#touching story

[secondblooms]

Matthew S. in Arizona.

"When I was a little boy, my grandfather, who has since passed, had the biggest heart you could possibly imagine. We were walking on the sidewalk in San Francisco one morning, and he noticed a young man on the verge of tears standing there all alone ... it turned out the man had just lost his mom to cancer, and didn’t know where else to go and grieve. My grandfather obviously consoled him and ended up giving him a huge hug. It was the first time I had ever seen the kind of relief I saw on that poor guy’s face. I don’t think anyone had been there for him the whole time his mother was dying, and he obviously did not have anyone else.

"There’s nothing like a few kind words and a hug from someone who cares that can transform the darkest moments into the most beautiful ones. Always remember that when you see someone having a tough day."

I think we’re living in a world full of more lonely people than ever before in history. I don’t have a solution for society, but sometimes the best thing you can do for someone is to just listen to them and let them let go of all that stuff they’ve been building in their heart for a long time."

[zippocreed501]

Ventriloquist Ray Alan on working with Laurel and Hardy.

[counting-stars-gayly]

I’m actually LOVING how Rick Riordan, and the other writers of the show, took his initial concept of a Percabeth rivalry fueled by that of their parents and kind of turned it on its head?

Now, instead of Annabeth being wary of Percy because he’s a son of Poseidon, he’s wary of her because she made a callous impression on him. They get off to a rocky start even before finding out who Percy’s father is, and when they finally do, Annabeth doesn’t care. Instead of them fighting because of who their parents are, they’re fighting over their own opposed worldviews.

Then, instead of them arguing over which of the gods is cooler and who was right in the story of Medusa, they realize that, just like Medusa, Annabeth is a victim of her mother and that, unlike Medusa, she is a far kinder and stronger person, unwilling to repeat the cycle of hurt. They realize that, like his father, Percy often acts without considering potential consequences and that, unlike his father, he is a far kinder and stronger person, willing to step up for someone he wronged and whom he cares about.

Instead of Percy and Annabeth’s rivalry being focused on that of their parents, it’s focused on who they are, themselves. But the path to friendship is still the same: a realization that they have each other’s backs, no matter what, because they’re not their parents after all.

[burrythelies]

Est-ce ce que tu sais toi, depuis quand nos solitudes ont commencées à se répondre ?

[erraticprocrastinator]

A reminder to all my lovely fellow writers: progress is progress, even when it isn't. Writing four thousand words in a session is progress. Writing a hundred words in a session is progress. Removing an entire scene because it doesn't flow well is progress. Rethinking your plan for the plot in order to get unstuck is progress. Development looks different for every writer and every story.

[stil-lindigo]

the fox god.

a comic about a trickster.

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creative notes:

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all my other comics

store

[alectology-archive]

most annoying breed of author is actually someone who doesn’t respect a genre and sets out to subvert it.

[biggest-gaudiest-patronuses]

got a worm nibbling my brain. can someone help me find a piece of obscure media?

webcomic/indie comic from the 2010s. basically a sci-fi short story about a young girl (with red hair?) who was being raised by scientists as part of an experiment. she receives a haircut/has her head shaved, in preparation for her annual brain scan/testing. it is revealed that while her body is human, her "brain" is artificial, made of computer implants throughout her skull and spine. at some point her biological mother (also a scientist on the same campus?) encounters her and is repulsed, viewing her as a machine who has murdered her daughter.

it was very poignant and it bruised my heart and i can NOT find it anywhere

[the-modern-typewriter]

I’ve not seen any starved touched hero stories so may I request a starved touched hero and the villain finds out and helps them. It’s fine if not:)

"Tell me," the villain murmured, as the hero's breath came out quivering. "When was the last time that someone touched you?"

It wasn't what the hero had expected.

"People touch me all the time."

"Kindly."

"You're not kind."

But the villain's touch was such a gentle thing; the hero's brain refused to register it as cruelty, even as the villain's fingers were curled around their throat. They didn't squeeze though.

The hero should have pulled back already. They should have shoved the villain away. They did none of those things. They leaned limp against the wall, almost hypnotised by the back and forth sweep of the villain's thumb brushing sweetly against their pulse point.

It was pitiful for a nice threat to feel like affection. They were pitiful.

The villain's gaze was intent.

"What are you doing to me?" the hero whispered.

"I'm not doing anything." The villain's powers worked with touch, but they had never touched the hero before. The hero had always been too quick. The villain had managed that time though, advancing, shoving the hero to the wall and then - then this. The villain had touched their skin and then they'd gone perfectly still for a few seconds. The villain could expose all secrets with a press of their fingers, do all manner of things, but...

The hero swallowed, eyeing them. They genuinely didn't think the villain was doing anything.

