#day 22: comfort

[merinsedai]

Day 22- comfort

From the sandtober prompts by @orionsangel86 ☺️

I think he’s not ready at this moment, but perhaps Dream and Calliope have made tentative forward steps towards being able to offer each other comfort in their shared grief. Eventually.

[orionsangel86]

Sandtober days 22, 23 and 24 - Your art for the prompts "Comfort", "Celestial", and "Hope".

We have less than a week left of the month and I am in awe of everyone still participating in this challenge. I adore all your beautiful creations thank you so much for continuing to submit works for Sandtober!

Prompt List

First some submissions from previous days:

Giant!Dream and Hob for day 20 "mirror" by @teejaystumbles

A fic for day 18 "change" by @rey-jake-therapist

Day 22: Comfort

Dream, Daniel, and Hob by @missingrache

Dream and Hob by @milune-vox

Dream and Hob by @teejaystumbles

Dream of the Endless by @mostly-morpheus-and-myths

Dream and Calliope by @merinsedai

Dream and a Comfy Matthew by @quillingwords

A Haiku for Death of the Endless by @writing-for-life

Dream of the Endless by @klarahimmeltheendless

Day 23: Celestial

Dream in Fancy Pyjamas by @missingrache

Lucifer Morningstar by @timesorceror

Hob Gadling by @mathomhouse-e

Dream and Calliope by @mostly-morpheus-and-myths

Starry-Eyed Dream by @merinsedai

A Haiku for Dream by @writing-for-life

Sleepy Dream by @quillingwords

Dream and Hope by @klarahimmeltheendless

Day 24: Hope

Dream and Hope by @missingrache

Nada by @mostly-morpheus-and-myths

A Haiku with Hope by @writing-for-life

Dream and Hope by @merinsedai

Dream and Hope by @klarahimmeltheendless

Thank you so much for your creations these past few days! Todays prompt is "mother" and I look forward to seeing all your creations for it!

:)

[furiosophie]

it's something sinister to love without regard for dear tomorrow

[cuddlepilefics]

Better out than in

Fandom: Ateez

Sickie: Seonghwa

Caregiver: Hongjoong

Prompts: Vomiting / “I got your hair, it’s fine.”

@whumperless-whump-event

No one’s POV.:

Seonghwa always loved visiting new places and making memories with his friends, so he was ecstatic to learn that they’d get some time to explore the cities while on tour in America. The weather too seemed to be on their side, blessing their outings with sunshine. A little too sunny from time to time, maybe. With the comfortable air-conditioning in their hotel, it was hard to convince anyone to go out and explore but Hongjoong didn’t want to disappoint his hyung, who had been looking forward to spending his free time outside. Exploring was always more fun together and going alone could get overwhelming, so it was understandable that Seonghwa was so desperate to convince someone to accompany him. With a sigh, Hongjoong reapplied his sun protection before joining the eldest and humming: “Let’s go. Anywhere specific you wanted to see?”

The leader already regretted his decision a couple of blocks down, as he was drenched in sweat despite not having gone very far yet. Seonghwa was in high spirits though, only tugging on his shirt occasionally to get it unstuck from his sweaty skin. Long hair could really make one’s neck sweat, he discovered, running his fingers through his hair. This was the hottest he had been since growing out his hair and he couldn’t help but fantasize about a short hair cut, despite usually liking his longer hair. Hongjoong swiped his wrist across his forehead, brushing off droplets of sweat before fanning himself with his snapback. “That looks like a mini-market ahead”, the leader panted, “Let’s grab something to drink there. Pretty sure, I already lost all my fluids through my pores.”Seonghwa chuckled at that but no matter the whining, he was still glad that the younger had agreed to accompany him.

While Hongjoong bought a bottle of cold soda, Seonghwa decided to wait and only buy a drink once he felt thirsty. He didn’t want to carry a bottle around and he also didn’t want to force himself to finish it quickly, so he wouldn’t need to look for a restroom while they were out. “You sure you don’t want anything?”, Hongjoong asked after drinking a few sips, “The cold feels amazing.” – “I’m sure. Maybe we can get some ice cream somewhere. That would be the perfect refreshment for a hot summer’s day like this”, Seonghwa laughed, wiping the sweat off his neck. It still took a while of touring the crowded streets for the two of them to come across an ice cream truck. Having just finished the last sips of his soda, Hongjoong frowned: “I just had a fizzy drink. There’s no way I could eat right now.” – “More for me, I guess”, the older beamed, getting multiple scoops.

After accidentally dripping some melted ice cream onto his shirt, Seonghwa proposed taking a break and the two of them found a shaded bench in a small park, where they could sit and rest for a bit. They probably wouldn’t be out for very long anymore anyway because it was simply too hot but there were a few sights, the eldest still wanted to visit and who was Hongjoong to deny him? As they resumed their walk though, Seonghwa was slower than before. It took a while for the leader to notice because he himself felt his energy zapped by the unbearable heat but when his friend slowly developed a limp, he couldn’t help but get concerned.

