#anything for sleepy and nyks

[sleepyowlwrites]

in true sleepy fashion, I went and worked on a wip I wasn't even thinking about

last line tag! from the usual suspects @autumnalwalker @my-cursed-prince and @menagerie-of-monsters

from Youth Story draft 2/draft 1 rewrite/something:

“Come inside,” he beckoned to Mark. “We’re not doing anything exciting today, just eating and watching movies and sleeping over.”

“Sleeping over?” Mark blinked.

Nyks started walking further into the house, hoping Mark would follow. “Don’t worry if you didn’t bring a change of clothes. Daniel keeps clothes here in all our sizes in case of spontaneous sleepovers.”

Mark stumbled slightly as they left the foyer and wandered into a sitting room. “He does? How would he know my size?”

“I don’t really know how he does it,” Nyks admitted. “He just. Can do that, apparently. Even R, tree-boy that he is, Daniel just knows his size. He’s magic.”

@ashen-crest @akindofmagictoo @uraniumwriting @kaiusvnoir OR ANYBODY

#tag game #wip: youth story

[ashen-crest]

"Daniel has tried to teach me about memes and I don't think I did it right but I had Jae help me because he's better at art things and he also doesn't think I did it right, but he also also doesn't think I met a spirit in a forest, so whatever. I'm very happy Aspen is doing well. I wanted to enclose a sprig of rosemary here for them, but I lost it. Maybe they can grow some rosemary themselves. It smells nice. Love, Nyks."

welp, had to stop writing rival potion shops so Aspen could properly respond to this:

(Aspen looking at this meme)

#the stray spirit #aspen the spirit #cannot believe i drew a meme #anything for sleepy and nyks #truly #the aspen on the right might be one of my favorite sketches of aspen actually #why am i like this

[magioffire]

@nykrose

When Vali woke that morning, it would be to a face full of contempt. Nyk's contempt. In the time it took him to march from his napping place to Vali’s he’d smoothed the distress from his features. Most of it. Should Vali’s eyes cut through the blur of sleep, he might spot the deep lines of Nyk’s frown.

If that failed then those pointy ears surely would not. Nyk's tone was as hard to mistake as his too-familiar nostrils.

"Sleep well?" He wore no bags beneath his eyes, nor did he sound strained, but the insinuation was there.

Nyk did not dream, per se. He was not one to be plagued by the nightmares of a troubled mind.

No! He had dire visions! Visions of a future that was...dire! More dire than usual, it seemed, by the haunted look of him. Pale and gaunt as any ghost, he loomed.

“I’ve seen a terrible doom.”

     Usually, Valeriu would be quite peeved to be awoken from his dreamscape. He typically wished to stay as long as possible within his carefully constructed dream palace, where he stowed his nightmares and gnawing traumas away, deep behind the curtain of his subconscious. A door to keep all the nasties at bay while he indulged in his brain’s fantasies instead.

    Someone must have left the door to his nightmares open previously, because Valeriu’s dreamland soon became not a place of succor and reprieve from the stress and pain of life, but rather an augury of doomed visions, he felt himself mired within a sweltering sea of sharp, angular images, passing him by, faster than he could possibly hope to process normally. Everything was a blurr of muddled colors, harsh faces, distorted voices in his ear, trying to tell him something, but his mind was just unable to comprehend it fully.

     He didn’t need to carefully comb over each scene playing before him, for the general gist of it came crashing over him like a wayward wave, pulling him off his safe harbor and deep into thrashing Lethe of his mind. Valeriu forced himself to climb out of the depths of his mind and awaken with a start.

   Through his hazy, sleep-laden vision, Vali found himself looking down the nose of the last person Valeriu wanted to see after such a confusing nightmare. Nyk. His racing heart slowly calmed..Could be worse, could be woken up by a beansidhe. Nyk barely gave Vali a moment to right himself, nor wipe the cold sweat from his forehead, before he was speaking.

     “Oh, I was sleeping just fine until you shoved your snout in my face,” The fae said sarcastically, rubbing his heavy eyes. He tensed when Nyk mentioned having a vision -- oh, no. Surely, it just was a coincidence. Surely they didn’t share the exact same dream...of all people, Vali didn’t want to share dreams with Nyk. Gods only know what sort of trouble Nyk’s dream-self got up to in the in-between while his body slept, which was a rare occasion in and of itself. 

    Vali sighed, unease slithering down his spine in the form of cold sweat. “I did too,” Vali echoed. He was a dream mage, but a young one, and he really wasn’t in the business of prophetic dreams. Every once in a while he might get something akin to prophetic, warning him of possible outcomes, confirming suspicions he possessed, revealing enemies he didn’t know. 

