#just a snippet of my life

[valewritessss]

I felt so seen when I first read pjo and it mentioned Annabeth’s arachnophobia. I used to have so many nightmares when I was younger (probably started when I was around five or six), I would wake up in the middle of the night and be so terrified of moving because I thought there were spiders all over my bed. The shadows on my popcorn ceiling looked like spider figures and I remember just laying there sweating and not making a sound because I thought it would attract the spiders I guess? It was routine for me to shout for my mom—poor her, she would be woken at 2 in the morning like thrice a week— and she’d always shake my sheets and lay with me until I feel asleep. She would also take me to sleep with her and my dad in their massive bed (who was I to say no to the invitation?) and it got to the point where I was embarrassed that I couldn’t sleep a whole night without someone. Occasionally, I still have these nightmares about spiders and I just turn on a light, go to the bathroom, come back, and pretend it never happened.

Idk, just thinking about that. I kind of had forgotten about those nightmares but I don’t play when I see spiders because I know it means I’m going to dream about them.

[helianthus21]

i NEED to see Armand laughing out loud, head thrown back, maybe even giggling at something Daniel said while Loustat are in the room, turning to each other in surprise like "did you ever see him like this??"

[laddertek]

etho said actually you _don't_ understand the intricacies of how tango is my boyfriend and bdubs is my ex

(and how tango and bdubs kiss too)

Scar: We went on that little adventure, you know! Etho: Yeah, yeah, we had our adventure, that's true, that's true. Scar: You disparaged your teammates. That's it, all right, no more spoilers. Etho: (laughs) Our team has -- our team has some weird dynamics this -- this season. Cleo: (overlapping) Really, Etho? Is there trouble in paradise? (pause) Who's third-wheeling with you, again? I can't remember. Etho: (laughs) Uhh. The -- Cleo: Genuinely can't remember. I know it's you and Bdubs. And...Tango? Tango. Tango. Etho: (loudly) Why -- Why is Tango the third wheel? Why -- why isn't Bdubs the third wheel? Cleo: Because it's you and Bdubs. I'm sorry. I understand how that relationship goes. Etho: (dissatisfied) Hmm.

[save-the-villainous-cat]

Hi! Love your writing a lot! Humble request:

"Hero, please. Just... Not today." with a villain that's already struggling for whatever reason?

“What are you doing?” the hero hissed. And then again, louder this time. “What are you doing?”

The villain turned away from them quickly. Their hand was shaking, the hero noticed. Usually, they would take a step towards them, take their hand…

But the hero could barely see through the tears.

“Are you angry at me, is that it?” The hero’s voice was shaking.

“…please, not today, let’s just…” The villain stared at the ground and the hero got undeniably frustrated. They were at war with themselves. They wanted to hug the villain, they wanted to embrace them.

But they couldn’t.

They just couldn’t. Anger overwhelmed them and disappointment followed right after.

“You’re killing people now, is that it? You’re killing people?!” the hero asked and they were sure if they had argued during the daytime, someone would have called the police.

But the parking lot was empty and the sky was dark. There was just the two of them and the thick, horrible conflict between them.

They’d grown up together, they were best friends. Hell, they had trained together to help people, not to kill them.

And now the villain was standing here in front of them after confessing to multiple murders.

The hero’s heartbeat was fast enough to make their chest hurt. The tears were dropping uncontrollably and they couldn’t, although they tried so desperately, keep it together.

“What is wrong with you?”

“It…I had my reasons.”

“Your reasons?” The hero took a step forward, grabbed the villain’s collar. “Your reasons? Are you insane!? Us being more powerful than others is threatening the existence of every single normal person on this planet. And instead of getting rid of us, people trust us with their lives and you go ahead and betray them? You betray me?”

“Not everyone deserves your protection,” the villain said. “Not everyone deserves to be on this planet. No matter if they have powers or not.”

“What are you talking about? What are you doing? This isn’t you.” The hero let go of them, nearly pushed them away. The villain was a quiet person, a very sweet person.

God, what had they done?

The heartbreak was reaching deep into the hero’s soul. They had wanted the villain to be in their life for a long time, for forever to be precise. They’d had a crush on them since childhood after all.