“It’s probably just because I ate something cold but my stomach kinda hurts”, Seonghwa admitted quietly. As if to prove his point, the organ grumbled noisily, making him blush. Shooting the older a crooked smile, Hongjoong reminded: “You know, we can head back if you want to. Maybe you’ll feel better if you lay down for a while and we can see if we get a chance to come out here once it cooled down a little.” – “You just wanna go back to the hotel, don’t you?”, Seonghwa chuckled weakly but agreed, “Since the heat probably isn’t helping, I guess, we can go back now, though I don’t think we’ll have another opportunity.” He grew quiet after that and they slowly strolled in the direction of their hotel. Seonghwa’s stomach was definitely churning now and he winced as every step jostled it.

Despite the sun beating down on them, Seonghwa suddenly felt cold and goosebumps covered his arms. Hongjoong seemed none the wiser and was mostly glad that the older finally decided to head back. This was no weather the leader enjoyed being out in and he couldn’t wait to stretch out on his hotel bed and let the air-conditioning blast cold air down on his overheated body. Deep in his fantasy, Hongjoong startled when Seonghwa gripped his shoulder hard.

It had become increasingly difficult for Seonghwa to place one foot in front of the other. Partly due to the pain in his abdomen and partly because the heat seemed to affect his circulation and he found himself growing a little lightheaded. The pain slowly morphed into nausea and he broke into a cold sweat, hands trembling as he tried to keep himself upright. This wasn’t good. Their hotel was still a couple of blocks away and Seonghwa could only hope they’d make it back there before he collapsed, or even worse, ended up puking in public.

Seonghwa’s prayers went unanswered and he stumbled, catching himself on Hongjoong’s shoulder as his stomach lurched. Shocked, the leader spun around and rushed to grip Seonghwa’s arm, steadying the older while muttering a curse under his breath. Strands of Seonghwa’s long hair fell into his face as he doubled over retching and Hongjoong quickly gathered them in one hand. “I got your hair, it’s fine”, the leader hummed, using his free hand to pat the other’s back. Unsteady on his feet, Seonghwa only tightened his grip on his friend’s shoulder as another wave splattered onto the pavement, the tips of his ears burning with humiliation. When his stomach finally stopped throwing a fit and he managed to straighten up, he was pale as a sheet, except for his ears. Tugging the older away from the puddle, Hongjoong frowned: “What’s going on? I expected your stomach to hurt, yeah, but that’s a little worse than you mentioned.” – “Don’t feel so good anymore”, Seonghwa mumbled, rubbing his face. “I can see that”, Hongjoong nodded but couldn’t get anything else from the older.

Linking their arms, Hongjoong guided Seonghwa back to the hotel, their pace slow. The eldest still felt incredibly dizzy though he couldn’t tell if it was the heat or anything else. Hongjoong too was confused. Seonghwa wouldn’t have gone on their nerves begging to explore the city if he had already been feeling low earlier, so what could’ve happened in the short time span they had been out? “The more I think about it, the more I suspect it was the ice cream”, Seonghwa groaned, slipping a clammy hand under his shirt to palm at his bloated middle, “Felt fine before that but now…” He muffled a queasy burp against his fist, which left a sour taste on his tongue. “Better out than in then, I guess”, Hongjoong sighed. Trying to speed up, Seonghwa stumbled into Hongjoong and the leader frowned: “Are you going to be sick again?” He crossed his fingers that the answer would be no because the hotel wasn’t even in sight yet but he wasn’t so lucky, Seonghwa giving an urgent nod.

By some strike of luck, Hongjoong managed to pull the older between some trashcans at the back of a building before gathering the sweaty strands of his long hair at the back of his head. Swallowing back bile, Seonghwa braced both of his hands against the bricks to steady himself against the wave of dizziness that washed over him but could only fight hack the nausea for so long. With Hongjoong reassuring him that he was perfectly concealed where they stood and that his hair was out of the line of fire, the eldest took a shaky breath and gave up fighting. A harsh retch tore at Seonghwa’s throat and made him shudder. He couldn’t even see the puddle at his feet as sweat had run from his brow into his eyes, blurring his vision. Was it still so hot? He had no sense of temperature but the air was still humid and hard to breathe, making him lightheaded.

Seonghwa stumbled, knees almost buckling before Hongjoong caught him around the waist and steadied him. “Breathe”, the leader shushed, pulling the older back and guiding him a few steps away. Slumping against the wall, Seonghwa winced. The warm bricks against his back reminded him of his damp shirt, completely drenched with sweat. It was definitely hot. He could feel it now. Lifting the hem of his shirt, he wiped his face and sniffled: “Gosh, I really wanna take a shower.” – “We’re almost there”, Hongjoong comforted, rummaging through his bag, “You want some gum? It’s your call when you’re ready to continue.” Gulping miserably, Seonghwa accepted the gum and pushed away from the wall. He swayed for a moment but groaned: “Let’s go. I really want that shower and I’d prefer the privacy of a bathroom next time.” Though Hongjoong had expected it, hearing Seonghwa confirm that he probably wasn’t done throwing up for long did stress him out a bit.

