Dies Jovis - A Softer World

[doreyg.livejournal.com]

Hallo again! I’m (still) doreyg, and today I thought I'd go a little darker with our theme. Today your prompts must focus around A Softer World - this can mean the comics themselves, the text in the comics or even the captions. Whatever you want!

Just a few rules:
No more than five prompts in a row.
No more than three prompts in the same fandom.
Use the character's full names and fandom's full name for ease adding to the Lonely Prompts spreadsheet.
If your prompt or fill contains anything that can be a trigger for the reader, please add a warning for that to give the reader the chance to decide if they want to read or not.
No spoilers in prompts for a month after airing. Use the spoiler cut option found here.
If your fill contains spoilers, warn and leave plenty of space, or use the above mentioned spoiler cut.

Prompts should be formatted as follows: [Use the character's full names and fandom's full name]
Fandom, Character +/ Character, Prompt

Some examples to get the ball rolling...
+ Any, Any, I don't have time for frivolity. I have to hurry up and die.
+ Batman: TAS, Batman +/ any, You won't live forever in their memories / the way you treated them will
+ Star Trek: TNG, Any, My son the astronaut

We are now using AO3 to bookmark filled prompts. If you fill a prompt and post it to AO3 please add it to the Bite Sized Bits of Fic from 2015 collection. See further notes on this new option here.

Not feeling any of today’s prompts? Check out the just created Lonely Prompts Spreadsheet. For more recent prompts to write, you can also use LJ’s advanced search options to limit keyword results to only comments in this community.

While the Lonely Prompts Spreadsheet and LJ's advanced search options are available, bookmarking the links of prompts you like might work better for searching for in the future. Because, let's face it, LJ's Advanced Search is about as helpful as a porcupine that thinks it can fly.

The website is here, in case you need any help. Have fun!

tag=ASofterWorld

Comments

[doreyg.livejournal.com]

Star Trek: TNG, Any, My son the astronaut (http://www.asofterworld.com/index.php?id=22)

[doreyg.livejournal.com]

Batman: TAS, Batman +/ any, You won't live forever in their memories / the way you treated them will

[doreyg.livejournal.com]

Any, Any, I don't have time for frivolity. I have to hurry up and die.

[doreyg.livejournal.com]

The Flash (TV), Barry Allen/Leonard Snart, Our love was doomed, a burning building, a broken neck / but nothing since you and me / even feels like love

[doreyg.livejournal.com]

Batman: TAS, Harley Quinn/Batman, Yes, in the end we all splutter out, die, sag, and get smashed / but not until morning

[evil-little-dog.livejournal.com]

101 Dalmatians, Cruella De Ville, everyone else laughs when my mother says the fur in her coat is from small dogs, but I've see her long, thin knives

[nevcolleil.livejournal.com]

Any, any any, I would kill for you. Then again, I like killing.

Fill

[leni-ba.livejournal.com]

Buffy the Vampire Slayer (Courting Sin 'verse. alt. S6)

Angelus ran the soapy sponge down her injured arm, making sure to press harder against the bruises nearest her shoulder. She was lucky whatever demon had been summoned this time hadn't torn her arm off. "Can I kill the fools now?"

Buffy's lips pressed together, either against a yelp at the pain or the temptation to tell him yes, but in the end she shook her head.

"Are we back to your being opposed to killing people who hurt you?"

"It's not that bad." She reached out for the bandages and wrapped her wounds with expert ease. "And don't pretend you'd do it for me," she said, a snap to her voice. "You'd like it too much."

He didn't deny that. Instead he looked her all over, checking that he hadn't forgotten , and gave her an impatient look. "You're too soft, Buffy."

"They aren't evil," she insisted.

And she'd know the difference between people who only wanted to take her down as a personal challenge, and those who were a danger to the world. Or, really, the world as she wanted to keep it - not that Angelus wanted her to think overmuch about that slight difference.

He shrugged. "Your hellmouth, your rules," he allowed. Buffy smirked a little at that. Another Slayer might have set up shop in Sunnydale, but the underworld in town knew which girl set them to shaking as soon as news came of her arrival. Sad thing that the little threesome of warlock wannabes was too human to be properly terrified. And Buffy was soft around humans. "But if any of them set foot in Los Angeles, they're mine."

Buffy gave him an amused look. "They're not that stupid."

