#on and i guess this is like

[datawyrms]

It’s Invisobang time!

behold the fic I’ve been working on instead of...anything else! The full thing will be posted this week so stay tuned :v (and enjoy the lovely art surprises on AO3! We’ve only got plaintext here on the tumblrs so you look at their cool posts)

On AO3

Melon slices in neat little triangles, custom cut to be easy to snag with just two fingers. An absolute plethora of salted seeds and candied nuts sat right under them, a tempting selection. His favourite ones, actually. None of dad’s fudge dunked cashews that were way too much chocolate to nut ratio, or those gross banana chips Jazz insisted were the best thing ever- instead of the cardboard disks of disappointment they actually were.

The dream snacks to have if planning to hang out with his friends, or even just to hog for himself. A week ago he would have begged to have even a fraction of this, flown foolish circles of thanks.

Now his stomach was too busy churning to even think about chowing down. Flying was just as impossible. Was he meant to just feel better because he had better snacks? As if that could ever make up for never flying again. Not that it was meant to make up for it. Mom and dad were just being nice. Make him feel loved or something.

“Maybe they’re too busy to come? Like there’s some movie Tucker wanted to go-“

“Danny. Sam and Tucker are coming over. You don’t need to convince yourself they aren’t.”

He wanted to flinch at the scolding, and some of him did. His now worthless muscles twitched and his skin crawled. It probably didn’t look like anything to his mom, a gesture that couldn’t really be finished. “But-“

“They are coming. No more of that.” Maddie’s wingtips gently flicked against his face, messing up his already unruly hair.

He wondered if his parents would hunt his friends down and drag them here if they dared to not show up. Probably. Which would be the worst thing ever. Then he’d have to see how much they didn’t want to be near him in person. Instead of trying to argue he just held his knees close and stared at the open balcony, as if expecting them any second now.

He wondered if it had always been this cold before, if that was just something else about him that was broken. The wind should be refreshing and enjoyable, not making him shudder and huddle up.

The upside to staring at nothing was that he did spot the two specks that ended up being his friends. How they just went right towards his home, how they didn’t play or dart around. Just full speed to their destination- the most boring way to get anywhere. He couldn’t really remember the last time they’d gone anywhere without Sam trying to divebomb one of them at least once. How loud her laugh was when she yelled at them to pay attention, leaving them to either roll out of the way or join her in a stoop.

He never thought he’d just never get to do any of that again. Should he have cherished it more? Now that it was too late?

“Danny!”

Danny blinked, only having a second before Tucker barreled into him, half lifting him as they crashed into the blankets and pillows. “Why didn’t you answer my texts dude?! You’re okay!”

“Um.” Danny said, trying to look away but too surrounded by soft things and feathers to really look away from his friend entirely. Especially when Tucker was squeezing him so tightly. “I was distracted. That’s all.”

“Too distracted for your best friends?” Sam had joined the mess of a huddle, but had her wings more folded back and out of the way.

“Sam! Shh!” Tucker snapped, trying to wave her away with his foot. “Are you still mad at us? ‘Cus I get it and I’m sorry-”

“You guys didn’t do anything?” Danny cut Tucker off before he could get caught up in rambling, wondering if he was hearing things. “Why should you be sorry?”

“Well we all know you wouldn’t have gone in that thing if Sam-”

“Don’t make me throw you out a window, Tucker.”

“If SAM didn’t insist we check it out-” his explanation was cut off with a yelp as Sam flung herself at him. The two wrestled and flapped for a solid minute of chaos, making enough mess that Danny could almost pretend there were enough feathers for three now all over the floor.

“Okay, okay, I take it back! I give! Get off!” Tucker whined, unable to push Sam away and leaving him pinned flat on his back, what flapping he could manage looking pathetic and barely raising from the floor.

“That’s right you do. Jerk.” Sam looked like she might not get off right away, but sighed and helped pull him up after spotting how Danny was staring. “How are you, anyway? We haven’t seen you around.”

“It’s not like I want to go shopping with mom and dad.” Danny said, doing his best to sidestep the question. What else could he do? Say he felt awful and empty and never wanted to leave the house? Just upset them? Say he thought they were only here because his parents would murder them if they didn’t come?

“Yeah but you haven’t been anywhere fun either. The crows keep chasing us for the seeds you’re always spoiling them with.”

“Then give them some? They’re nice.”

“No way man! I’m not spending any allowance on rodent food.” Tucker stuck out his tongue, settling comfortably beside Danny, still ignoring the elephant in the room. “And I’m definitely not giving them any of my jerky.”

“Oh, so you won’t want any rodent snacks. More for us.” Sam moved the bowl of treats away before Tucker could snag a salted peanut. “Right Danny?”