     The fae always suspected those dreams were the result of his sub-conscious mind communicating what it already knew to his conscious mind in the form of dreams. Nothing inherently magical. Nothing like this. “...Is that why you’re up in my face, first thing in the morning? Are we both going to die, or something? World ending?” Vali asked, unable to hide the confusion upon his sleepy face. With how fast those images in his dream went by, it could be anything. 

      Vali never saw Nyk this ....upset? Was that the correct way to describe this? Disturbed, more like it, in the same way a horse is disturbed by a wolf in the brush. Vali felt actually concerned. “I saw what could be described as ‘doom’, too, but I’m not exactly in the position to interpret said doom. It went by so fast.” Almost like it wasn’t even his dream in the first place. Wait -- did Valeriu hop dreamscapes without even realizing it? Did he witness Nyk’s dream purely by accident? Vali sat, pulling his hair out of the loose braid he set it in the night before. 

#ic. #nykrose #main verse. #vali just like why do i gotta wake up with horse swamp man in my face #take a breath mint

[sleepyowlwrites]

find the word tag CCLXXXIII

fun fact: your nickname is Welcome because you identify as a pup mom and dogs make me think of them waiting for you to get home and they're the welcome you need when you get there. so, you're Welcome. (haha) @nikkywrites

stubborn (the sleepy stash, 2020)

“But I thought you forgave him after, well, you know.” Arthur tightened his grip on the chair in front of him. His brother hadn’t made the best first impression but he had seen him and Rowena getting along as of late.

Rowena tapped her hands on the table between them thoughtfully. “I did forgive him, but that’s as far as we’ve gotten. Gareth isn’t making any long strides in that direction either. We’re both too stubborn.”

Arthur allowed himself a grim chuckle. “That’s true. But still. Could we wait until Carmine comes back? I’m sure she loves him.”

temporary (summon story d0)

Shae stepped out of the array and crouched beside Zan, gripping his shoulder with both hands. “Did you give your dreams voluntarily?”

It was no surprise when Dair shook his head. Giving away dreams to a spirit was basically an invitation to possession. Temporary possession could be arranged, to make a human stronger, faster, better at killing. It wasn’t unheard of for gangs to have their younger members possessed to make them better at thieving, at escaping when caught. Dair had been in a gang notorious for illegal possessions before Madi had gotten him out.

constant (youth story d0)

"So what do you think?"

Mark pinched the bridge of his nose. "I think all this constant scheming to make my life better is giving me a headache."

Daniel let the list fall to the floor. It drifted lazily before settling against one of his shoes, unbothered by anything. Daniel looked at it for a moment, then snatched it back up again, huffing.

"Well, maybe if you showed some enthusiasm-" he clicked his tongue.

Mark sighed. "I am literally wearing a shirt you bought me. I went on a walk with Cal and Evie today and had to suffer through them taking a million pictures and including me in them. I gave Nyks a hug, unprompted!"

Daniel blanched a little. "Yes, all good things. I just have a few more suggestions."

"I am not a people person. I am a person for my people and that's it. If you buy me a shirt I guess I'll wear it. But I'm not going shopping with you."

permanent (summon story d0)

Shae had not stopped moving since Wryn brought up the idea of just summoning her Shidha once and for all. Zan was getting antsy just looking at her and they hadn’t even decided to do it. They couldn’t, really, not while Erin wasn’t present. She had final say about everything, as the leader.

“Are we sure we can actually do this without one of us dying permanently? Or getting possessed? Or repossessed?” Zan asked the room at large, watching Shae pace the length of it once again.

“It’s a bad idea. A very bad idea. Especially since we still don’t have a signature for the particular Shidha who keeps tagging me. It’s just an open power glyph with no name attached.” Shae rubbed her hands together absently, the skin of her palms giving less friction now that they’d scarred over. The new flesh was shinier, more smooth. It didn’t look bad, just different.

earnest, frantic, bluff, pretend. BONUS: wither, suspense. @yejidoesthings @ettawritesnstudies @writting-in-blood @mp-golfin @solipsism-lemonade @drippingmoon

#find the word tag #tag game #searching circle

[sleepyowlwrites]

find the word tag CCCXVI

I'm getting the itch. the fanfiction itch. been rewatching a show I love and I think I might need to write something for it. but I also just wanna write dirt in the doing. but I also don't wanna write anything at all. but I think that's just right now sleepy talking. right now sleepy has a headache and has consumed a lot of painkillers. and needs some food other than goldfish and kinder bueno. @ashen-crest

wood (youth story supplemental - R's route)

These are massive, some kind of dark wood and carved with what could just be decoration but have always too closely resembled specific symbols that everyone is afraid to touch. Not that you ever need to, because if you’re like me, the door will open when you reach them without prompting. Somebody who knows how to program organic material built the doors a long time ago to open when they sensed humans with powers nearby. And that brings us back to me, a perfectly ordinary human who happens to have powers, walking into my school on the first day of a new year, ready to rediscover how little I mean to the universe.

fire (dirt in the doing)

Jet gently pries her hand off his shoulder and isn’t surprised when she latches onto his fingers instead. “I’m not interested in-”

“I said extra bed, didn’t I?” Rune has fire in her voice for just a moment before it dies down and he’s reminded just how weary the both of them clearly are. “Please, Jet. Come home with me.”