But this…

“I’m sorry,” the villain whispered. “We both know I’m not like you.”

“No, but this isn’t you either,” the hero argued. Subconsciously, they dug their nails into their palms. As so often when stressed.

They hadn’t done that in months. Digging deep enough to draw blood. Opening old scars.

“I don’t expect you to understand what I did, I…there was no other way, I’m sorry.”

“No, I don’t.” the hero said. “And I don’t need an explanation. What you did was wrong. You betrayed what we stand for. You betrayed…you betrayed us.”

They stared at each other, a few steps away. This was the last time, the hero realised. This was the last time they were seeing each other.

“Leave,” the hero said. “I don’t want to see you ever again.”

The villain waited, as if they were weighing words on their tongue. Then they nodded. And ultimately, they disappeared.

Months later, the hero figured out that the villain had killed those people to protect the hero.

It didn’t change anything, though.

[amogus-real-not-clickbait]

part 1 of a little comic / art sequence that i've been working on! :D it's part tribute, part experimenting with brushes n colors and trying new thingz :]

| 1 | 2 | 3 | ... |

and thus continues my endless quest of spreading the carrot fics like a plague! if you've seen my art floating around you probs already figured that this au holds a very special place in my heart, forever and always!!

if you haven't heard of it, it's a fic series by @crowned-ladybug called carrot soup!! it made me wish i could speak colors and i need more people to share my struggle xd

go check it out if you're into sweet voice lore and qpr level gayness and just wanna feel warm and soft and warm (hurt/comfort my beloved) <333 there are some heavier themes cos everyone's traumatized but they're working through it! be sure to check the tags and stay safe! <3

[overtake]

This is a super short (550-ish words) snippet from the maxiel hockey au I got 30k into before life got in the way. I’ll probably never finish it, so have this random scene. For context, Daniel is staying at Max’s home because he has an ankle injury and the only bedroom at his own place had stairs.

Daniel hears Max before he sees him. Based on the frantic pounding down the stairs, you’d think Max was being chased by a fucking murderer.

“Daniel,” the shadowy figure in Daniel’s doorframe says in a shaky, frantic voice. Daniel hasn’t kept his door shut since the cats first started scratching at it and demanding to be let in, and he briefly wonders in the recesses of his sleep-addled mind if Max has ever Edward from Twilighted him and just watched him sleep.

“Hmmph?” Daniel manages. His brain is thick and sluggish through the foggy, sleep haze surrounding it. He tries to prop himself up on one elbow and immediately fails.

“There’s a spider in my room,” Max hisses, as if he’s scared the spider might somehow hear him and immediately attack. “Can you come kill it?”

“I am not walking up stairs right now,” Daniel groans. It was a brutal PT session, and he spent half his afternoon with his ankle wrapped in ice and elevated. Plus, he’s not exactly fond of spiders either.

“I can’t sleep in there,” Max says, and Daniel wants so badly to make fun of him, but there’s an edge of real panic in his voice. Also, Daniel is even more scared of far more embarrassing shit, so he’d never win.

“Stay in here,” Daniel says, reaching an arm behind him to flop at the empty space. “Plenty of room.”

Max only hesitates for a second before crawling in. “Are you sure?” he asks, like he isn’t already sticking his cold toes against Daniel for warmth.

“The terrors will probably kill the spider by morning for us,” Daniel says, letting his head drop back onto his pillow.

“Jimmy and Sassy are not terrors. It’s not nice how you talk about them,” Max says primly as a crash echoes from somewhere upstairs. Daniel doesn’t dignify him with a response.

He feels Max’s weight settle behind him, and a hand reaches out as his eyes drift back shut and lightly caresses his exposed shoulder. “Thank you, Daniel.”

In the morning, Daniel wakes up to find Max curled in a ball around a pillow he somehow stole from under Daniel’s head, quietly letting out cute little snores. Sassy is lying content on the floor nearby with half a dead spider dangling out her mouth.

“That’s your problem to collect and throw away,” he tells a sleeping Max. He’s got freckles on his shoulders, Daniel notices, a whole constellation of them decorating the broad, pale canvas.