Danny looked up, and back down, stomach twisting. It felt so wrong. Like he wasn’t meant to be here. All the talking and laughter and jokes were just wrong. This was ‘normal’. He wasn’t normal. He didn’t get to have normal.

“Danny?” Tucker was shaking him, gently, arm over his shoulders. “Dude, do you need us to do something? You’re kinda pale.”

The words caught in his throat, thick and too heavy to dislodge. It felt like he was in a cage, not a friendly embrace. Holding him so he could be mocked, so he’d see how wrong and awful he was. His back spasmed, uselessly.

He couldn’t be here. He was ruining everything. He twisted, trying to struggle away from the strangling grasp, panting as he broke free from the black feathery curtains. His eyes darted back and forth as he looked for somewhere to run, somewhere to hide, but all of the best spots were too high. There was a closet, a place to store blankets and jackets. Somewhere you reached into, not a place to be entered.

Yet he could fit now. Easily. He scrambled and closed the door behind him, flattening his back against the wall and letting the darkness act as his wings, his weak shield against a world that was too much.

He felt nuttier than the snack bowl. Freaking out, sobbing in a closet. For what? For getting a hug? That he knew his friends were just pretending because they felt guilty? Waiting for them to ditch him, to get it over with so he could mourn his lack of friends already.

“What’d I do!”

“He can’t push you off if you’re too close, stupid!”

“What, am I supposed to stay far away and act like he’s got some nasty fungus?!”

“No, but you could pretend to be considerate for like, five seconds! Instead of smothering him!”

“Just because you’re all stand-offish doesn’t mean Danny is-”

“Oh, you want to have another go?”

Danny wasn’t sure if their arguing was making him feel worse or better about his stupid ‘escape’. Mostly worse, but it did make the little voice in his head insisting they didn’t want him around shut up a little bit. Wow, what a good friend he was. Needing his friends to fight to feel better about himself, real nice.

He should stop them. Stop acting like a baby, hiding like this. Yet the enclosed dark space felt safer, better than out in his own room. Even if the shirts hanging above him were just another mockery. Nothing fit right anymore, all tailored to accommodate limbs he didn’t have. He always liked his shirts a bit loose, but now they made him seem like he was swimming in fabric, completely emaciated instead of just scrawny. Patching over the holes wasn’t a real fix. Just like how there wasn’t any fix for what happened to him.

“You can stay in there if you want, I clobbered him for you.”

“For no reason! I’m innocent here!”

The sounds of wings flapping and slapping against the ground continued, Tucker apparently trying to fight back again. While failing, like always. Sam was just stronger than both of them were, even if she wasn’t using her wings. If they ever wanted to win they had to team up. And they still lost, sometimes. Always would now, probably. He could hardly help Tucker with his scrawny arms and legs alone. Unless he suddenly started looking like his dad- which had its own downsides. Though he didn’t really have to worry about weighing more, making gliding difficult, or how much more effort his dad had to exert just to keep up with everyone else.

Tucker would like the help, but why even try? It wouldn’t actually get him upright. At best he’d be an annoyance. 

Which should be fine. Yet escape was so much harder now. He shouldn’t feel safer hiding in a small, dark space. He wasn’t a bat, or a rat, or some mole thing. Just more reason to think something was wrong with him.

“We can go see your crow friends once you feel better.”

Danny pressed more into the long coats at the back of the closet, the warmth helping a little. Seeing the flock shouldn’t be a whole outing, just something they did while on the way to somewhere else. Why couldn’t anything be normal?

“Do you want some snacks in there?”

He was so stupid. Still hiding. He had to stop. He was making it more weird, not less. Hiding from his friends like an insect. “I’m good! Just um. Getting a different shirt. So we can go.”

“Dude if you just need some time, it’s okay,” Tucker sounded a bit muffled, but Danny couldn’t tell if his friend was trying to keep his voice low or it was the door’s fault.

“I’m fine! Seriously. Just forget anything happened.” He couldn’t keep acting like a total freak. So he ignored how his hand shook as he reached for the door and forced himself back to the well lit room.

“Sorry Danny, I can’t imagine away my bruises.”

“You’re so dramatic Tucker.”

Judging by the amount of feathers, Tucker wasn’t just being dramatic about their struggle. It did make his room seem more lived in, at least. He could pretend some of the feathers might be his. If it was dark. Somehow they both managed to avoid spilling any of the snacks.

Wait. Did they pretend to fight? To lure him out to help Tucker?

Great. Now he sounds paranoid too. There were always little scuffles. “I guess we can go to the park. If you’d want to get away from my parents hovering around.”

“Great idea! Did your dad find your old bike?” Tucker said, acting like they hadn’t been the one suggesting the idea in the first place.