He blinks. “You remember my name?”

She lets out the softest laugh. “I’m very good with names, and I heard Shadow call you that a couple of times last week when I dropped by.”

crackle (summon story supplemental)

“Erin, did you just get home?” Zan asked her with sleep in his voice, one arm up over his face as he blinked in the hazy candlelight of the front room.

She shrugged her bag off her shoulder onto the stones, the soft huff of its landing sounding louder in the midnight quiet. The rest of the house was silent, save for the crackle of the fire beyond both of them. Zan adjusted to the light and peered at her questioningly, seeming so much younger than his confident, daytime self.

warm (youth story supplemental)

Mark waited, fidgeting only a little while Nyks leeched energy from his skin and gradually passed back through the cushions until he was actually sitting on them.

Mark scooped him up as soon as he could, holding him quite awkwardly in a hug. "Do you wanna, um, do you need me to like, sit with you? Closely?"

"If that's okay with you," Nyks said rather breathlessly. "That was very tiring."

"Okay," Mark said again, sitting them both back down on the couch but leaving one arm over Nyks' shoulders. "Is this good?"

"It's fine."

Mark relaxed marginally over the next several minutes, until at last he was in a normal person posture.

"You're warm."

"Thanks?"

Poor Mark. He really was awkward. "It's helping."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah." But this time it sounded like he was smiling.

in between crackle and warm I had a mini crisis because I thought I lost all my poetry because scrivener did a tiny crash thing because my laptop updated, I think, but the recovery file wasn't necessary and was useless because it had nothing in it, and the regular file still has everything, and it's fine, everything's fine, I'm fine.

panic, pressure, play, prick. BONUS: passable, particular(ly). @ellatholmes @ettawritesnstudies @writting-in-blood @blind-the-winds @gwens-fiction @pepperdee @josephinegerardywriter @woodhousejay OR ANYBODY

#find the word tag #searching circle #alliteration agency #unsleeping club

[sleepyowlwrites]

find the word tag CCLXXII

well, it's official. I'm in a funk. but it's completely understandable and several of my coworkers are in funks too, so I'm in funky company. I also finally got a hug from Andrew, which I've only been waiting like two months for, so. @diphthongsfordays

low (youth story d0)

“You want me?” He asked again, interrupting the laughter, his voice hesitant and low.

Savannah looked sideways at him, bright and colorful and real. “I want you,” she echoed, smiling.

Jae held her hand tighter.

fall (the sleepy stash, 2020)

Wooden walls, spines and skin, in the end rot the same. And the agony rolls around in the bones and we sing the same refrain. And the mice are our friends and they respect our pieces. And we fall apart over decades and stop when the world freezes. And we once were a memory but now we are dust. And it was worth it, for whoever remembers us.

slow + smile (youth story d0)

"Oh." Nyks sat next to Mark with a soft thump. "You are very tired."

Mark blinked at him, slowly lifting an arm. Nyks quirked a little smile and scooted under the offered arm, resting his head against Mark's shoulder. "You can tell?" He heard Mark ask, his voice not indicating anything.

"I was being cute on purpose and you didn't laugh. You didn't even smile. So you must be tired."

smooth (summon story d0)

“Yeah.” Erin said it to the ground, her voice bordering on contrite but her face still as hard as stone. “I’ll die for this one.”

It sounded as though there was more meaning that sentence or maybe Zan just wanted her to care about Wryn’s feelings. Either way, the scene changed as Wryn nodded, their aura quieting as their skin knit itself into a smooth surface again.

drop (tunnel to tomorrow, 2019)

I found it the other day I don't know where it goes I dropped a pebble and it never made a sound How deep is it? Does anybody know? Should I take a chance and just fall down? Maybe I'll find a wonderland waiting for me underground

ignore (the sleepy stash)

But then Ryland would wander on through and sit so that he was overlapping spaces with Violet’s arm or head. She’d have to peel him off of her while he laughed. It always sounded so angry, so lost. Violet would ignore him for a while as payback. And then he would cry clouds and Violet sat inside his shadow and felt his sorrow with him.

“Did you tell Ben I’m not dead?”