But Angelus knew better than most how it felt to have a Slayer slip through his fingers. Despite the whispers and warnings, the boys would follow her one day. They wouldn't be able to help themselves. "Oh yes," he said, already savoring the kill. "They are."

[nevcolleil.livejournal.com]

The Flash, Barry Allen/Harrison Wells, If you want the Impossible... you have to make it want you too.

[evil-little-dog.livejournal.com]

Any, any female, that was no star last night. Radio says it was a space station exploding. No wish for me!

Fill

[leni-ba.livejournal.com]

Big Bang Theory

Sheldon looked up from his game slowly, back rigid and ears straining to catch whatever had broken his concentration. When he found the culprit, digging into their fridge, he shot a glare at his roommate. "I can stand her stealing from us, seeing as to how she's finally learned not to touch my side. But this is too much." And when Leonard only shrugged and continued playing, Sheldon snapped. "Why is she singing?"

Leonard let out a sigh, but finally paused his own game. "Um. Well..."

"She can speak for herself," Penny cut in, coming with her snack to sit next to Leonard. "And I sing because I'm happy." And she really was grinning enough that Sheldon might have drawn that conclusion on his own. He allowed himself some satisfaction at his growing ability to read people, but Penny had to ruin the moment. "I actually got to wish on a shooting star last night."

Sheldon felt his eye start to twitch. "That's not...."

"If you're about to say that you don't believe in shooting stars, shut it, Sheldon."

"Well, yes. That. But I wanted to point out that-" He heard Leonard's groan and dismissed it in the same instant. He really did not understand why his roommate wanted Penny to stay ignorant. Sheldon didn't dislike anyone that much. "-it wasn't a shooting star."

Penny eyed him distrustfully. "No," she drawled out, the tone she took when she spoke to him. Or to little children. Amy insisted it was Penny being patient, and Sheldon chose to believe his girlfriend since he had no proof otherwise. "Bright point in the sky, falling toward the ground. That's a shooting star."

"Or," Sheldon said, "a space station exploding. It was on the radio earlier; we heard it."

Penny's eyes got huge. Then she narrowed them again - "We?" - at Leonard. "Is he telling the truth?"

Again, Leonard heaved a sigh. "Yes," he admitted reluctantly.

"But you said-!"

"You looked happy!" Sheldon's roommate said back, though he tried to edge away from Penny. Probably to get away from striking range. "I like it when you look happy, Penny!"

Penny opened her mouth, still glaring, but then she shook her head and her features softened into a smile. "Aw, that's sweet."

Leonard smiled back foolishly. "I can be sweet."

Hoping they wouldn't start a make out session right then and there - and in the middle of a game! - Sheldon gave a roll of his eyes. "Yes, yes. Back to business, now!" he told Leonard, giving a pointed look at his laptop. Then he glanced at Penny and gave a sad shake of his head. "Love makes you weak, woman," he told her, glad once again that he'd never descended to that dark side of relationships. His partner knew better than to expect him to fold so easily.

Penny glowered.

"Shut. It."

And because Penny was the woman he understood the best - not by choice, he'd reassured Amy, but the simple fact that he'd been forced into constant companionship with the woman for years already - Sheldon let himself focus back on the game.

[nevcolleil.livejournal.com]

Any, any/any, Monsters are even more scary when you've seen them afraid.

Highlander, Joe, anytime post Comes a Horseman

[tigriswolf]

Joe wonders, sometimes, about how Mac actually sees Methos. It had been such a shock to learn that Adam Pierson, just a kid, helpless like a puppy that hadn't grown into himself yet, was actually Methos, the oldest immortal of all, a legend with so many conflicting stories that not even his own kind believed he existed.

It's a masterful deception. Of course it is. Five thousand years, maybe more...

When he stops to think about, which he tries not to do too often, Joe has to shudder in horror. How Mac can just shrug it off –

When Mac told Joe about the Horsemen, he sounded disgusted, betrayed, furious. Joe honestly wasn’t that surprised.

What they see when they look at Methos is what Methos wants them to see. Joe loves Mac, he really does, but they’re both infants compared to Methos, and judging Methos by any modern standard is futile.

Joe understands the depths a man can sink to, and he knows Mac does, too. Mac’s fought in so many wars… why he’s so harsh on Methos, well, Joe’s got theories but nothing Mac wants to hear, so he keeps them to himself.

