#what is there to be afraid of?

[seatwilite]

Chapter 1

“A Strange new drug has hit the air… Literally. An airborne pathogen has been released sometime in the last 12 hours and causes mass hallucinations. People have been reported phobias including, but not limited to, extreme claustrophobia, coulrophobia, hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia, mysophobia, arachnophobia, panophobia, agoraphobia, nosophobia, zoophobia, hemophobia, trypophobia, rhabdophobia, necrophobia, and tetraphobia just to name a few. Where has this drug come from and how do we stop it? People have been warned to stay inside while the CDC tries to come up with a plan to cure those affected. This is Stella White, Channel 3 news…”

Huh… Some of those phobias are oddly specific… The fear of the number 4? Really? And who has a fear of long words unless they are worried about failing a test?

So, he did it, I realized with a sad sigh. All this because of Cora. He’s been in love with her for years. When she broke his heart last month, he promised revenge. But what is the point? Is she really worth all of this?

I begged him to reconsider. So many people would be hurt in his irrational mission to punish his girlfriend that only lasted about a week. Well, 4 days. That was when she realized it wouldn’t work and there was something definitely wrong with him.

I can’t say that I blame her. They were not good together. She was completely wrong for him, but she is beautiful and he is obsessive. There is something wrong with him, just like she said. It’s his warped sense of humor and his aptitude for getting into trouble. But he is a genius and should not be challenged.

I’ve been friends with him for forever. He was always bullied. The kids would call him names like nerd and geek, or even brainiac, then they would push him down and kick him. He was pretty scrawny when he was younger…

But I would always fight his bullies off for him, sometimes ending up getting beaten up myself, in the process. I guess you could say that I’m a tom-boy. I don’t mind fighting for him. Even now, after he’s bulked up due to excessive exercise, I still stand up for him.

He’s never looked at me the way he looked at Cora. And that’s fine. I am fine not being his girlfriend. Being his best friend is good enough for me. Maybe someday I’ll find an actual boyfriend who appreciates me… I don’t know if that will happen because most guys are scared of me.

For the last month he’s been locked up in his parent’s basement working on his Ultimate Drug he calls ‘Phobia.’ He thought it would be funny to make everyone run around scared of things like clowns and start to hallucinate when there really wasn’t anything chasing them.

I happen to be a psych major and I’m worried about the panic this is gonna cause. Fear is not something to be messed around with! It will cause havoc and people will start behaving irrationally.

It’s like high school boys in a school gym, once one of them does something stupid the others wanna get in on it, and then pure chaos! I don’t wanna go through that again! I hated high school!

I warned him many people would be hurt because of it, but he brushed me off. He never listens to me when I am trying to help him and prove my point! It’s like my opinion doesn’t even matter to him! Stubborn man!

I even tried to warn his parents. But Mindy and Jack both said Jeremy was 22 years old and they didn’t have the obligation to babysit him anymore. What is that supposed to mean? They are his parents! What kind of parent would just look the other way when their child really needs their help? That is completely irresponsible of them!

Don’t get me wrong. Mindy and Jack are great. They love him and all… It’s just, they’ve been dealing with Jer’s insecurities and trouble making tendencies for his whole life. But when he hit 21, they wiped their hands of him. Now he is still living at their house, going to college. He is working on a degree to become a microbiologist.

I wonder how long this idea has been cooking up in his brain and just needed an excuse to execute it…

Suddenly my door crashes open and in barges my best friend. He is heaving as if he’d been running the whole way here. He has a manic look in his eye. This can’t be good…

“I did it Libby!” He announces, as if I hadn’t been listening to the news reports all morning long. All I’ve heard about all freaking morning is people screaming that “The End Is Coming! The Zombies are taking over the world!” But there were no signs of these supposed zombies! I seriously don’t know if that would be considered necrophobia or some other tv induced phobia I’ve never heard of!

“I know,” I sigh. I am really depressed, but he doesn’t even seem to notice how I feel. I’ve never had a phobia. I’ve never even been afraid of the dark, so his drug won’t work on me. It only enhances the fears that one already has…

“Aren’t you gonna congratulate me?” he asks, looking confused by my lack of enthusiasm for his ‘practical joke’. Seriously? Congratulate him when I’ve been begging on my hands and knees for him to stop this madness?!

“NO!” I growl at him.

Jeremy looks startled and taken aback. How can he not understand? For being a genius, he sure can be an ignoramus sometimes!

“Why?” he asks, even more confused and slightly frustrated.