The peace lasted long enough for them to reach the hotel though and Seonghwa even managed to take his shoes and shirt off before finding himself draped over the toilet, heaving uselessly. Hongjoong had quickly pinned his hair back with cute, little clips and out of his face before running a towel under cold water and draping it across the back of his neck. “Let me get you some water and a fresh change of clothes”, the leader whispered, patting his hyung’s bare back before getting up. He hurried and also adjusted the air-conditioning. The water bottle he pulled from the mini fridge had condensation on it when he placed it onto the sink. Panting, Seonghwa pulled the wet towel off his neck and wiped his face on it. Only when he lowered it again did Hongjoong see the tears in his eyes. Gently removing the hairclips, the leader ran his fingers through Seonghwa’s hair and whispered: “You’ll be okay. Do you wanna take that shower now? Might help you feel a little better. If you’re not too dizzy, that is?”

Seonghwa decided to take a quick shower, though he opted for sitting down and he took Hongjoong up on his offer to wash his hair because his stomach cramped painfully when he tried to lift his arms above his head. Still, it took a lot out of him to wash up, especially after he spent another five minutes dry heaving over the drain. It was absolutely worth it though. Being clean made him feel more like himself, allowing him to relax after stretching out on the bed. Hongjoong set the trashcan next to the bed and draped a cold towel across Seonghwa’s forehead, humming: “Should I set the temperature a little warmer? You still got goosebumps.” – “Nah, it feels nice”, the eldest breathed, keeping his eyes shut, “Thanks Joong. And thanks for going out with me in the first place.” – “You’re welcome. Get some rest now”, the leader smiled, “I’ll be here.”

[serickswrites]

Walls

Warnings: referenced captivity, referenced torture, referenced restraints, panic attack, PTSD, hurt/aftermath, hurt/recovery, hurt/comfort, caretaker and whumpee

Whumpee could feel the shackles around their wrist. Could feel the pain of Whumper’s touch. Could smell them even. They were trapped. The walls were closing in and they couldn’t get out. 

Whumpee thrashed and screamed. They couldn’t be a prisoner again. They couldn’t! They had to get away. Had to get away from the feeling. From the pain. From the terror. 

But they couldn’t. They were trapped in a room. Restrained. Stuck. Their absolute worst nightmare. 

“Shhhh, shhh,” Caretaker’s voice came suddenly in Whumpee’s waking nightmare. “It’s ok. It’s ok. You’re ok.”

“T-t-trapped,” Whumpee managed to squeak out. 

Caretaker’s hand was suddenly in theirs. “Love, you have to stay in the bed. You’re too hurt. They need to help you.”

“C-c-can’t. Whumper,” Whumpee began, squeezing their eyes shut even tighter. 

“Whumper is gone. They can’t get you. Please, love, they need to treat your injuries. I...I almost lost you,” Caretaker’s voice broke suddenly. 

Whumpee wrenched their eyes open. “Caretaker?” They were in a hospital. There were no shackles on their wrists. Just soft padded restraints keeping them to the bed. They were hooked up to various machines and covered in bandages. They were safe. 

Caretaker squeezed Whumpee’s hand tightly. “I’m right here, love, I’m right here.”

Whumpee began to sob. “I’m...I’m sorry.”

Caretaker leaned in close to Whumpee, trying to wrap their body around Whumpee despite all of the medical machinery. “Don’t be love. I’m right here. You’re safe. You’re safe.”

[bodrewritten]

Daughter of Discord Rewritten Chapter 22: My Love Is Alive

2:30 Pm / CW: descriptions of a meltdown, comfort. Stay tuned for a bonus chapter with an epic surprise. Read tags

When the young couple floated back to the ground, their lips were still locked. The world around them had returned to normal, save for the blizzard. Discord was standing up.

"okay ya crazy kids, come up for air!"

When the pair finally pulled away, Mothball was smiling like an idiot.

"Wow!"

His eyes spun in circles and hearts beat in his eyes. This made Screwball giggle. Her friends rushed to her side and embraced her.

"That was amazing!" Apple Blossom shouted.

"Heroic!" Cinnamon twist added.

"Cool!" Doodle palooza piped.

"Romantic!" Dinky sighed.

Autumn Glory lifted her head from below dinky. "Major league epic."

Dinky got off of her friend, giggling. "Whoopsie!."

"So you guys aren't mad at me?" Screwball asked hopefully.

"Yeah, w-well," maple Cinnamon said, putting his hoof to his bandaged head. "You s-seemed to learn y-y-your lesson."

Meanwhile, Mothball was twirling in circles, lost in the memory of the bliss he had just experienced.

"Uh oh," Apple Blossom chuckled. "Screwy, I think your kiss did more than save the world. You've made the poor boy all loopy!"

"like some sorta poison frog!" Cinnamon twist laughed.