Don’t make him an enemy, he wants to say. And, Don’t trust him too much.

Five thousand years… and Methos’ creed: Live. Grow stronger. Fight another day. He knows he can’t possibly see everything, won’t have the time to, and he just wishes that Mac actually understood what he sees when he looks at the lanky kid in the too-big sweatshirt, gulping beer like it’ll be taken away if he stops.

He’s pretty sure Duncan MacLeod will be dead before he ever truly sees.

[evil-little-dog.livejournal.com]

MCU, Any+Any, I was sure the apocalypse would be awesome. But babies the size of cities? That is unsettling.

[evil-little-dog.livejournal.com]

MCU, Logan/Rogue, My sad feelings go SNIKT! (http://www.asofterworld.com/index.php?id=800)

[evil-little-dog.livejournal.com]

Fullmetal Alchemist, Edward Elric/Winry Rockbell, I...I think I like it.

[nevcolleil.livejournal.com]

Chuck, Chuck vs The Intersect, I wake abruptly and for just a moment I see how the creature looks in sunlight.

[nevcolleil.livejournal.com]

Chuck, Chuck, When we die, the best part of us lives on. The metadata.

[iceybreath.livejournal.com]

Any, any, We're too far from help. Oh god are these my last words? Hang on let me- [RECORDING ENDS]

Fill, Fullmetal Alchemist, Ling+Lan Fan+Fuu

[evil-little-dog.livejournal.com]

"We're going to die out here!" the young prince says, dramatically.

Fuu thinks otherwise, and believes the young prince does, too, it's only that the young prince is just that - young - and also a prince, and therefore, dramatic.

"It's too far for us to turn back, and we haven't reached the Xerxes ruins yet." Prince Ling pouts, tugging a hood farther over his eyes to shade them. "There's no help out here."

Fuu wonders if he should respond, but Lan Fan remains quiet, trudging along in the prince's wake.

"If we die," Prince Ling says, turning and walking backward so he can direct his comments better, "I should have some last words figured out. Something to inspire those who might find our bones."

Mustache twitching, Fuu stays silent, though he knows Lan Fan is listening closely to their master. She will take down each utterance the young prince says, no matter how ridiculous. And, in turn, they both know Prince Ling is far more clever than he lets on.

"So, we should come up with some way to write them down," Prince Ling is still saying, "our last words. In case." He raises his eyebrows at Fuu. "They're important." Still walking backwards, he doesn't seem to realize he's marching up an incline. Fuu doesn't feel it necessary to warn him he's reaching the top, though he does pick up his pace. It would do no good if the prince reaches the top of the dune and the other side of it is an actual cliff. "Don't you think this is a good ide - aaaaaaaaaah!" He flails, his balance lost as he tumbles backward over the ridge of the dune.

Fuu and Lan Fan reach the top, Lan Fan calling out, "Master!" as she darts down the dune after him.

Their prince raises a weary hand, waving her off as Fuu slide-steps down to join them. He squats down next to Prince Lao, gesturing at the water and greenery behind him. "Young Master, I do not think we need to be concerned with dying today."

The prince sat up, dusting the sand from his hair, and smiled. "Perhaps our last words can wait, then."

Fuu nodded, ignoring the smile his granddaughter hides.

[iceybreath.livejournal.com]

The Stanley Parable, Stanley, I figured out the secret to longevity. The secret is, it's just more of the same.

FILL: The Endless Ending [The Stanley Parable, Stanley, PG]

[doreyg.livejournal.com]

(I flailed so hard when I saw this prompt!)

--

The thing he’s figured out, after all this time, is that it’s never going to change.

Endless corridors, endless options, endless emptiness and blankness and nothing. He thinks that he should be lonely, but he forgot what other people looked like long ago. He thinks that he should be scared, but the feeling of shock faded around the fifth time he woke up back in his empty office with the phone line disconnected. He thinks he should despair, but…

Well, there’s not much point in despair if only the paperclips can hear you.