He fights the urge to trace the space between them and instead collects Max’s morning Red Bull from the fridge. He leaves it to drip condensation on the bedside table closest to Max’s pillow-creased face, next to a little note that Daniel is out for his morning walk.

Max texts him twenty minutes in to his stroll.

Max Verstappen: thanks for the red bull. okay if i stay again if we don’t find the spider? It was huge.

Daniel gnaws at his cuticle, contemplating his response for half a second. It’s not like he has proof that spider was the one Max saw. Sassy probably got rid of the evidence, so he can’t ask. He doesn’t want to make Max sleep in a room that makes him anxious.

Daniel Ricciardo: Of course. Better to be safe. That spider could be deadly.

Max Verstappen: Need your Australian powers to scare it off

Daniel Ricciardo: 🤺🤺🤺

When he opens the kitchen bin later that day, he sees the body of the spider sitting on the top.

“Crazy girl. You learned how to open the bin,” he coos to Sassy, aiming for a head scratch she runs away from and pretending he doesn’t see the very human tissue wrapped around the remains.

[o3o-lapd-o3o]

here is the second poseidon 'snippet'. this takes place after this part! hope you guys enjoy a little look into poseidon's home life...

first snippet here!

there's a masterlist now!

*not long after poseidon had received telemachus’ gift and said good night to everyone*

poseidon: *making his way through the ithacan palace’s halls to the entrance for the gardens*

poseidon: *holds a hand to where the gift is kept in his chiton and thinks back to all of telemachus' questions and interest in him* 

poseidon: *internally to himself* hmm i wonder what he would have thought, if he knew his father’s and mine’s true relationship-

odysseus: *calling from behind poseidon* poseidon!

poseidon: *jumps a little because he didn’t hear odysseus approaching*

poseidon: *puts his hand down and turns to face odysseus*

poseidon: odysseus…i’ve been gone only moments, what have i possibly done?

odysseus: nothing-

poseidon: *hand on his hip* what do you want then? 

poseidon: *pinches his nose bridge with his free hand*  please don’t say another dinner

odysseus: what- no!- *coughs*  

odysseus: trust me there will be no family dinners for a while…

odysseus: *under his breath* sitting for hours next to you was enough ruthlessness for one evening

poseidon: *dropping his hand from his face* what was that?

odysseus: i said what i said

poseidon: *rolls his eyes* well next time, maybe don’t let my niece get involved

odysseus: *grinning* oh so you want a next time then?

poseidon: *hand drops from hip and slightly panicking* THAT’S NOT- I MEAN-

odysseus: *tucks hair behind his ear* 

odysseus: oh poseidon, as good as that sounds….

odysseus: *now has his arms crossed over his chest* 

odysseus: *facade drops* …no thanks.

poseidon: *sigh of relief* 

poseidon: just- just tell me why you’re here

odysseus: *still in little shit mode* i mean this is my palace, i do live here

poseidon: *about to start pulling out his own hair in frustration* 

poseidon: odysseus…please

odysseus: *grin returns* yes, yes, go on, since you’ve already proven you’re so good at begging…

poseidon: *scowls* 

odysseus: *grin finally leaves his face and his arms return to his sides*

odysseus: ok look… i just thought, considering i was the host for this evening, i would follow xenia and escort you back to the cove…

poseidon: *sighs*

poseidon: *shakes his hand in front of him in a ‘no worries’ motion*

poseidon: no need… i’m able to make my own way back home

odysseus: are you sure? i mean they are your brother’s rules…

odysseus: *not really wanting to ever see zeus again after his last experiences*

poseidon: *dropping his hand and snorting out a laugh* i’ll make sure my brother doesn’t bother anyone about the lack of normal hospitality tonight

poseidon: *turning back around to leave* go back to your family odysseus

odysseus: *not to look a gift horse in the mouth* uh sure

odysseus: *about to turn and make his way back to the dining hall*

poseidon: *from over his shoulder* oh and odysseus?

odysseus: uh yeah?

poseidon: …don’t go easy on my niece

poseidon: remember… ruthlessness is mercy upon ourselves

odysseus: *rolls his eyes and while he now knows that phrase isn’t true now….he decides to humor poseidon* 

odysseus: wasn’t planning on it.