“Did you not hear me the first million times I warned you not to do this? People are gonna get hurt! Our friends are gonna suffer for some stupid revenge on a girl who was completely wrong for you! You only wanted her because she was beautiful, not because you guys got along! And what if she doesn’t even have a fear? You would have done it all for nothing!” I practically shouted my rant at him.

“I thought you were joking…” he looks unsure now.

I was joking? REALLY???

“What about that was I joking about? How is people getting hurt funny?” I try to restrain my frustration, taking deep calming breaths.

“Well… It will go away on its own…” he says, as if that is reassuring.

“Yeah, but the CDC doesn't know that! People who are hiding under their beds don’t know that! How long will it last?” I finally ask in defeat.

“48 hours,” he whispers.

“48 hours of fear. How would that make you feel, Jer? You have a fear! You have trypanophobia! How would you feel if a phlebotomist came at you with a huge frickin’ needle right now?” I growl out.

“That won’t happen,” he says with a triumphant grin. “I gave myself the antidote!”

As If I’m supposed to be impressed with this nonsense! I am so frustrated right now I could strangle him!

I grab his shirt sleeve and drag him out the front door.

The first thing I see is my poor neighbor, Ashley running away trying to swat away some invisible assailant.

“The butterflies are attacking! Run for your lives!” She shouts, trying to out run invisible butterflies.

Lepidopterophobia! Well, that’s a new one! I didn’t know Ash was scared of butterflies!

I turn and glare at my best friend, and for once Jer looks sheepish and chastised.

“I promise, they won’t hurt her…” Is all the consolation he can offer.

[icewindandboringhorror]

(also feel free in the tags to clarify Why you made the choice you made!! :0c)

[shoophise]

doodles

[chloesimaginationthings]

FNAF Vanessa has worries over Gregory,,

[brian-kinney-apologist]

how I slept last night knowing that s3 of iwtv is secured, rockstar lestat is happening, akasha is on her way, loustat are endgame, ghost!claudia is a possibility, sam reid is not allowed to cut his hair short for a couple more years, daniel is now a vampire and the devil's minion is real:

[xpurplepiex]

neoliberal temptress

[k3n999]

So I've been drawing two silly hedgehogs a lot lately…

[starry-bi-sky]

I am loudly pushing the batdad agenda i am loudly pushing the— DPxDC Prompt

“Woah. You look like shit."

Granted, that’s probably not the first thing Danny should be saying to the guy that just bit the curb, but in his defense; he’s not running on 100% right now either.

The man -- tall, towering, and broader than Danny is tall -- whips around on his heel, black frayed cape flaring out impressively. Danny would've whistled in appreciation, but he takes the time instead to wipe the back of his hand across his mouth, smearing the blood running from his nose across his cheek.

"Sorry." He blinks widely, not even flinching as the man with the horns zeroes in on him. "That was rude of me. I have a really bad brain-to-mouth filter; Sam says its what always gets me into trouble."

And she's not wrong either, per say. His smart mouth is what landed him in this situation -- with blood blossom extract running through his veins and cannibalizing the ectoplasm in his bloodstream. Thanks Vlad.

The man grunts at him; a short, curt "hm" that shouldn't make Danny smile, but he does because he's somewhat delirious and probably concussed. The man keeps some kind of distance, sinking towards the shadows of Gotham's alleyway like he dares to melt right into it.

If it's supposed to scare Danny, it doesn't work. Danny's never been afraid of the dark; he's always been able to hide himself in it. He blinks slowly at the mass of shadows.

"You look hurt." The shadows says, blurring together around the edges. Danny squints, and licks his lips to get the blood dripping down his chin off. Ugh, he hates the taste of blood.

"I am." He says, "My godfather poisoned me. M'dying." The agony of the blood blossom eating him from the inside out looped back around to numbing a while ago, so all he feels is half-awake and dazed.

"Hey," Danny stumbles forward towards the man, a bloodied hand reaching out to him. "You-- you're a hero, right? You're not attacking me; which is more than I can say for most costumed people I've met." Maybe it's a poor bar to judge someone at, but he's already established that Danny's not in his right mind.

The man makes no change in expression, but Danny realizes blearily that it's hard to tell with the shadows on his face. He stays still long enough for Danny to latch onto the cape -- stretchy, but almost soft under his fingers.