He’s discovered numerous options, in his time here. Sometimes he obeys every order he’s given, at first out of blind hope and later out of a dull sort of curiosity, and finds himself briefly in an ever so green field – but always blinks, and finds himself back in his office the same as ever. Sometimes he disobeys every order he’s given, at first out of wild defiance and later out of dull spite, and is plunged into a strange world of jerking game after jerking game – but always trips, and falls back into his office the same as ever. Sometimes he answers the first phone he finds, at first out of lonely desperation and later out of dull dullness, and finds himself in a room with a fake mannequin of his wife – but always finds it fading away, and indifferently appears back in his office the same as ever.

He used to like the final ending the best, somehow, for the ever so brief illusion of company it gave him. Now, so much later, he regards it with annoyance whenever he stumbles across it – a dull break in the usual monotony.

The thing he’s figured out, after all this time, is that it’s never going to actually end.

…And he knows, deep down, that he really shouldn’t be as alright with that as he is.

[iceybreath.livejournal.com]

Any, any, I'm always embarrassed when I go vegetarian, like a serial killer who's decided to be a better person this week.

[hanorganaas.livejournal.com]

SGA, John Sheppard, My Son the Astronaut (http://www.asofterworld.com/index.php?id=22)

[hanorganaas.livejournal.com]

AOS, Skye/Ward, and when he broke down crying in the parking lot, I wondered if I was making a Mistake. (http://www.asofterworld.com/clean/anotherwedding.jpg)

[tigriswolf]

Teen Wolf (TV), Stiles Stilinski, I’d rather die terrified than live forever

(also, I have no idea what's going on in season 4)

[tigriswolf]

Marvel movies, Peggy Carter, run the world

[tigriswolf]

Marvel movies, Steve Rogers/Bucky Barnes or Steve + Bucky, a good man

(also the tags)

[likewinning.livejournal.com]

DCU, any, You don't love me, / but you used to. / I wanted to say / thank you for that.

fill Barbara/Renee

[oh-mcgee.livejournal.com]

er, it's kind of a Gotham-y fill, I hope that's okay?

It takes a while, forever it seems, but Barbara finally finds her footing again. Checks into a discreet rehab facility, works the program, goes to the meetings even though she thinks the whole religious part of it is a crock of shit. It still helps her get back where she needs to be and for that she’s thankful. She gets clean from everything; the pot, the pills, the sex with whoever’s a willing, breathing body. She doesn’t return to Gotham until she feels like herself again, a classy bitch who takes shit from nobody.

It doesn’t surprise her Jim’s moved on. She never expected him not to, even if it does hurt more than she’d like to admit. They have coffee and he smiles at her and she tries to pretend it isn’t pity pulling at the edges of his mouth.

She doesn’t see Renee until she feels strong enough, which takes a bit longer than she’d expected. She doesn’t even know if Renee will agree to see her, going by their last time together, but she does and Barbara sweats buckets just standing outside her apartment door trying to work up the courage to ring the bell.

“You look good,” Renee says and Barbara’s infinitely thankful for her, for their history, for Renee knowing just what she’s been through these last few months so that she doesn’t have to go through it all again.

“I feel good,” Barbara says and pushes a strand of hair out of her face, smiling. She takes a seat, accepts the tea Renee made her, and readies her speech in her head.

I know you don’t love me anymore. I know that it’s for the best, that we can’t, we don’t work, but I wanted to say thank you anyway. For being the one to say it when I couldn’t. For stopping me before I went too far.

But Renee sits down next to her and cups Barbara’s cheek with her hand and says, “I missed you so much,” and Barbara physically feels herself slip. Everything she’s worked for the past three months just disintegrates from beneath her, the foundation she worked so hard to build just gone with five simple words and a touch from someone who cares.

She tries, she does. She clings to the threads of recovery and rehabilitation that are left and tries to pull herself out of the black hole that’s waiting for her, but she can’t. She’s not strong enough. She thought she was, but maybe that was just a lie she told herself enough times that she actually believed it. Maybe, underneath it all, she always knew what would happen when she came here. She knew she’d never be strong enough.

This was how it always went with them. Neither of them strong enough to stay away for too long, always returning, always dragging the other back down with them. This time they’d have their fun ruining each other and it would be Barbara’s turn to break it off, tell Renee how bad they are for each other, how she needed help. Maybe this time one of them would learn.

Renee pushes Barbara down on the couch and kisses her with a hunger that’s been building for months; she tastes of barley and smoke.

Maybe not.

[tigriswolf]

Marvel movies, Steve Rogers + ex-Winter Soldier, burning brightly