Each second that ticked by seemed a confession, a betrayal, a plea for something.

The villain's hand slid slowly to to cup the nape of the hero's neck. "You didn't answer my question." The villain pulled the hero a step closer, dragged them flush. The villain's other hand wrapped around the hero's back.

They were being hugged.

A confused, entirely too soft sound left the hero's throat. Questioning. A little choked. It felt like a trap and it felt entirely too desperately lovely.

The villain tightened their grip, tucking the hero's head against their shoulder.

"Skin hunger," the villain said, softly. "Touch starvation. You are a famine, love, I can feel it."

"I-" The hero didn't know how to finish the sentence. The villain was so warm against them, a solid and reassuring presence. That couldn't be right. "What?"

"It has been entirely too long, hasn't it?"

"You're not doing anything?"

"I'm hugging you."

"Your powers-"

"-Mean I know exactly how you are feeling. How much you need this. So are you going to be good and shut up and let yourself have it?"

The hero choked out another gasp of air.

Was that was why the villain had stopped? Why they'd seemed to switch gears so abruptly when they could have finally won? The hero swallowed and shut up, even if it was a bad idea. Inch by inch, when the villain did nothing more but hold them, the hero relaxed. They melted.

"Why are you doing this?" the hero managed, pressing their face against the promise of the villain's shoulder.

"Kindness?"

"You're not kind."

The villain huffed, breath rustling the hero's hair. They pressed a kiss atop the hero's head. "Mm. Temporarily benevolent. No strings attached, pinky promise."

It was definitely suspicious, but it really did feel so unbelievably good. The hero felt like they'd settled into their bones for the first time in years. Maybe longer.

They really couldn't remember the last time someone touched them kindly, for an extended period of time. A brush of accidental touch in a crowd. A hairdresser's clinical contact. None of it was anything like what the villain gave them.

"That's better," the villain said, with a sigh. "Your nerve endings have stopped screaming at me."

"S-sorry. I-"

"It was merely an observation. You don't need to be sorry."

The hero expected the villain to get back to it, or step back. They didn't. It was probably the longest hug in the world.

Finally, the hero let themselves reach out, wrapping their arms around the villain in turn.

"Good," the villain said.

"Are we still...I shouldn't let you touch me. I'm not stupid."

"No."

"Are you going to let go of me?"

"When you actually want me to, sure."

"And you can...feel that?"

"Yes."

The hero squirmed with embarrassment. The villain tightened their grip again. The hero went still.

"Years," the hero whispered, finally. "It's been years. I can't remember the last time."

"Mm." The villain nuzzled into them. "That's not going to happen again. I don't believe in torture."

Neither of them much felt like fighting when they finally broke apart.

[curlytsunamiart]

murder

(lineart only ver.)

[mandno]

the love and dedication Reynolds and Brimsley put into protecting their king and queen, even to the point of fighting with each other i-

[morsking]

gojo satoru being called a racist is something i'd expect to see as a tumblr joke but that's an actual thing that's happened in the jujutsu kaisen manga now

[nerdpoe]

guys i'm sorry i've been struck with a crack prompt idea and i have to write it you don't udnerSTADN

Danny accidentally bumps into Pandora's box.

He immediately closes it! It was closed immediately! Super quick! NBD!!!

Except one plague hopped out in that half second it was open.

Danny doesn't even realize he caught it until he pops back to the Mortal realm and goes into his human form.

He passes the mirror in the lab and....those are cat ears. That's a cat tail.

His hands shake.

Maybe it's just him. Maybe he can plead being a meta.

He takes out his phone and checks the news.

In the two hours he's been gone, roughly half the population of humans on the planet are now cursed with cat ears and cat tails.

Justice League is looking into a way to reverse the curse.

Danny looks at the mirror and goes ghost.

Completely human.

Goes human.

Cat ears and cat tail.

Meanwhile, in another state, Jason barricades himself in his apartment.

None of them can ever find out. None of them can ever find out. NONE OF THEM CAN EVER FIN-

Jason thinks he's the only bat who woke up with cat ears and a cat tail.

[hektor-world]

This is better than any poem, GOOD NIGHT

[catabasis]

“The occasion of the first meeting between playwright and player is now, in our fanciful telling, a matter of theatrical lore and legend.”

Jason Schwartzman and Edward Norton as Jones Hall and Conrad Earp ASTEROID CITY (2023, Wes Anderson)

[hiruseki]

can't stop thinking about how the reason yoo joonghyuk won't eat food other people make is b/c when he was a teenager, his boss tried to convince him to rig a game, and when yjh refused, he got food poisoning and lost anyways, and then was gaslit about the whole thing and told it must have been his own fault. and this betrayal was so formative it became a personality trait for 40,000+ fucking years.