“I told him,” Violet promised.

cold (an absence, silence, 2021)

your hair was in my face but I didn't want to brush it away. I was afraid you'd disintegrate. your skin on mine was featherlight and I was too afraid to move. I didn't want to lose you. your palms rested on my thighs and your eyelashes on my cheek and I couldn't breathe. I thought you might hear me and leave.

this space is cold in the face of your warmth and I can hear your heart beating. but something is gone. something is missing.

I think it's me.

tentative, unused, vein, waste, yank. BONUS: disintegrate, sideways. @talesofsorrowandofruin @uraniumwriting @vellichor-virgo @writing-with-melon @yejidoesthings @souliloquyyy @zmlorenz @spacetimewraithwrites OR ANYBODY or nobody

#find the word tag #tag game #searching circle

[sleepyowlwrites]

find the word tag CCLXII

the poem thing happened again today except that I remembered the words by myself. haha! sometimes I have braincells. I was really sleepy today too so that was funky. @justwriteyoudummy

gaze (youth story d0)

R tugged Nyks toward him and wrapped his arm around the less than solid boy. “I’m sorry. I’m stupid.”

“You’re not stupid,” Nyks mumbled. “You’re just dumb.”

“Uh huh.”

Mark looked just as wrung out as Nyks had. R sent Evie a meaningful gaze. She rolled her eyes but pulled Mark into a hug before he could say anything. His arms dangled at his sides until he caught R glaring at him and returned the hug gingerly.

“So what I got from this is that you really hate running,” Nyks whispered in R’s ear.

“You have no idea,” he whispered back.

blue (glow, 2021)

“Mama, do you want to hold my pearl?” I ask her after dinner, holding it out to her.

She takes it with careful reverence, the light of it reflecting in her soft, blue eyes. “It’s very warm,” she tells me. “You must have been feeding it.”

“I told it about my day and how much I love you!”

When Mama kisses the hands she places the pearl into, I think I can feel how much she loves me, too. But I don’t ever have to think, because she tells me right after.

“I love you too, baby.”

open (youth story d0 - it's Nyks. he's two years older than Daniel)

Daniel munched on his macaron mournfully. “I didn’t sleep well, I needed the caffeine."

“What do you tell me to do when I’m tired? Do you give me four shots of espresso and say, “this is the responsible thing to do, Nyks. This is smart,” or do you wrap me in a blanket and say, “take a nap,” huh?” Nyks popped a macaron in his own mouth, his head tilting to the side as Daniel scowled at him.

“Don’t feed me my own words. It’s rude.”

“Do you also not want to be fed macarons, then?” Nyks held one up but didn’t place it in Daniel’s now open mouth. “Which of us is older, hmm?”

ready (from: a sketch, bold lines, chromatic, 2021)

do you want a self-portrait? I can give you one.

my heart is here, on my sleeve, right next to my elbow. I keep it in a plastic bag so it doesn’t get wet, but you can see it. it’s real, and pulsing, and the love can come out of it just fine. love is not tangible, you see, unless it has already left the heart in which case I can put it in my hands and lay them on your cheeks and then it is very tangible in so far as you will allow yourself to feel it.

I wear my shoes with the laces double knotted and I rarely untie them. I slip them on for work and kick them off when I get home. they fall haphazardly by the door, but they are by the door, kept, not lost, and are ready for use when I need them.

lost, found, ahead, behind, beside. BONUS: myriad, eternal. @spacetimewraithwrites @mothwriter @mecharose @lanawritesalittle @lend-your-lungs-to-me @writingamongther0ses OR ANYBODY or nobody

#find the word tag #tag game #searching circle #unsleeping club

[sleepyowlwrites]

find the word tag CCXII

you know Sleepy’s tired if she isn’t posting word searches all the time. even when I’m not writing - which I am not - I still post them because I have a backlog. I have no shame about posting old, non-canonical, not-even-really draft 0 stuff. I do not fear the word count or the lack of a recent last line or whatever. but if I am tired, then I really won’t do anything. and I love omni, but it sure does take the stuffing out of me. today’s tags have been snatched from unsuspecting rabbits by my sneaky, sneaky hands. the rabbits? @ambiguouspuzuma and @red-the-dragon-writes 

prove (don’t run with scissors, 2011)

Plus, you might do something stupid Just to prove something to your sister That you are superhuman And run with scissors

Which now I know Is never a good idea

patch (discord poetry no.8, 2020)

for a moment you imagine yourself falling down into the dark. but you don’t. the glass is still there, you’re just looking down. but then you look up again and see the garden and birds and jackets with lots of patches and you’re wondering about the stories hiding in its pockets. and you’re safe. as long as you don’t look down.

purple (meta-portal)

speaking of stabbing, Changmin was stabbed by a mystical dagger when he was a child in the crook of his elbow. he's got a purple mark there as a scar and it doesn't bother him or anything, but he is susceptible to illusionary magic which is how Chanhee lured him into the labyrinth in the first place and then kept him there.

pale (the princess, 2013)

"What's the matter with you, princess?" My pale professor said. "Have you been poisoned, stabbed or tortured, Have you lost your head?