The group laughed. Screwball broke their hug and walked over to her coltfriend. She put her hooves on his shoulders to stop him from falling over. Mothball then returned to his senses, only to get lost in her hypnotic swirls.

"I'm proud of you, Screwy."

They turned toward Twilight, who had her horn back.

"I guess I was wrong, you really didn't have to choose. Between loves, I mean." She immediately told spike to write it down.

Rarity dashed to hug her girlfriends, kissing rainbow dash passionately, the only warmth around the mare. She glanced towards Applejack, who only looked towards Autumn Glory. Applejack seemed withdrawn. It made Rarity feel distant again.

Mothball blushed nervously. "Grand duchess...I know I've done some bad things in the past, but I swear I'll be careful around ponies! I can become a vegetarian and live on chocolate!"

Twilight laughed. "You are pardoned, Mothball." She looked at screwball's family.

"I don't think you'll starve anytime soon."

The unicorn's mirth diminished when Discord stepped in front of her. Mothball shrunk under the draconequus' strict glare. His arms were folded and his face wore a frown. The changeling clung to Screwball for leverage. She gave him a reassuring squeeze.

Discord glanced between the two. Neither said anything for a long while. Then he sighed and extended his paw towards the changeling.

Mothball looked at it unsurely. He glanced at Screwball, who was grinning excitedly. She let go of him and nudged him toward Discord's paw. The prince gazed up at the draconequus. His face softened to one of happiness.

"put'er there, son!"

The changeling slowly raised his hoof and placed it in his paw. As soon as they made contact, Mothball felt a bolt of electricity and shook uncontrollably.

Discord started laughing and revealed the joybuzzer in his paw. He clutched he pulled the poor boy into a hug. The Pie family was laughing as well, as was Screwball. The others either giggled or just grinned in amusement.

Mothball looked at his marefriend in confusion.

Screwball chuckled as she patted him on the back. "that's his way of showing that he likes you!"

The changeling looked at the others. Cinnamon twist gave him a shrug.

"It's true."

"t'aint wrong."

"I still have the mark on my hoof."

Mothball then found himself snickering. He still didn't get it.

Screwball left Mothball and ran to her parents.

"Mom!"

The couple pulled away and opened their arms for their daughter. Fluttershy weeped at the sight of Zany.

"Oh, my baby!" she cried. "I thought I had lost you!"

"Our family," Discord sighed, "together at last!"

"Promise me we'll never split up again?"

The draconequus shook his head with a laugh. "Never."

Mothball smiled as the family embraced each other. He was happy that they were whole again, but it also made him sad. The changelings were the only family he had ever known. Now that he had left them, he had no one. He did not even have a place to live.

Then Fluttershy noticed Mothball. She was surprised to see him here, but given the fact that Discord had not vaporized him, she figured things were sorted out between them now. She reached out her hoof toward him. Mothball beamed as he took it and she pulled him in.

Pinkie Pie blew her nose in a handkerchief.

"It's so beautiful!" she cried.

Then she smiled suddenly. "Hey! Why the blizzard in summer?"

Crap.

Everyone looked onward to the horizon line, beyond the mountains. There, windigos raced towards the village.

Something was almost irreversiblly wrong in the relationships with the ponies if they hadn't begun to talk.

The bunkers opened, only to be met with walls of snow.

"Did we miss anything?" Cadence inquired. She had just arrived in ponyville. Princess Celestia and Luna took care of the diplomatic relations in Canterlot.

"quite a bit! Windigos across the mountains!"

The sky was a mourning grey, blistering cold, freezing the tips of their limbs. Crystalline ice formed on the surfaces of everything, sprinkled like glitter on the face of the scowling town.

"screwball, what is happening?"

"WINDIGOS ARE REAL?!" Screwball shouted to her mother! Her eyes were wide with shock.

Why wouldn't they be? They detected the war, drawn in by the bloodshed and now they galloped to consume everything in their sight.

"b-but everything is better now! This shouldn't be happening!" Rainbow dash exclaimed.

Rarity yelped as the wind picked up. Rainbow dash couldn't fly in this wind, not as well as she usually would. Her wings unfurled, but dash almost fell over.

"Applejack! Please! Go get her!"

Applejack stood still in fear, confusion, and...

Twilight tried to rally crowds of ponyville citizens back into their basement, but they screamed, hurling their worst at mothball.

"he did this!"

"spawn of evil!"

Mothball covered his ears. Everything felt like it was being pelted at him, making him angrier, more frustrated, unable to express anything out. Mothball grit his teeth and thrashed at anything, anything to release the steam building up, and The fire around him.

Shouting, yelling, screaming, screech, the blizzard of stinging, the ache in his exoskeleton, the aggravating, irritating tinging of their every breath, crack, shatter, thump, repeat, repeat repeat.

Mothball couldn't help but cry, couldn't help but push out every tear hoping the repeating screams of contempt just goes away. The dull ringing in his ears attempting to muffle everything never worked. Suddenly, he was scooped up and brought somewhere near silent. Still, like a water lily. He was tightly wound up like a little grub baby.