He looks up blearily into the whites of the man's eyes. "Can you help me? I don't-- I don't wanna die." Again. He doesn't wanna die again. He blinks slow and lizard-like. "I mean- I'll probably get to see mom and dad again, but I told them I'd at least try and make it to adulthood."

There's a clatter down the street, and Danny's ghost sense chills up his spine and leaves a bitter, ashy taste in his mouth. He immediately knows who it belongs to even before the deceptively gentle; "Daniel?" echoes down the way.

"Daniel? Quit your games, badger, Gotham is dangerous for children."

Danny's mouth pulls back, and blood spills against his tongue. "Please." He rasps, and grabs onto the shadow's cape with both hands. "Please. He's going to kill me. Please--"

"Daniel? Is that you?"

His lips part, dragging in air to plead with the darkness again. He doesn't need to, the whites of his eyes narrow, and the cape whirls around him before Danny can blink. Soon swaddled in shadows, the Night lifts him up, and steals him away.

[thimblings]

the kiss but make it spite x lucanis

[inkskinned]

i'm a little afraid to go to pride this year. many of us are, a little. sitting around our tapas and video games, the silence that hangs over the discord server. it feels different, we say.

we're privileged. the community that came before us laid the groundwork so i could be raised in a different world, and i will never forget their sacrifices and dedication. they gave us this: a pride that feels like community and celebration and joy. i remember the first few times i went to a queer event - i'd been raised so catholic. feeling safe like that, for the first time... it saved my life. i go to pride to celebrate that feeling - my people, laughing. out in the sun, the way we couldn't have been even 25 years ago. that feeling: no wonder we call it "pride."

who am i to be afraid anyway. there are parts of the world where people are doing much better work than i am. but it's just: i felt at home there, you know? and this year feels different. we are waiting on the dam to break. last year, at boston pride, there was a whole gaggle of sign-holders shouting about jesus. you walk around them and try not to let it get to you.

this year, i'm going to DC's pride with my girlfriend. google sends me concerns about if it's safe to exist in trump's america, if World Pride is a bigass target on all of us. every article uses the words "safety concerns" many, many times. three days ago i witnessed a shooting.

even straight people keep telling me - people are weird lately. sometimes we blame it on Covid and sometimes we blame it on the full moon. but i do remember a time before this, right. it's not just that people are more comfortable being rude. it's this strange, outwards violence. a comfort in being cruel.

it's a big hole to fall down anyway. it's not like they're going to do anything to make pride safe, not really. i don't want a police presence as the solution. and what if this is just fearmongering! what if this is just to get us to stop attending our own events! what if everything is actually fine, and i'm just freaked out by the stated intentions of our president!

and what if i'm just listening to things that are being said. what if i'm weighing the shape and size of this america accurately.

my mother calls me. she's been getting the articles too. i assure her i'll be careful, but i put the phone down and stare at it. i'm going to go to pride. other people made it safe for me, it is my duty and my honor to show up for my community. the only thing we've ever had was each other. it was always an act of bravery. being ourselves is brave.

but i am afraid. i lay out my outfit and i kiss my girlfriend. i cut my nails and clean up my undercut. i hold her hand and hang the sunset flag. the sound of this america feels different. like a volcano trembling. i will love her and i will love being queer and i will sing over the noise of it.

but ... still. in the back of my mind. that feeling, like something terrible has been shifted. like somewhere in the night - they remembered we're different.

[batneko]

okay okay okay one more dungeon meshi thought

I keep seeing people saying Falin is "better at social cues" than Laios. Y'all she's just quiet. 😭 She just keeps her mouth shut. 😭😭 Girl was proposed to, said "let me think about it," and then did not even tell her own brother. She doesn't know what's going on either she's just quieter about it!!! 😭😭😭

[neo--queen--serenity]

Jinshi is not fucking around. In one episode alone, he scares someone so badly she poisons herself:

And the next woman he interrogates pisses herself in fear:

[ojamajodoremisharp]

As June 17th inches closer and closer I REALLY hope this is the general tone of how things are gonna go from here (if the Steam page for it is any indication, at least)

[artbymesa]

Playing Mass Effect for the first time in 2025 and This is basically what Shepard did, right

Am I missing something

[chloesimaginationthings]

What if Henry found Springtrap first in FNAF..

[pythonmoth]

cw: violence. heavy torture. stress incontinence (brief). hurt/no comfort.

× framed traitor f!reader x lt ghost. poly tf141.

Part 2

It's calm.

The sea breeze brushes against your cheeks, your skin warm under the sun, and your toes squirming in the sand. You've been begging your parents to take you to the beach for months since middle school started, and now you're here.