*both leave in opposite directions*

*a short while later in poseidon’s palace*

poseidon: *walking into the bedroom* wife i’m back

*no response or movement*

poseidon: *raised eyebrow as he thought she’d be home* amphitrite?

*still nothing*

poseidon: *sighs* i guess she made last minute plans for tonight

poseidon: *goes to get changed when he remembers about his gift*

poseidon: *takes the gift out of his chiton, unwraps it and looks at it again*

poseidon: *remember telemachus' smile from the happiness of him accepting it*

poseidon: *huffs a laugh at the fact that odysseus produced a son that may look identical to him, but completely different in personality* 

amphitrite: what’s got you laughing? what do you have there?

poseidon: *quickly shoves the gift back in his chiton, and turns to face his wife*

poseidon: *dodging her question* i thought you weren't here… you didn’t respond to my calls

amphitrite: i was just checking on fysallída, he hadn’t been his usual self tonight.

poseidon: *eyes widen in worry* 

poseidon: what do you mean? he was fine earlier! is he sick? should i call apollo?

amphitrite: *smiles at poseidon’s worried rambling* 

amphitrite: *moves closer to poseidon and brushes her hand through his hair in comfort*

amphitrite: and he still is fine my love. i think he just missed you tonight.

amphitrite: also while our nephew may be able to help some animals… i don’t think sea creatures fall under his ability

amphitrite: besides, he was playing with pelagos and kýma 

poseidon: *the worry leaves his eyes* if you say so... i’ll just check on him before we go to sleep.

amphitrite: *hand leaves poseidon’s hair, and now joins her other one in crossing over her chest*

amphitrite: now, back to my original question…. what do you have there that had you laughing?

poseidon: *was hoping she’d forget* uh… uhh…

poseidon: …moly?

amphitrite: *raised eyebrow* 

amphitrite: the king of ithaca- odysseus gave you…moly? 

poseidon: *furrowed brows at the thought of odysseus giving him a gift*

poseidon: this isn't from odysse- *coughs* i mean- no… he didn't 

poseidon: it's… from his son.

amphitrite: *now has both her eyebrows raised in disbelief* 

amphitrite: the prince of ithaca, gave you moly.

poseidon: *now panicking as he's the god of the seas, not of lies* 

poseidon: well if you didn’t know…they're descended from hermes… 

poseidon: and he practically hands out this stuff… the prince probably didn’t know what it truly was.

amphitrite: *staring at the clear not moly shaped item, hidden in her husband’s chiton*

amphitrite: *deciding to leave it be for now* uh huh, whatever you say husband

*poseidon leaves the bedroom and heads to the palace reef gardens where amphitrite had not long come from*

*sensing the gods approach, bioluminescent corals light the area like oil lamps would on land*

poseidon: *staring out into the reef* hmm where is he?

poseidon: *makes a whistling noise like a dolphin’s echolocation*

*two whinny’ing noises are heard, then seconds later two hippocampi appear and are hurriedly making their way to poseidon*

poseidon: *strokes the both of them on their faces* yes, yes i'm home… where’s fysallída?

poseidon: *suddenly feels something small, bump repeatedly into him from behind and hears tiny grunting sounds*

poseidon: *snorts in laughter and turns around*

*the tiny grunting noises get louder and quicker in excitement, the small sea creature that has been bumping into poseidon is none other than…a small yellow pufferfish*

poseidon: *placing his hand out for fysallída to settle into* hello little one, i heard you caused amphitrite some worry earlier

*fysallída puffs out a little bit and then wiggles more into poseidon’s hand still making tiny noises*

poseidon: ah! none of that…i said i was going to be gone this evening

poseidon: besides, i can’t always be home, i do have godly things to do i'm sorry to say

*pelagos and kýma both whinny at poseidon’s back*

poseidon: *turning around with fysallída still in his hand* and we can’t forget, you have these two to keep you company

poseidon: now, i’ve had a long and tiring evening, so i’m going to retire for the night. 