Mothball was under a weighted blanket, hugged tightly under pale yellow hooves.

Mothball's ears were covered with thick earmuffs. He wanted to talk, but Fluttershy spoke first.

"Screwball gets this way too. She's in her bubble right now. I know it might be difficult to talk right now, so if you need anything, just tap me. I'm right here"

He drove himself closer to her. The crowd was quieted down by the princess, cadence and Grand Duchess Twilight Sparkle.

"please, everypony, quiet down! Mothball is an ally! He's a part of the house Discord!" Twilight yelled, and the crowd screamed towards her their woes, the chill dripping from their faces unnoticed.

Cadence made them stand back, directing the crowd to speak one at a time.

"Cadence, I can't keep doing this, they won't listen!" Twilight turned up to her sister in law, ears pulled back.

"oh twily, they might never listen. But we have one chance to do our best. You're always great at that." Cadence noogied the Duchess' hair, and twilight smiled for the first time all day.

The crowd hushed when they saw this. Twilight addressed them directly. "Citizens of ponyville, mothball, the prince, no longer holds that royal title. He has been accepted by the family Discord, so why can't you accept him? He fought off the changeling queen, he and screwball defeated our enemies, he is an ally to the entire equestria."

The crowd talked amongst themselves while rainbow dash crawled towards rarity. The winds blew harder, an impending twister upon them. Rarity climbed into a ditch, safe in a pipe, and rainbow dash held up a wooden pallet, bringing it to cover the entrance. Applejack was attached to a tree, holding onto her hat as hard as she could.

"Applejack!" Rainbow dash yelped! "Dude, what are you doing?! Talk to me! We need to get to rarity!"

Applejack held onto her tree tight as a boa. "Nothing is wrong! Y'all leave me be, I'll get there when I do!"

"what are you talking about!? You haven't talked to rarity in two days! Something's up and you're leaving me out!

Rarity lifted her head. "Is this about the gala? Prince Blueblood? Applejack I can't fix what I did if you don't tell me how!"

"we don't gotta fix anything! I just wanna go back to how it was! I ain't got nothin' more to say!"

Rainbow dash had quite enough.

"DAMNIT, QUIT TAP DANCING AROUND THE CONVERSATION! THIS TORNADO WILL BEAT THE WITHERS OFF OF YOU IF YOU DONT TALK, AND I MIGHT JOIN IN!"

Rarity looked at her wife, tears streaming from her face the same way they did at twilight's first sleepover. The first time she thought about kissing her woman. She pleaded with her wet, shimmering eyes, salty tears freezing to her thick lashes. Applejack gulped and hid her face. The shame bubbled in her chest. Her hind hooves flew freely in the whipping wind, tearing away her hair ties.

"when you said you would never let Autumn Glory know about her dad, I felt like you didn't care how much it affects a pony! I felt like you intentionally ignored how much losing my parents damaged me!"

Rainbow dash looked in shock. Rarity looked with love.

"oh darling! Just let the words fall out!"

"you're my best girl! So's Dashie! I know you'd never hurt me on purpose, but I couldn't face how much you was hurtin' cuz I'd have to confront how I felt when i lost my parents!"

The storm died down, allowing some leverage for Applejack's hoof to hit the ground. She outstretched every limb like a lazy cat, adjusting every muscle to reach her wives. Finally, after torturous minutes, she found shelter in the large pipe.

Fluttershy sat next to discord to wait out the storm. He turned to his wife and nuzzled her nose. Mothball felt a bit embarrassed that they were being so sweet while he was right there.

"discord I have to say it. I thought that screwball wouldn't find love as easy as she did because of how hard it was for you to love and be loved in the beginning. I thought other ponies might think that she's too much."

Discord looked at her with drooping eyes.

"you don't still believe that, do you?"

Fluttershy kissed him. "You two are so easy to love. I'm glad the world knows that now. No, I don't."

Mothball cringed as they hugged and snuggled above him. He ran out to the blanket and out into the cold, starkly contrasting.

Mothball stood in behind Cadence to face the crowds. His chest was raised and chin held level. Just like Mantis taught him to face crowds.

The ponyville citizens kept their stare at him. Cadence pushed him forward, and before he knew it, twilight sparkle let him address the ponies.

"kingdom of ponyville, I implore thee to still thy tongue." He said in the changeling language, like queen Chrysalis did. "I cannot apologize for what my previous hive has done. You have every right to hold malice against them. But please, forgive me. I have experienced the life I can live with you, and I will use my powers to help out kingdom, if only you will let me into your hive. Together, we can be strong, and our friendship will be universal!"

Yikes. Twilight and Cadence looked at each other with wide eyes, lips pursed. Silent as a dead lamb.

...

One pony piped up from the crowd, "close enough!" Before they erupted into cheers.

The parties were happening all about the town, but most vibrant in the park. Rarity sold more in ponyville than ever before. As did Pinkie. Rainbow dash played in the sky, taking her wives up high as she could, doing anything just for fun. Twilight danced and didn't care who saw, telling everypony what constellations she recognized. (All of them.) Rarity set up a date to allow Autumn Glory and her other foals to meet their father, and told them what to expect. Applejack supported her the whole way.