"Then use it, girl, before you're dead. Get that mind to thinking. You need to use the time you have, Every day you're sinking!”

shadow (youth story draft 0)

R narrowed his eyes and poked at Mark’s other shoulder blade. “You. Have you not drunk before?”

Mark shrugged. Then, “Only a couple times. And like, a sip each time?”

“I don’t think that counts,” Irina said. She was on her back now, letting Nyks play with her hair. Irina was very beautiful when she was half in shadow. Made her easier to look at.

cloud (youth story draft 0)

“Not all bruises form right away, idiot.” Mark pulled his hood up, further obscuring his already cloudy features. “Let’s just go at it until Evie stops us. Why do we need rules?”

“Because the two of you are impossible and need boundaries.”

“We clearly suck at those,” R pointed out. “We’ll just brawl for a bit and then go back to being on somewhat amicable terms.”

echo (shiver, 2012)

Silence Is ever A very loud word An echo of longing Dropping, falling, reaching into the chasm of desire Pouring a rivulet of tears To match the even breathing of your chest Further, farther

Echoes Darkness Silver pebble shivering among the stars

wind (you, of flight, and I, of falsehood, 2021)

Today I thought I saw a bird, but it was just my cheekbone, adrift on the wind; broken off by a bite of indecision, it glowered at the sun, the wax on its wingtips melting less with the coming dark.

well. hmm. mood, atmosphere, temperature, vibe, presence. BONUS: shiver, shake. @woodhousejay @vellichor-virgo @sleepy-night-child @lunarmoment @klywrites @ashen-crest OR ANYBODY or nobody

#find the word tag #tag game #searching circle #unsleeping club

[sleepyowlwrites]

find the word tag CLXXIII

and for my next trick, I’ll have a whole crisis about @sleepy-night-child and the nickname debate, wherein my brain was like “how about Snooze” and I was like “NO” but then I thought of my beloved song, “Snooze” by Lucy, and my brain was like “LUCY!” and I was like “but that’s literally a name, I’m looking for a nickname, preferably an adjective, something I thought of all by myself” and my brain was like “you wanna call them Mirror Sleepy, don’t you” and I was like “...no” and then I typed all that out for your viewing horror. I can’t call you nighty, it won’t- my brain doesn’t vibe with it. it’ll just take me a bit. took me ages to finally call vylequinne “Feather”. he gave ME a nickname first. 

okay now that the unnecessary narration is out of the way, let’s do that tag, huh? I’m combining this with Sunflower’s tag, too. @lanawritesalittle 

watch (youth story)

“That’s the goal? To be spring water to each other instead of tap?”

Evie nodded.

R slide his gaze over to Cal and Daniel, who seemed perfectly content to merely watch the conversation instead of contributing. “You don’t have anything to say?”

notice (youth story supplemental)

Mark made a face for half a second that suggested confusion, but then he was behind Nyks, reaching around his middle to hoist him upward with little effort. “You good?”

Nyks straightened his shirt with exaggerated movements. “Peachy. I love falling into the ground at a moment’s notice. Also, what are you two doing that you’re arriving together?”

R shuddered. “Bonding, apparently.”

see (youth story)

Daniel clapped his hands. “One day you’ll see sense without us having to invoke the Nyks argument, but I’m happy enough with it now. Hold hands and stop whining.”

Nyks nodded encouragingly.

look (summon story)

Zan’s scowl deepened. “Look, since neither of us wants to die, why don’t we just go find someone who will?”

Shae blinked. “You want to kidnap someone for our summoning?”

“No, I want to find someone who will consent to dying so we can get our job done.” Zan unlocked his arms so he could run a hand through his hair. “The summoning won’t take long, even for a a few rowdy saket.”

guess (nothing, really)

Even if Ren is thin, he’s solid and a comforting weight in Hyuck’s arms.

“I know,” Ren says after a moment. “Did I go too far?”

“No. I guess I’m just not at full strength today.”

gasp (also nothing, really)

Her leg was on fire, specifically her knee. She peered down on it, wondering how bad it really was. As she lifted her head slightly, her shoulder groaned. Another gasp bubbled from her throat, the pain overcoming her for a second.

"Breathe. You're gonna be fine.”

good (youth story)

Nyks folded his arms and Evie shoved the bag at him again. "That's not what I asked for."

"Since when do you not want cookies? Cal made them, so you know they're good." Evie held out the bag with both hands and even adjusted her expression so that her eyes curved more brightly. Nyks recognized the sight of contrived optimism, especially on Evie's face.

give (youth story)

Suyin reached for his hand. He let her hold it. “Of course,” she said, straightforward and without a trace of a lie. “Nyks loves without condition. It’s hard to not be affected by that.”