“Yeah.” Not that he really wanted to use it. Bikes were for babies. They were so much slower than just flying, and you had to stow them somewhere, and you had to follow a trail. Not to mention that peddling was hard work too, it just wasn’t worth it once he didn’t need one anymore. “I don’t have anything for you guys though. So I guess you have to do some laps?”

“Nah. we’ve got some scooters!”

“I brought them over ahead of time,” Sam said, offering an explanation. “Thought it might be fun.”

“Really it’s lucky your parents like living so close to the ground, imagine how sore your arms would be with a ladder to Sam’s place!”

He had imagined that quite a lot actually, but Danny just gave Tucker a weak sort of grin as he reached for said ladder. The Fentons were ‘weird’ for not wanting to have their house on a larger structure- practically hermits with the low to the ground home. Anti-social, hiding something, freakish experiments- he heard lots of people guessing why. Even though the real reason was super obvious. The little lab that made the family a bunch of weirdo freaks. A family that chose to own a place completely on the ground, that wasn’t just a shed. Where his parents studied ghosts.

 Where he lost his wings to their life’s work.

He wouldn’t be going in there again, that’s for sure. Instead he could focus on his old bike. It was too small, really, but his mom and dad had ‘adjusted’ it so his legs wouldn’t hit the ground when trying to peddle. At least they found more astral body stickers to slap on the weird green sections. They still stood out but you could kind of pretend the space themed kids bike should look like that?

Okay. Not really. At least it worked.

Tucker wasn’t having a great time, wings tight against his back as he gingerly pushed the scooter forward, wobbling a little in the second his foot left the metal frame. “Hey Sam? Why did I let you talk me out of a powered scooter?”

“You need the exercise. That, and you started crying when we looked at the price.”

“That could be like, three computer upgrades! I’m not made of money!”

Sam only snorted in response, shooting forward easily. “Maybe you’d have more if you weren’t upgrading every time something new came out.”

If his legs weren’t a bit sore, if he closed his eyes and peddled hard it almost felt like nothing was different. The wind in his hair, the playful bickering was reassuring. It felt more real, that his friends actually meant it like this. Instead of inside and dreading and waiting.

Reality fell back on his shoulders hard the moment they parked their equipment. Having to fumble for a lock and a place to actually secure them was weird. Who’d care enough to steal it? He just couldn’t risk it happening, or he’d be even slower at getting anywhere. 

They’d picked a good time of day, at least. No families with their fledglings near the play structures yet, and there weren’t many people in general. Anyone just stopping by would probably be way up high on the rest platform anyway, where all the water and snack vendors set up shop.

Just him, his friends and nature. He shouldn’t feel uneasy.

“So, Mr. Expert, which snack does this mob of birds like?” Sam’s question nudged him out of his worries, for the moment.

“They’re not super picky. They like pretty much anything. Though there’s a smaller one that really likes the walnuts.” Which he’d packed specifically. That one was sort of his ‘favourite’ in the murder. A braver little guy that sometimes actually perched on him for a bit. Not a real tamed bird or anything. Just sort of a friend? In a bird way? “It’s weird, they usually caw hello”.

“I have no idea how you tell any of these guys apart. They aren’t even all cuddly like the pigeons,” Tucker said, half hiding behind Danny.

“You’re just mad one tried to take your glasses that one time,”

“Hey, friends don’t try and poke friend’s eyes out. Which is totally what they’re doing when they go for my glasses like that,” Tucker said, defending himself.

Sam frowned, watching the small birds hop away with short cries. “Danny? You sure this isn’t a different flock?”

“It’s definitely them, there’s the one missing a toe- and that one over there always favours the right foot,” he said, but couldn’t help frowning either. Why were they trying to get away? Even the more standoffish members could be lured over with the promise of a treat. Yet they seemed skittish and wary. As if they didn’t know what they were looking at.

“Come on guys. We aren’t foxes!” Sam spread her wings out, hopping a bit into the air to give the tossed nut a bit more distance- which was quickly swarmed by the birds. “Birdbrains. It’s kinda weird to think they aren’t that different from us sometimes.”

Satisfied, more of the flock seemed to get over their caution to hop over and get Sam’s attention, but they kept giving Danny and Tucker a wide berth.

“Aren’t crows meant to be like. The smart ones? Or is that ravens?” Tucker asked.

“They’re both pretty smart birds. Even if they can’t talk like parrots can. Or figure out our faces as well as the pigeons can. I hope the little guy didn’t get hurt.” Danny tried to bite down the dread that found his stomach again, tried to ignore the cruel thoughts that the birds were scared of him. They were friends, of a sort. Corvids had pretty good memory, and passed that information on. They knew he was safe.

