to no good with a naughty toy? Not me!

Boy Meets Toy (Explicit)

Prompts: 'Toys' and 'How does it feel'.

Featuring: Armand, young Daniel and a very big [redacted]

@vampirefest

[99aceace]

"Get out of my room!" Or. Hunter accidentally opened the door without knocking. Teenage Omega was changing clothes

@summer-of-bad-batch

[kybercrystals94]

Redolence

By KyberCrystals94

Find here on Ao3!

Whumptober 2023 | Day 1 | Alternative Prompt: Lab Rats

Bad Things Happen Bingo | Prompt: Homesickness

Rating:G

Words: 1,070

Summary: Omega and Echo have a conversation about their pasts.

Omega presses her face between Lula’s long ears and breathes deeply the scent of her brothers: stale sweat, blaster residue, motor oil, aftershave, regulation soap, and a few other things she can’t quite place. Lula is like a sponge, soaking up the redolence of the soldiers she lives with. While the stuffed tooka doesn’t smell pleasant , Lula smells of love and safety and comfort. Therefore, she smells wonderful, and Omega gives the creature an extra tight squeeze as she tries to hold in the tears that threaten to spill. She should be happy. She is happy. She is. She is.

“Omega, are you alright?”

Omega is surprised by the generic reg voice. She would have expected Hunter or Wrecker to check on her...maybe even Tech. Not Echo. He isn’t unkind, but he is distant, almost unsure of her. Like he doesn’t want to get attached. Omega understands, even though it makes her heart hurt a little.

“I’m fine,” Omega lies easily, lifting her face so that her voice isn’t muffled against Lula’s soft stuffing.

There is a pause, but Omega knows the cyborg clone hasn’t walked away. After an uncomfortable stretch of silence, Echo clears his throat. “Are you sure? Hunter – uh – sent me to check on you.”

Omega forces a smile and carefully blinks back the tears that have been forming before she pulls back the curtain, letting Lula topple from her arms. “I’m okay, Echo,” she assures him.

The shadows on Echo’s face in the warm glow of her strung lights accentuate his gaunt features, and Omega suppresses the shudder that reflexively comes. Nala Se had Omega study Echo’s medical files as part of her training. The horrors he suffered at the hands of the Techno Union still haunt Omega’s imagination, and the cool, professional terminology she poured over in the files did not do his tragedy justice. It must’ve been hard for him to join the Batch too, starting over after all he’d been through. She admires him endlessly for it, but she isn’t sure how she could ever tell him without also admitting to having read his files. Not that she’d had a choice, or was snooping, but...

Echo matches her striving grin with one of his own. “Alright. If you say so,” he says, shrugging one shoulder, telling her without telling her that he knows she’s lying.

He starts to turn away when Omega bites out, “Wait, Echo...”

“Yeah?” he asks, the familiar gruff of his voice catching on the edge of the word.

Omega swallows, hoping he isn’t annoyed with her indecisiveness. “I just...can I ask you a question?”

“Sure, kid,” he says, and leans his weight against the wall casually.

“When you first joined Clone Force 99, did you – or do you – ever feel...” Omega searches for the right word, pressing her lips together before saying in a whisper, “homesick? For what you had before?”

Echo looks startled by the question, his eyes widening a little. However, the expression is brief, and his face returns to his normal air in a blink. To Omega’s dismay, he answers her question with one of his own, “Do you feel homesick for Kamino?”

“Sometimes,” Omega admits, pinching one of Lula’s ears between her fingers, “but I don’t want to go back. I’m happy here, with all of you. But if I’m happy here, why do I miss what I don’t want?”

Echo’s face softens. “Because you miss what is familiar, even if it wasn’t better.”

“Is that bad?” Omega asks.

“Of course not,” Echo says, “I missed living with my reg brothers. It’s all I knew most of my life. Doesn’t mean I care about my enhanced brothers any less.” He rolls his eyes good naturedly at the terminology adopted from the Batch, and it makes Omega giggle.

“I guess you and me are kind of the same,” Omega says softly, wistfully. “Taken in by the Bad Batch when..." Echo visibly stiffens, and Omega clamps her mouth shut, now gripping Lula’s ear in a fist. She shouldn’t have said that. She knew the moment the words left her mouth. She and Echo are nothing alike. Not really. Not at all.

But they are. In some ways.

Right?

To her surprise, Echo leans forward, folding his arms and resting them on the floor of her gunner’s mount room. “Nala Se,” he says, his voice softer and gentler than she’s ever heard it, “she experimented on you, didn’t she.” Not a question.

Omega bites down on the inside of her cheek. She has never wanted to tell any of them about that. But Echo knows, because she told him in a roundabout way. In the medical wing, after his accident in the mess hall. He woke up in a panic, and she’d comforted him. I don’t like being hooked up to their machines either.

She didn’t think he’d remember that, but why wouldn’t he?

So, she nods a small, jerky affirmative.

“I don’t remember much about the Techno Union,” Echo says, his voice still low, almost a whisper. Like his words are just for her ears. “I mean...I know what they did. And I live with what they did everyday...but it’s what the Kaminoans did that I remember well. They had to see that I was fit for duty, and their tests...” Echo falters, his words dropping off in an expanse of hidden emotions. He blinks, looking a little lost.