Jae just nodded. It was.

“So come on. You’ve got an umbrella, right? Give it to me.”

@vellichor-virgo @vylequinne @zmlorenz @ninazeniks @piyawrites OR ANYBODY: optimistic, positive, bright, cheerful, genuine. bonus: hello, goodbye.

#find the word tag #tag game #searching circle #unnecessary narration #unsleeping club

[sleepyowlwrites]

find the word tag CLXXV

something is wrong with me. I’m not doing tags left and right. can we call this summer fatigue? ah, I’m too much of a people person for being an introvert. online, too. I don’t want to go on hiatus because I know that it won’t mean anything to me. so instead I’m just kind of floating like a soap bubble in the hot, hot summer air. 

some words from our sponsor @akindofmagictoo

shot (shots - fic series)

"Ow," Lexi hissed, more as an automated response than out of actual pain as MB prodded her shoulder. There was a dull ache in her muscles from being slammed against a brick wall and she wasn't actually sure where the bleeding was coming from. MB supplied her with the answer.

"Don't get shot next time," she rejoined in her signature monotone. MB was so businesslike at all times, which helped immensely with the job, but didn't endear her to many. Still, Lexi knew she had a big heart along with that sharp tongue.

seek (summon story)

“We not not seek to kill, but we do not mind it. Even each other.”

“That’s lovely,” Zan remarked, disgusted. “I’m thrilled you don’t have a problem destroying your own kind.”

“You kill your own sometimes,” the hissing continued, as Wryn seemed perfectly content to let his passenger control the conversation. “Is this not the same?”

“I don’t kill people!” Zan paused, then turned away from Wryn’s horrifying figure to resume collecting firewood. “People kill other people, sometimes. Is that what you mean?”

seam (heartbeat - fic)

Liu Sang watches the sky crackle along its seams and flash purple for a moment. There’s a pause that seems too lengthy, making him wait in unearned agony until the following crash of sound reverberates throughout his whole body, hissing at the tips of his fingers, a sizzle across his collarbones, a fresh sting in his cheek when he bites the inside.

It’s a storm, a natural, normal occurrence. The air hums with humid energy around him, there are birds beating hard against the wind and trees bending gracefully beneath it. Liu Sang breathes and the same air catches in his throat and hurts to swallow.

sleepy (youth story + bonus from meta-portal because I am Sleepy hehe)

Nyks pulled himself up off the chair and brushed edges with R, making him rub his arms uncomfortably. “Sorry.” He probably wasn’t. But he was the baby, so this behavior made sense.

R just stuck his chin in the air. “See if I pet your head tonight when you get all sleepy and clingy.”

“You won’t pet my head?” Nyks pouted, which frankly was unfair.

--

Jisung is much more awake now even though he looks adorably sleepy. “Oh, you have witches here?”

“It’s just a common nickname for a mage,” Haknyeon says.

“No, it isn’t,” Jacob says immediately. “I’m a witch. I do remedial magic and have an excellent sense of direction and always know when I’m being lied to. It’s not that same.”

stream (the youth story/stray spirit crossover)

“Nyks, honey, there’s no such thing as spirits,” Daniel said patiently as Nyks pulled him along.

“How can you say that?” Nyks groused. “Especially when I spend half my time as a non-corporeal entity and you just manifested rocks in that stream for us to cross on?”

strew (good word, though)

star (youth story - been a little bit since I posted this paragraph that I love)

Mark had never wished for the night to consume him whole as much as he did on the day R admitted that the lies they had carefully built up between them were, in fact, just that. The sky around them was burning so beautifully in comparison to the hungry heat in his cheeks and hands. Dusk ate away at the day ravenously and Mark wished to disappear with the blue, to be the furthest star whose light couldn’t be seen. Any kind of cosmic insignificance was better than standing in front of R with his fists stuck to his jeans, unable to utter a single word.

swift (from: under the sky was a void, 2020)

Some things are lacking and it’s not just my sense of ease. There should be more red in the sky but the body lacks blood to leak. Effervescence? The illumination of a single streetlight cannot force the terrors back into the void. Revenge is a concept. The hollows bite at intruders, sweet, honeyed, coy. Resonance, swift and painless. An outright lie. Only flightless things can fly. The sky is too light for this night and I will fade when the colors go. And no one will know.

okay @zmlorenz I did know some of these off the top of my head. you got me. sometimes I do know. @mel-writes-with-her-dragons @moononherwings @viridis-writes @writingbyjillian @write-the-stars-and-shadows OR ANYBODY: resonance, dissonance, remembrance, balance, semblance. bonus: effervescence, insignificance. (variations of these words are also acceptable)