*the pufferfish gives a final wiggle and swims out of his hand and then settles in between the two hippocampi*

poseidon: ok, you can all go back to whatever you three were doing-

*the three sea creatures all start to turn to leave*

poseidon: *putting one hand on his hip and raising the other to point at all of them, like he’s talking to children rather than sea creatures* 

poseidon: but! try not to get into too much trouble, yes fysallída i am talking to you mostly

*almost ignoring poseidon, they all quickly swim back in the original distance they came from*

poseidon: i swear to zeus, if i wake up to an angry nymph at my palace doors again…

*poseidon claps his hands and the bioluminescent corals dim in response, leaving the reef in darkness again. he then turns to go back inside his palace, and finally head to sleep for the night*

[astrowarr]

“We should get out of here,” Grian whispers, but he is unmoving as his gaze stays pinned to Scar. Something about Scar’s eyes, so impossibly green, keeps him rooted in the crannies of the cobbled concrete under his feet. The glow of the street light over their heads paints a sharp, clear image of Scar and the toothy grin he flashes. The bustle of the city center ever permeates the air; a loud, boisterous laugh here, an angry, affronted shout there. 

But when Scar smiles at him like that, the noise cottons into nothing but a dull thrum in the back of his skull. Scar is smiling. Despite the fact that every bone in Grian’s body should be screaming in alarm, they do not. Instead, they pulse with something warm, something content. Grian is surrounded by enemies the way he always is, but Scar is four art-adorned walls and a worn shingled roof to match. Nothing can reach Grian here, in the safety of Scar's gaze.

There's little to no space between them, and Grian does nothing to change that. Out of the corner of his eye, he tracks the gentle, methodical movement of Scar's curled hand, so slow as he reaches up. The backs of those crooked fingers brush against his face, so light Grian nearly loses it to the night's warmth.

And then, like a moonflower, his hand unfurls; he doesn't quite cradle Grian's face in it, wracked with some sudden hesitance. Scar's palm stays just a hair's breadth away: the ghost of a touch. It drives Grian crazy, how the two of them keep pushing and pulling at all the wrong moments. 

Still, Scar doesn't stop looking at him, drinking in the sight of him like he's some sort of mirage. Like the night will sweep him away if Scar dares to even blink. Grian doesn't complain— thinks, actually, that maybe the comparison is more apt than he wants it to be. Instead, he loses himself in the miles of blue skies and flower beds that explode to color in the home of their prolonged eye contact. Truthfully, he's scared to look away too.

This is it, Grian knows as his heart roars in his chest. This is it.

“Say what you mean,” Scar breathes. 

They stand in the middle of the busiest section of the city but Scar's smile is private. It is Grian's, and Grian's alone. Say what he means? What is there to say? It’s written in the brief, rare silence of Grian’s mind; the swath of stars swirling overhead, infinite in their post apocalyptic glow; the solar-powered streetlight casting its fiery light over Scar, morphing him into something divine and untouchable. There is no word in his lexicon that truly encapsulates the feeling pressing against his ribs now. It isn't safety, or contentment, or peace. It isn't even love. 

He's sick of words. They don't mean anything. They aren't enough. He locks eyes with Scar and leans in, because if Scar isn't going to touch him, he'll just have to take matters into his own hands. Grian buries his fingers in Scar's button up shirt and shuffles him backward, until his back collides with the solid metal of the lamppost. If it hurts, Scar doesn't notice; he's looking at Grian with wide eyes, dumbstruck, lips parted in wonder and maybe something else. He's never been very good at taking what he dishes.

“What I mean is,” Grian murmurs against the buzz of the streetlight as his gaze flicks down to Scar's lips. His wings shift against his will, tucking around Scar, sheltering them from prying eyes. It’s only him and Scar. “You're an idiot if you don't kiss me in the next three seconds.”

For once, Scar’s tongue of gold is heavy and unmoving; he has no quick-witted words to throw in Grian's face. All he has is awe, and some self-imposed duty that has him deferring to Grian without question; he abandons his hesitance in the shadows of this too-public street. Finally, his clammy palm cradles Grian’s cheek, tattered and pitted like the worn leather of Grian's favorite jacket. 