She isn’t sure why she does it, but she reaches out and rests a hand on Echo’s face, her thumb brushing over the sharp edge of his cheekbone. “I know,” she whispers, because she does. She was Nala Se’s “assistant” from her earliest memories. She saw the tests firsthand. Experienced some of them herself.

“You shouldn’t though,” Echo says, “No kid should know that.”

“Maybe,” Omega shrugs, “But we’re safe from them now...the Kaminoans, I mean.”

Echo’s eyes find hers and he smiles sadly. “Yeah, we are.”

Omega’s touch lingers a moment longer before she pulls away and hugs Lula close to her chest. “I’m not homesick for the Kaminoans. I’m homesick for Kamino...for AZI and helping with the babies. I hope they’re alright.”

“I hope so too,” Echo says, and he gives her knee a squeeze with his flesh hand. “You’re a good kid, Omega. I’m glad the Batch found...both of us.”

Omega smiles at her brother who understands. “Me too.”

END

[jamietarttsnorthernattitude]

Roy hadn’t meant to hit him.

He really hadn’t. But Roy also knows when you’ve had and on-field dust-up and said on national television you hope someone dies of the incurable condition of being a little bitch, no one will believe it was an accident.

For the alternative prompt: reluctant whumper

[leuchtstabrebell]

Whumptober Day 27 & 31 / Prompt: Matches & Betrayal (Alternative)

Alfred had been smoking like a chimney the whole day. The whole week, actually.

Gustav wondered why he even bothered with matches when he could have just lit the next cigarette with the last. Maybe he liked to feel in control.

They are sitting at the dinner table, only the two of them. Alfred isn’t sitting properly — he is leaning to the side and has his ankles crossed. He isn’t sitting up straight either, supporting himself with his elbow on the table. With the same arm, he is holding his cigarette.

The letters sit between them.

„Where did you find them?“ Gustav says. What do you want from me? he means.

Alfred laughs between two inhales: „You left them on your nightstand,“ he says. „You asked me to get you that book, remember?“

„And you decided to rummage through my belongings?“

Alfred shrugs. „They were basically out in the open. And I recognized Theos‘ handwriting.“

Gustav doesn’t know what to say for a moment, too angry to speak.

“And now?“ he finally presses out. “Do you want to go to the police? The press?“

Again, Alfred laughs. „No,“ he says. „I don’t think I will.“ He pushes out the glimmering stub of his cigarette, then strikes a match to light the next.

„Everyone knew that you and Theo had a thing going,“ he says with a throw-away gesture. „A little fooling around is normal for young men after all, especially, when there are no women around. But we didn’t think it was this serious.“

Gustav swallows down a nasty reply. „Aha,“ he says instead.

Alfred narrows his eyes and points at the letters. „But this is dangerous“, he barks. „You have a wife now, and a child on the way. Why risk all that with a few letters?“

„You don’t get it,“ Gustav says, resisting the urge to draw the letters close to his chest.

Alfred exhales a cloud of smoke. „No. I don’t. But I don’t have to.“ He strikes a new match although he isn’t even half-way through his cigarette. He holds it up with two fingers.

„You’ve always been too soft, too weak, womanly,“ he says. The match is burning down. Alfred wets his fingers and extinguishes the little flame with them. He promptly strikes a new match.

Alfrd snatches one of the letters from the pile, making Gustav stand up in alarm. „What are you doing?“ he asks, voice threateningly calm.

But Alfred seems focused only on the match. He holds the paper of the letter into the flame, letting it catch.

Gustav cries out and tries to grab the burning letter. In the struggle, Alfred lets the match fall on the pile of letters.

„I’m protecting you, believe me,“ he says and wrestles Gustav to the floor, holding him there. No matter how much he struggles or begs or threatens, Alfred won’t budge. The only thing he can do is watch as the reminders of their love burn down to ashes.

„I’ll never forgive you,“ he tells Afred. But at this point, he isn’t sure if the other even cares.

[rhythm-catsandwine]

Gravestone

They were almost to the car when one of the robotic skeletons guarding the haunted house came to life, dancing and cackling into the night. Justin jumped, grabbing onto his fiance’, nearly knocking them to the damp, leaf-covered earth beneath their feet. “Bloody fucking skeleton!”

“That,” Adam pulled the brunette closer so their bodies pressed together, petting his long curls. “Was not supposed to go off,” Justin whimpered as he clung to the other's thin frame. “Hey, like I know, this wasn’t your idea of fun. I need to make it up to you,” He said as he rubbed Justin's back. “Why don’t you go to the car and get it warmed up while I ensure everything is off.”

“Alright.” 

"We'll get food, then when you get home, you can do whatever you want to me."

Fluffy October or Ao3

[cr1nge-culture]

one of the best fics i've ever read, one that had me addicted to my phone and crying, wasn't even prose. it was a huge, casual, bullet-pointed outline with every detail of an au that the author never got around to writing in full. and it was amazing.

let this be a message to all you who want to write but can't do it "normally": write it! someone out there will eat it up. whether that be poetry, tiny drabbles, or bullet pointed list: your work is always worth it. your art (yes, art!) will alway deserve to have its moment in the spotlight. why? because you made it. even if it wasn't done in a traditional matter, it came from your brain and your creativity and that is amazing.

♡

[prettysilkk]

Me and who? 🖤🤍