#find the word tag #tag game #searching circle #writeblr

[sleepyowlwrites]

find the word tag CLXXVI

okay. I need a word search. I want one. and I have tags saved up. AND it’s a rainy day. AND I am feeling some kind of way. so. it is time. and because I need affirmations, I’ll do words from are you sure you’re not me? you can’t be. ‘cause I am. @sleepy-night-child also my mom vetoed Nighty and I can’t go against her, so. oh and there’s that pesky thunder again. heavens but the heavens just keep on giving.

hand (summon story - fun fact: this led to me developing more lore about why summoners sometimes die in rituals)

Wryn shrugged, nudging at Zan with one foot. "It's better if he gets his first death out of the way."

"I don't agree," came Zan's reedy voice. "I think you're a terrible friend and I would like to stab you now."

“Go ahead,” Wryn answered. “Here, you can even use my dagger.”

Zan glared up at them, one hand wiping at the blood coating his throat and chest. “Did you have to slice my neck? I really don’t want to do a summoning covered in blood. I feel like that’s just a bad idea. Also, very uncomfortable for me.”

quiet (summon story - fun fact: this led to further lore on saket spirits)

They sat in silence. If Zan couldn’t plant the salt crystals then he couldn’t advance the array building and it didn’t look like Dair was really up to talk, so he didn’t say anything. But that was was unbearable. Zan hated the quiet.

“Fine, I make lopsided arrays. But that’s not my job so it doesn’t matter.”

Dair’s smile was lopsided, but it was there, and Zan was content with that.

other (magick story - fun fact: this was the first thing I ever wrote for this wip)

“Martin,” Natalie says when she breezes into the stationary shop at half-past eleven with an enormous tote bag slung over one arm and a tiny coffee in the other, “Can you sell a me dozen insincere apologies to go? I have no time to write them myself.”

close (youth story - fun fact: this was the first scene wrote from Jae’s POV)

R nodded again, his expression so open Jae wanted to reach over and close it a little, so he didn’t have to witness all the emotions R wore so strongly on a daily basis. “I know. You don’t have to be good at giving. But if Nyks were to, say, rest his head on your shoulder or grab your hand, you’d be good with that, right? You don’t have to do anything. Just let him.”

nod (youth story - fun fact: R and Mark’s dynamic is one of my favorite things I’ve ever written)

“Yeah,” Mark said, tight and strangled, and R wanted to stab something, preferably himself. “We adore Nyks. And besides that, I tolerate you.” He gave a mirthless laugh, meeting R’s eyes for just long enough for the sincerity to sink a little too deep.

“Got it.” R gave him a quick nod. The action seemed to relieve Mark of his tension and his eyes stopped holding so much pain. “I tolerate you, too.”

window (youth story - fun fact: I have written like two scenes that actually deal with Nyks’ memory loss)

“Sometimes I wonder how big my house was,” Nyks said thoughtfully. He stretched backwards until his head and shoulders fell off the edge of Daniel’s bed. “I don’t think it was particularly large. I think all the rooms had just enough space for living in, and the walls had paintings and shelves and things along them. The floors had rugs instead of carpeting and there were a lot of windows.”

soft (glow - fun fact: this is very much about how much I love my mom)

“Mama, do you want to hold my pearl?” I ask her after dinner, holding it out to her.

She takes it with careful reverence, the light of it reflecting in her soft, blue eyes. “It’s very warm,” she tells me. “You must have been feeding it.”

“I told it about my day and how much I love you!”

When Mama kisses the hands she places the pearl into, I think I can feel how much she loves me, too. But I don’t ever have to think, because she tells me right after.

“I love you too, baby.”

today (youth story - fun fact: I post just this bit and everybody loved it, so I went on to make it a full scene)

"Do I want dessert or do I want death?"

"Why are those the only two options?"

"What else am I supposed to make of these emotions?"

Nyks shoved a macaron in Daniel's mouth. "You want dessert, and your emotions are haywire because you had one too many shots of espresso today, idiot."

well. that was nice. @rainydaydarling @enchanted-lightning-aes @wisteria-eventide @ettawritesnstudies @vylequinne OR ANYBODY: rain, thunder, storm, midnight, street. bonus: lightning, essence.