The kiss, though, is soft and a little uncertain, at least until Grian yanks hard at the collar of Scar's shirt. When their noses clash under the urgent force of it, Scar chokes out a shocked laugh before he's responding in kind. And Grian thinks to himself that this is the first time the two of them have ever truly eclipsed, have ever found themselves in the lines of the same page, and he thinks he wants to live here. Forever, maybe, or for as long as the universe allows.

[kari-go]

uh oh you said a stupid thing, time to never speak again!

[lifemod17]

It was so nice knowing you guys, unfortunately this ended me

I'm so dead I'm actually posting this from the great beyond. Don't forget me guys. Be sure to leave pretty flowers on my grave tyvm.

Source: @ theskimm on TikTok

[backpackingspace]

Odysseus knows he made a mistake calling out for Athena. He knew the second her name left her lips. /she/ doesn't like it when he calls out any name but hers. When he mentions home or telemachus or gods forbid his penelope. It's not allowed. He's not allowed to think about anything but herherher. He knew it was a mistake. But

He had /felt/ Athena. For the first time in years that old connection sparked to life. A muscle long stiff with use but /there/he felt her. And if she heard him. If she chose to help well.

It would have been worth calypso wrath.

In the days that follow, it's all silence. All signs of Athena having disappeared. And as odysseus hangs from his wrists, numbly allowing his master to do as she pleases, he can't help but regret.

He knows the rules. He knows how to survive (dying is pointless /hes tried/) he can't help swallow the bitter pointless helpless rage. Why had athena even checked on him if she was just going to /leave/ him like this. And even still, as soft fingers drag their way down his skin, he can't help but silent pray (his tears long since dried up. It only ever made things worse) please goddess, please Athena don't leave me here. Kill me punish me in any other way just please please let it end.

[tennessoui]

AHHHHH just read that reblog and that prompt with reverse role with Jedi Anakin and Ex-padawan Obi is amazing!!! Is there any possibility to explore that AU?

[referencing this post aka the senator menace root post]

absolutely!! One of my ko-fi fics was 5k in anakins pov of them meeting again ten years later, and I’m working on expanding it like I did with the werewolf fic! it’s got its on Google doc and everything 🥰

(I want to split between obi-wan and anakins pov in the longer one shot which would span them being nemeses to them doing something like master/padawanshipping to them getting together)

[criminalmaya]

Can't believe i had to bear the sight of fucking 🗿 and no eddie diaz tonight. The fuck is wrong with you tim? You mean to tell me an ex amy medic who has seen it all in combat wasn't supposed to be with his team in the biggest disaster the 118 has had to face, the one where his medic knowledge could have help a lot? the one where their captain, bobby nash, who is his family too, dies???? Does that sound right for anyone? Cause it doesn't for me.

[stressedjester]

Eel O'Brian being in Caped Crusader made me realize how much of a loser I am because I nearly cried from happiness after learning he really was in the show and I didn't just imagine it

[awriternamedart]

"Sampo?!"

His head shot up the moment he stepped back down. He whipped around, eyes searching through the crowd for that bellowing yell— for that familiar face. Sampo could barely keep himself upright, the crowd parting right in front of him as people were pushed aside, startled gasps erupting before he crashed through the break.

All Sampo could do was watch as stars exploded, brilliant and bright. Gepard froze for the briefest of seconds as their eyes met, but he looked so.. colorful. Vibrant blues, pale hair, rosy cheeks— and that smile. That damned smile that let his teeth peek through, that made the corners of his eyes crinkle.

And then he yelped as Gepard crashed forward with heavy footsteps, before his world became a blur.

"Sampo!!"

"WoAH-?!"

Gepard swept Sampo up in his arms, something that could only be described as pure joy taking Sampo aback. It was rare enough to see Gepard smile so freely— it was even rarer to hear such laughter from him.

But he found himself discarding it, his crooked grin quickly sliding into spot on his face as Gepard spun him around, around, bubbling laughter beginning to build up and escape in cackles as his feet fumbled hitting the ground again. He stumbled a little, but he really didn't care— there wasn't the danger of falling, not here. Not in this safety that held him so tightly, so impossibly gently.