Family. Your cousins, your siblings, your aunties and uncles. Nothing can ruin it! It's perfect.

A bucket of sea water hits you from the back, making you gasp. In an instant, you're up. "You guys are dead!" you scream, laughing as you chase after them.

It's so, so nice.

Then, a weird smell makes you pause as you're chasing your favorite older cousin, knee deep in the ocean.

It brings you back to when you were a toddler, picking up one of your grandfather's old rags, forgotten in a corner. It'd seen too many raining days, all crumpled up. It was sour. Foul.

Almost like poison.

But why did you remember such thing right now?

Your cousin's dark eyes glint, but you can't focus. No, you can't move as she gently makes you lay down in the water, claiming it's a game, and sits on top of you, the sea water filling your lungs.

You scream and fight, your little strength leaving you, until you're finally breaking through the surface.

Another splash of salty water, much colder, wakes you up with a gasp.

"Up" Price's voice says.

You bite back a whimper of pain when Soap roughly grips your hair and drags you up along with the chair from the floor, since Price kicked you the night before. Soap doesn't look at you even once.

"Since you won't open your mouth, let's continue" the captain hums, looking mildly entertained.

"Price, I genuinely don't know anything. I'm not a traitor. You have to believe me, please—"

Smack.

"Save it. It all points to you, so you either speak now, or we start having fun".

Everything hurts, it's all fuzzy and every single inch of your body is burning, yet you still look up at Price, then at Soap. Again, he won't even look at you.

"Where's Simon?" you mumble, trembling. There's silence, but you don't let it stretch. "Please, I really have nothing to do with any of this. Be reasonable. There's nothing in it for me. Why would I sell us out?!"

The door springs open, and your head snaps up. Your world crumbles down as Simon comes in with a little box.

The tools.

At once, you reach another level of panic.

Pure, unadulterated dread.

"Stop! No. No, please. I'm innocent. Simon. Please, stop this!" you wail loudly, your hands clenching hard on the armrests of the chair, uselessly trying to keep them from getting to your fingers.

It doesn't matter how hard you cry out for them to listen. It doesn't matter how badly you fight, leaning forward to push your head against Simon's chest, pleading with him.

There's no coming back from this.

Please. I love you. Please.

When the first nail is ripped off from your fingertip, the intensity of your screams makes Price look away for the first time.

It takes three fingernails and a handful of questions you can't focus on for Soap to turn away from you.

Five.

Away.

Please.

Eight.

It all feels so far away.

Distantly, you feel warmth, right on the chair. For a happy moment you melt into it, too tired to think much of it. Simon's eye twitches at the sight, the white in his eyes bloodshot, and he has to physically stop himself from saying anything.

"I want to die" you croak out, your chin pressed to your chest.

Your heart is pounding in your ears, in your raw fingertips. Your voice doesn't feel yours anymore.

"No. Give me their names".

"I don't know, goddammit!" you scream, your face contorted with pain and anger. So much anger. "Fuck you! I don't know shit. I'm sick and tired of this. I didn't do anything!"

It doesn't matter when Simon rips off another fingernail.

Nine.

It doesn't matter when Soap presses the same disgusting rag against your face, the cold salty water filling your lungs again.

You don't fight.

What for? They want information you can't provide. And you're angry.

Ten.

"I'm breaking up with you" you say, your voice firm, despite the intense shaking in your body.

The pain must have cleared your mind because you just look straight forward, not meeting Ghost's eyes as you speak.

You don't want to look at him.

"I don't want your regret" you continue, your heart slowing down. There's an old bloody spot on the door. You focus on it. "The three of you are dead to me when this is all over".

"Enough chatting. Go on!" Price snaps. You don't hear the trembling in his voice.

The salty water just keeps on coming.

Maybe you hear it. You don't care.

You're not sure for long it goes. Half of your toes are throbbing by the time Price storms out of the room, Soap and Ghost gathering their things to leave.

There are deep cuts in the arch of your feet, several of your toenails scattered on the floor, and the foul smell of urine and blood. Your throat is sore and raw from screaming, and sobbing.

You must've passed out, because you wake up to Ghost's hands untying you quickly, words of apology leaving his lips, curses and promises. You can hear Soap rushing in, the two of them arguing and then running.

Gasps and curses are heard all around the base as Ghost takes you to the medics, demanding them to tend to you now.

It's an order.

Masterlist | Part 3

buy me a coffee