The war was over, and the storm was dying down. Ponies enthusiastically hugged their heroes, swapped stories of survival, and played through the night. A party with lanterns and fairy lights illuminated the starry sky. All was warm and bright. They could sleep in the day, work even later, but for now, nothing kept the citizens away from eachother

Under a string of pink and blue lights, twilight found Princess Celestia, chatting away with her guard near the banquet.

"and make sure none of them are white. I cannot see the- Twilight!" Celestia smiled at her, unapologetically showing her teeth.

Twilight hugged her and she took the unicorn under her wing.

"you have proven yourself more than capable of your royal position, and much more. You are the biggest mark on history I have ever witnessed."

Twilight nearly cried. huge, wet eyes met Celestia's. She chuckled and pat her student's head.

"consider yourself graduated from my mentorship. You... Are ready."

Twilight was barely able to comprehend that statement before Celestia brought her to her magical alicorn-creating void between universes. Idk man I'm ready to end this series.

Discord and Fluttershy walked to an empty area of the park. Their time alone together was long overdue and the first thing they did was share a passionate kiss.

"I never should have doubted you," Discord said. "I should have known you would never betray me." He chuckled nervously. "I'm such a nutcase."

Fluttershy smiled. "It's alright. We have everything in order now.." She glanced back at the party. "Are you alright with Screwball's coltfriend?"

Discord cringed. "I've been meaning to tell you"

Fluttershy gulped. He seemed so approving bef-

"Fluttershy, he has no place to stay can we please-"

Fluttershy practically deflated. "Discord, you big softie,he can stay with us as long as he needs to."

Discord scooped her up and she blushed a deep color. He kissed her all along her face.

Screwball and mothball, meanwhile, drank punch on the sidelines.

"shall we tell them that everypony can see them kissing?" Mothball said, not looking at his fillyfriend.

"jeez, 16 years and they still act like a couple'a teenagers!"

"that does not seem entirely distasteful. At least you know they love each other!"

"you wanna talk distasteful? Try sleeping down the hall from em."

Mothball stared blankly into the distance. "Glad I do not live with you!" And they laughed at once!

Discord appeared right next to them instantly!

"great news kid! You're living with us! Don't try getting out of it!

Mothball was stunned. He wanted to thank the man and his wife, shake his hoof, but something felt like he wouldn't know peace for the rest of his life.

As he agreed and hugged his girlfriend's family, he felt that he could live with that.

"Aw, Daddy!"

He looked up and saw Screwball hovering above him

Screwball floated down and hugged her father around his neck.

"I'll always be your little girl," she declared.

Discord smiled and wrapped his arms around the filly. No matter what would happen, no matter how big she would get, she would always be his daughter Screwball, and he would always be there for her.

For he was her Daddy Discord.

[waywardwizzard]

"Wo de ma he ta de fen kuang de wai sheng dou."

"I think I should be the one saying that Captain," Simon hissed through clenched teeth.

He groaned when Mal put pressure on the shoulder wound. Shaking his head, trying to stay awake, the doctor tapped Mal's arm and pointed to something behind him.

"The-the med-"

Mal's hand shot out and haphazardly grabbed at the red bag he hoped knew should be behind him.

"Tell me what I need to do."

Simon's eyes fluttered. The Captain gently tapped the kid's cheek.

"Hey, hey, doc'. Focus on me. I need you to tell me what to do."

Hazy blue eyes met his. Cold fingers struggled with the zip and Mal scrambled to help.

"Ad-adrenaline. Sh-should keep-keep me..."

"You know, doc," Mal said while he loaded the hypo with clumsy fingers, "when you said I should start learning the ropes, I didn't think you meant like this."

Simon laughed breathlessly, pain etched onto his face.

"Sor-sorry."

Mal's eyes softened and he brushed a quick hand through Simon's hair, trying to hide how much it was shaking.

"You won't apologize when you see my needle work. There was a reason my ma never let me near a needle and thread."

[comfort-questing]

22. "watch out!"

they'd screamed the words over and over in their delirium - reaching out wide-eyed into the empty air, pushing weakly at whatever their hands found. watch out, watch out. careful - as if there in the overcrowded healers' tent there were anything to be afraid of that could be outrun, or outfought.

she leaned close to them, dabbing the damp cloth on their forehead, reaching down to check the bandages wrapping their body. the arrow wounds were festering, whatever aid she and the healers could spare not enough to prevent infection.

"shh," she said, for the thousandth time, low amidst the clamor and murmur of voices and cries around them. "we're safe now. you warned me, all right? I wasn't hurt. just you. so you need to rest..."

sometimes, they seemed to hear her, to recognize her voice and the touch of her hand on their flushed and burning skin. sometimes, they didn't, and she had to listen to them crying until exhaustion took over and dragged them under again.

sometimes, she closed her eyes and could hear again their shouts amidst the roar of battle, and remember the desperate shove they'd given her, knocking her off the earthworks wall as the hiss of the arrow-storm reached them. remember, also, the shuddering impacts against their body, as they sheltered her beneath them, and the ragged stuttering catch of their breaths as she'd dragged them to safety.

but in the end all her dark memories brought her back to this same place, under dusty canvas amid the hurt and dying, safe at their side as they shivered in fever dreams.