Yet the birds happily approached Tucker once he stopped cowering and offered his snacks, wings relaxed and easy for all to see.

None of them would approach him.

Worse, when he approached, one shrieked a warning. A threat. Then another, and another as more joined to back up their fearful flockmate until he scrambled backwards.

“Danny? You okay?” Sam asked, somehow much closer to him than he thought she should be. Maybe he’d spaced out.

“Y-yeah. Totally,” he lied, trying to ignore the bird that had chosen to sit on Sam’s shoulder.

“We can do something else or just y’know. Bike around,” Sam said, still frowning at him. Trying to figure out what had him upset.

The crow gave a warning squawk as she approached again, turning her frown into a scowl. “If you’re gonna scream at my friend you can buzz off, feather brain.” Sam shrugged the crow away, that seemed content to just stay away from Danny.

He didn’t want to admit it, but the world was being even more unfair. It escaped even when he wanted to pretend he didn’t know. “It’s like they don’t recognize me.”

“Well you are kinda smaller now, dude,” Tucker chipped in, but cringed when Danny winced. “They just don’t get it! They don’t remember like, faces, I don’t think?”

“Or even wild birds think I’m a freak.”

“Hey. No. They’re just racist jerk birds, alright?” Sam snapped.

“What.” Tucker scoffed a bit. “They’re birds!”

“Yeah, I know. And I know wild birds can be monsters to ‘different’ birds. Come on. We’re gonna go see Iridescent,” Sam said, not allowing for any argument as she grabbed both of the boy’s wrists and started dragging them towards their scooters.

“We’re going to see who now?”

[puppyeared]

filipina miku!! my mom helped me with her outfit ^_^

[straightlightyagami]

u ever see someone with extremely fucked up views (or actions) and think wowww if a couple of things in my life went the tiniest bit differently that would have been me

[haunted-xander]

If you skip a meal Senshi will materialize next to you w/ food at the ready

[pimsri]

I make art about grief again

[artsymeeshee]

Felt a need to draw hugs (thinking about sea grunks has made me extra emotional :’))

[carouselcometh]

Devastating! Art museum gift shop doesn’t sell prints of specific and unpopular painting that struck a cord with you!

[foccaccia]

the worst part about being an adult is thay its no longer socially acceptable to just roll down a really big hill and then run back up it and roll back down again. "oh is this a syphilis metaphor" passerby would ask. "is this for a tick tock". no i just wanna come home covered in dirt and scratches and bask in the the solace of childlike mirth

[liquidstar]

If my mom sees a significant amount of blood she gets lightheaded, and has fainted on some occasions. Once it happened when we were kids, I wasn't there to witness it but I heard the story from my dad. Basically my brothers, around 7 or 8 at the time, were playing outside while my mom was making their lunch, and she accidentally cut her finger. It wasn't anything serious, but it drew a fair bit of blood and she passed out. My dad saw this and rushed over, but he didn't really know what to do so he just sort of started slapping her to wake her up (not recommended, but he had no idea and panicked)

At that exact moment my brothers both came in from playing, and all they saw was our mom unconscious on the floor and our dad slapping her. So, like, without even saying a word to each other they both just INSTANTLY start whaling on him, like, full blown attack mode to defend our mom. Which obviously didn't help the situation, but she did wake up and everything was fine.

Now our dad says that he's actually really glad they attacked him over what they thought was going on, because it means he raised good boys. And I still think that's true, they're very good boys.

[aplpaca]

i know nothing about youtuber whatsoever. every time someone talks about a popular youtuber it feels like theyre conjuring a dude from thin air. hearing about youtuber drama is like seeing everyone spontaneously pull a guy out of their hat and start beating him to death with hammers

[otto-doctavius]

Logan and Mary Puppins are so “dad and the dog he said he didn’t want” coded. He was acting disgusted by that dog for 90% of the movie, then when they were going to fight the Deadpools that almost baby-talk “You won’t wanna see this, bub.” slipped out. Then ofc there’s the bit at the end when they’re all at the table and he’s just sitting there playing with her ears and laughing as he makes her high-five Laura. I see you, mr “she is NOT coming with us”. You like that nasty little dog

[goldensunset]

did you know? if you do your laundry you can get your clothes back

[nardacci-does-art]

I meant to draw this back when I did this other doll comic as another side, to show a doll that had been cared for instead of abused, but somehow I wasn't able to finish it till like 10 minutes ago, anyway I did it *confetti*

[llovely]

here's a fake interview about my me & my girlfriend that i transcribed from my head. enjoy!

[quibbs]

just had SO much fun with the fallout tv show... i love you missus okey dokey

[mintaii]

so all i've been doing is playing hades 2