As he caught his balance, the shine refused to die away, leaving the world in such a bright film of color. Sampo hadn't even noticed how dull it had become until vibrant blue looked at him with such warmth. His eyes slipped closed on instinct, surprising even himself until the realization hit him, still smiling against chapped lips pressed on him. It took him a few shell shocked moments and the fact that Gepard was pulling away before fingers looped through the beltloops on Gepard's pants and his other hand curled into blond hair to hold him tight.

He got a laugh against his lips for it, but it tasted like pure euphoria. Especially when Gepard's hand slipped under his thigh and the other rested against the small of his back, Sampo dipped slightly backwards as the metal of their rings pressed against the other from how tightly they held on.

"What an eager welcome~!" Sampo teased the moment they could breathe again, forehead pressed against Gepard's. He could feel that familiar deep laughter under his fingertips, the feeling making him smile and grin all over again. "Missed me much, Captain?"

"Of course." Plainly spoken as ever. Gepard held no regards for fancy words, slowly lifting Sampo so he could stand properly on his own two feet. "I always do."

"Such a way with words, Gep. Enough to make a grown man blush!" Sampo snickered, his own hand slipping down Gepard's back to find his hand, letting warm calloused skin press against his own weathered hand. They easily twined together, as if they had never been parted in the first place. "What's for dinner, then?"

"I haven't gotten groceries yet. I was going to ask what you wanted when you got back."

The glint of gold rings reflected against the train station floor as gentle laughter and conversation began to float around them. It shone as brightly as comfort did, that familiar scent of home following them out.

-

Home Again - awriternamedart

idk their just husbands or something rolls my eyes

[poisonheadcrabsalesman]

Another Time

Half Life Fanfic from this blog? It's more or less likely than you think, it just takes 1-4 business years.

-

When she was young and the oceans were still full, Alyx Vance dreamed of bright lights and a dark tower that touched the sky.

Her mother didn't know why she woke crying in the middle of the night. Azian fretted and fussed. She pet Alyx's hair and whispered comforts as Alyx's shining eyes locked onto her mother's smiling face and the dancing flash of her silver necklace. Her child's mind full of a grief not yet come to pass and the drowning sensation of loss. The minds that sang to hers silenced for a bit longer. Tears shed for those still alive. The absence of a chorus in a once echoing cathedral. The concrete walls of Black Mesa swallowing voices and silencing the halls of its labyrinth.

Outside their apartment, the New Mexico sun breached the horizon and painted the sky anew. Night's blues and blacks gave way to an ominous red. Workers awoke and the complex buzzed with the rising day shift. The hive fell into motion once more. Scientists and Security, and all the little people who kept the wheels turning, all the ones who got caught in the machinations and ground up in the cogs, awake and alive for the moment.

Somewhere a man in a suit adjusted his tie.

-

When she was young and the oceans were drained and left only with leeches that stripped meat from bone in seconds, Alyx Vance dreamed of two prisons. One full of light, floating in the sky, and the other on the ground, full of loud noises, the ringing of bullets and the shrieks of something she both remembered and had not yet heard.

She was older now, wearing her mother's necklace, as she raced around the halls of Black Mesa East and asking questions as quickly as her mind thought of them. D0g nipped at her heels, small and sleek with his metal paws clacking against the concrete. The passage to Ravenholm was open and she waved at the couriers making runs and delivering news.

Alyx rarely cried nowadays. It was something she prided herself on. Babies cried, or so she'd been told, and she was a big girl now. She found herself frustrated by being one of youngest, being coddled and hovered over, so she threw herself into her studies. Uncle Izzy would give her books and she would give him drawings. She was hungry for knowledge, for understanding, to speak and be listened to, to have some real power to help.

Somewhere in a lab late at night, her father rests his leg and allows him the moment to think of what could have been.

-

When she was young and brave and trusted with making the trips between safehouses, Alyx Vance dreamed of brilliant blinding pain in her body and the suffocating gulf of grief. She awoke to what she thought was the sound of helicopter blades, but silenced greeted her and her tear-stained face. Uncle Kleiner's notes on the Borealis lay on the desk in front of her and a blanket covered her back.

She moved a hand to her torso and did not pull it away with the sticky warm feeling of blood through cloth as she imagined she would.

Somewhen or where, another reality overlapping with hers, a man in a suit stands and picks up a crowbar.