"you saved me," she whispered to them, loosening their frantic grip on her wrist, hoping that in sleep the words would still reach them. and, "stay with me, all right?"

and now and again their eyes would open and seem to focus on her, and a smile of relief cross their face.

[samsseptember]

September  22 - Hurt/Comfort | Disaster Fic

[pendraegon]

also. maybe it's because i was a hot fucking mess until i hit like 25-26. so im like...how are you 22 and having your shit together. genuinely like. if ur 22 years old and u have even an OUNCE of an idea of what you're doing. you're doing fucking golden. if you don't, you're still doing fine and there's an entire world waiting for you.

[fanfictasia]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: The Bad Batch (Cartoon) Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Hunter & Omega (Star Wars: The Bad Batch) Characters: Clone Trooper Hunter (Star Wars), Omega (Star Wars: The Bad Batch) Additional Tags: Hunter Needs A Hug (Star Wars: The Bad Batch), Clone Trooper Hunter Gets a Hug (Star Wars), Sort Of, Clone Trooper Hunter Has PTSD (Star Wars), why does nobody talk about this, Panic Attacks, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, but it's minor, Hurt No Comfort, Family, Depression, Suicidal Thoughts, Febuwhump, Febuwhump 2024, Prompt: "You Weren't Meant To Be There"

Summary:

In which Omega was actually traumatized by Hunter's fall on Daro and doesn't brush it off when she witnesses it again. Or, in which Hunter isn't the only one to have a panic attack in Entombed.

Read on:

https://www.wattpad.com/1424097039-the-bad-batch-one-shot-collection-febuwhump-day

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/14330314/1/Febuwhump-Day-Twenty-Two-You-Weren-t-Meant-To-Be-There

[anotherferalrat]

Link Click s1e5 has distressed me so bad that I'm resorting to a comfort ship I haven't been able to interact with in months since someone ruined it for me

(but that's a lore drop for another day)

[serickswrites]

Meant to Be

Warnings: gun, gunshot, gunfire, gunshot wound, blood, bleeding out, mcd, hurt/no comfort

By the time the gunfire had faded to a loud ringing in Caretaker's ears, they knew it was too late. By the time they managed to crawl across the bullet strewn room, they knew it was too late. By the time they managed to pull Whumpee's limp and bloody body into their lap, they knew it was too late.

"Whumpee, Whumpee, please, Whumpee," they sobbed as they tried to rouse Whumpee. Whumpee was unresponsive as Caretaker tapped their cool cheek. Unresponsive as Caretaker tried to wake them. Unresponsive as Caretaker pressed on the large gunshot wound in their chest.

"Please, Whumpee. You weren't meant to be there. You weren't meant to be there. You weren't meant to get hurt. Please, Whumpee, open your eyes. Whumpee!"

Caretaker had carefully laid the trap to catch Whumper off guard. Laid the trap carefully so that they could stop Whumper. Laid the trap carefully so that Whumpee would be far from the action. So that Whumpee would be safe.

And it had all gone to shit.

Caretaker didn't even know how it had all gone so wrong so fast. They only knew that they had been pinned down by Whumper and their goons, each side trading shots, but not hitting anything. Until Whumpee walked in. And then Whumper had a target.

Caretaker had yelled to warn Whumpee off. Yelled to get Whumpee to leave them. But Whumpee didn't listen. They took careful cover, keeping low to the ground as they slowly made their way over to Caretaker. And just as Caretaker thought that maybe Whumpee would be safe, maybe everything would work out, Whumpee tripped, stumbling forward and into the open.

The bullet struck the left side of their chest, spinning Whumpee with a spray of blood. Whumpee went down hard and lay unmoving as their blood began to pool around them. Caretaker couldn't tear their gaze from Whumpee. The one person they had tried to protect. The one person they would have done anything to keep safe. The one person they couldn't bear to see bleed out on the floor only a few yards away.

But Caretaker couldn't go to them. Not until Whumper had been neutralized. If they had any hope of saving Whumpee, they had to stop Whumper. They couldn't extract Whumpee and get to safety if Whumper was still shooting at them.

And so Caretaker stayed hunkered down behind their cover, trading shots with Whumper until at last the gunfire ended. But it was too late.

As Caretaker sobbed into Whumpee's hair, cradling Whumpee's head in their hands, Caretaker decided it wasn't worth it. It wasn't worth waiting for the gunfire to end. It wasn't worth making sure Whumper had been stopped. It wasn't worth any of those things because Whumpee had bled out before Caretaker could get them to safety.

"You weren't meant to be here, oh God, Whumpee. Please. Open your eyes. Whumpee. I can't. Please."

But Whumpee didn't respond. Didn't take a shuddering breath. Didn't blink their eyes open and flash Caretaker their warm smile. They just lay boneless in Caretaker's arms, growing colder by the minute. Caretaker held them close and sobbed harder and harder. Held them and begged them to come back. Held them, refusing to let go, even as help arrived. Caretaker held Whumpee and refused to let help support them. They had failed and they didn't care what happened next because the one person that mattered, the one person that made them do all of this, was gone. And nothing else mattered anymore.

[kyouka-supremacy]

Talking about it with my sister today in relation to skk and tbh I believe at some point queerbating just stops being queerbating and just becomes canonly gay. Like, sorry, the writers are clearly doing it on purpose, they //know// what they're doing. And at this point gay people just claimed the characters, they're theirs now, so like, good for them.

[sylvanfreckles]

Day Twenty-Two: Cry

Adrien nodded against Marinette’s neck and pulled away. She pretended not to notice him wiping his eyes and trying to regain his composure. “I think I’m getting tired of crying,” he finally said, sending her a tired smile.

[shion-yu]

Day 22 - Punishment

“Would it make you feel better if you hit me?” Whumptober 2023! I’m using the @ailesswhumptober's prompt list. This story is about my OC Cliff - here’s his profile if you’re so inclined: https://toyhou.se/23741453.cliff 

CW: Vague mention of child abuse

Elliot was pissed. He knew it wasn’t truly a big deal - Cliff hadn’t meant to leave an open half gallon of milk in their dorm room over the weekend on purpose. It was just a bad smell that would go away. But it was so hot being the very end of the summer that the horrid scent just lingered, sticking to everything insistently. Elliot had to spend his entire laundry budget for the month washing everything, although Cliff had paid him back. They had scrubbed everything down with disinfectant twice and yet, still, Elliot felt like he could still sense it ever so slightly.

Cliff claimed he didn’t smell it anymore, which just made Elliot more annoyed. “Just because you have the observational skills of a teenage boy doesn’t mean I should have to suffer,” Elliot had snapped at him.

“Aren’t we both teenage boys still, technically?” Cliff asked. They were in the second semester of freshman year of college and had been rooming together since after Christmas break. They were dating, Cliff had issues with his college football roommate bringing girls back to the dorms, and Elliot’s roommate had decided to study abroad for the second semester... It made sense to room together at the time, even though a lot of people said maybe being dorm roommates and dating wasn’t the best idea in the world. Now Elliot saw their point.

He liked living with Cliff most of the time. But Cliff could be insufferable at times and when he was, there was no escape - just their tiny little room with two twin beds and nothing more than six feet of space separating them at maximum. One of them would have to physically leave their living space if they wanted some air and it could get tense really fast. 

“Cliff, I don’t know what to tell you. Just don’t do it again,” Elliot sighed. 

“Would it make you feel better if you hit me?” Cliff said like it was a perfectly natural thing to say.

“I - what?” Elliot stared at him in confusion, then horror. “Of course not! I would never hit you, are you crazy?” He looked hurt, too. “Do you really think I would want that?”

Cliff shook his head. “No, I just wanted to ask. It’s not that weird.”

“It is weird, it’s really weird,” Elliot muttered. “Don’t tell me you have a kink for that or something... Do you?”

“No!” Cliff exclaimed defensively. “I just... that’s what I’m used to.”

Elliot blinked. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Your parents never hit you?” Cliff asked genuinely.

“No.”

“Oh.”

There was an awkward silence. Neither of them seemed to know what to say next. Elliot sighed, this new information weighing heavily on his heart. “Cliff, I don’t know if it was just discipline or... worse, but whatever it was, my family definitely never hit me. They don’t believe in that,” Elliot said. “I would never want to hit you, and I’d never want you to hit me. Would you?”

“No,” Cliff said. Elliot wasn’t sure how he managed to look so horrified when he was the one who had brought up corporal punishment in the first place. “I don’t want to hit you.”

“Okay. Good. No hitting,” Elliot said. “That doesn’t mean I can’t be mad at you.”

Cliff was quiet as if he needed to consider this new way of life seriously. If Elliot didn’t hit him, how would he know he was excused? Might as well ask... “So how do I know when you’re not mad at me anymore?”

Elliot sighed in exasperation. Cliff really had grown up so differently from him that it was hard to reconcile at times. “I’ll tell you, how about that?”

“Okay,” Cliff said. “Does it help if I say I’m sorry again?”

“I know you’re sorry. You don’t have to keep saying it,” Elliot told him. Sometimes it was like teaching a kid with Cliff, he swore. “I’m going to take a walk, and when I come back it’s all okay, alright?”

“Alright,” Cliff said. “I’ll wait here.” He looked like a hopeless puppy. Elliot couldn’t help but smile a little to himself. Cliff really did have the best intentions most of the time, even if he was misguided and confused for half of it. Sometimes teaching him how to be a normal person was exhausting, but it could also be endearing. Elliot decided he could be patient for him; it was worth it.