#find the word tag #tag game #searching circle #unsleeping club

[sleepyowlwrites]

find the word tag CLXXX

like it or not, Sleepy is writing again, in furtive glances and sneaking hands. I don’t really have the emotional capacity to write anything GOOD, but whatever. who cares. I don’t. I have quite a lot of word searches to catch up on so let’s do this. @novanovelwriting and @sleepy-night-child 

text (youth story)

Then Cal turns to him, a bright spark, and Mark notices that there are no lamps turned on, only this sweet boy's smile, and clarifies, "R texted me. He said he might have offended you."

trust (from: not yours, never mine)

He was kind but I made him kinder, I pulled him out of his skin and told him it didn't belong to him anymore, I said he had to share and he believed me. He was a liar but I taught him to trust me, I put razors in every falsehood and with each new, broken line I wore him down and he couldn't say the sky was blue on a given day.

ten (youth story)

“Bell said that just being within ten feet of each other is an improvement in our relationship and then she like, smiled and R said to just do whatever she said. Which,” Mark shrugged, “I was going to do anyway.”

“Doing what Bell says is generally the correct course of action,” Nyks affirmed.

thud thump (heartbeat)

He tastes stale blood on his tongue when he swallows. Wu Xie also cleans off his lip with the edge of his sleeve. Liu Sang should shrink away, should push him off, but the steady thump of Wu Xie’s heartbeat - he can hear it - reassures him, keeps him still. The sincerity remains.

take (summon story)

“She passed out?”

Wryn nodded. “We should leave. You carry Shae. I’ll take Erin.”

“Shouldn’t we sand scorch where the array was?”

Wryn stood quickly and walked over to Erin. “I can do it later. First, we will make sure our companions are alright.”

Zan looked down first at Shae’s troubled face, then at her still healing hands. “Yeah, let’s do that.”

friend (youth story)

Daniel grimaced slightly, one side of his mouth pulling to the side in a poor imitation of a crooked grin. “Can’t we just say that I was delirious from too much espresso and forget about it?”

“Hmm.” Nyks ate another macaron while he pretended to think. Daniel slumped in his seat next to him, a quiet sigh escaping his friend. “Maybe. But you have to take a nap with me.”

slow (from: imposter)

it’s stressing me out, can we turn back back? minute by minute one inch to every coat collar that hangs inside the walls broken glass falls slowly suspended on a feather and the feather owner’s dead I spin on my heel to find a gun to my head there are too many hands in here

power (summon story)

“I know it took a little while to understand the, the difference between power and viable power,” Shae stumbled through her words. “But now that I do I really don’t want to do on purpose what I already did by accident.”

“Sometimes purpose has to overcome and correct accidents. If you want to live without a shadow on your fate, you will have to do this.”

stop (the bus stop)

it’s pretty, if I think about it, if I look at the pretense of scenery and my lips part with a sigh. it’s something so familiar and yet so beyond where my eyes can see. the under layer of this time of night and the bus stop and the damp dark prickling at my back. the glow on the sidewalk and my teeth slightly apart.

I think the word is ethereal.

@no-url-idea-tho @mel-writes-with-her-dragons @alexwritesfiction @lend-your-lungs-to-me @ettawritesnstudies OR ANYBODY: audibly, believably, correctly, distinctly, endlessly. BONUS: feather, shadow.

#find the word tag #searching circle #oc protection squad gang #tag game #unsleeping club

[sleepyowlwrites]

find the word tag CXXXVII

Maybe sorcery doesn’t know that I avoided things doing this. oh wait. now she does. @akindofmagictoo 

green (youth story)

“You wear springy grass green, sometimes.” Nyks had gone through all his whipped cream and cradled his mug in both hands, enjoying the warmth. “What about a yellow dress? Do you have one of those?”

Evie met his eyes with a slightly more open expression, probably because she was soft for him. If it helped along a conversation into neutral territory, Nyks was not going to be sorry about this.

ground (from the sleepy stash)

"I don't wanna say that you've colossally misinterpreted things when you're prepared to kill me but, uh, you really, really missed the point. Like, if the point was a bowl of soup on the table you'd have thought, ‘ah, true sustenance is not merely what we eat, but rather our passion for learning,’ and then spilled the soup on the ground as your stomach rumbled symbolically."

give (29 days of october - noooo, sleepy don’t write this)

"I'm Morren. Your first advisor picked out the best for you. Though, I don't know why I should be pulled away from my other duties to go on this suicide mission."

"Your duty now is to me. This mission is more important that anything else." I wasn't sure why I felt angry at him, perhaps it was his apparent careless attitude. However, I could not afford to give into feelings. I never could. "You know who I am, and you know what we're doing. Can we start immediately?"

grip (princess story)

Arthur tightened his grip on the chair in front of him. His brother hadn’t made the best first impression but he had seen him and Rowena getting along as of late.

Rowena tapped her hands on the table between them thoughtfully. “I did forgive him, but that’s as far as we’ve gotten. Gareth isn’t making any long strides in that direction either. We’re both too stubborn.”

Arthur allowed himself a grim chuckle. “That’s true. But still. Could we wait until Carmine comes back? I’m sure she loves him.”

where have all the staplers gone? what happened to our paperclips? the ballpoint pens are gone again! no, I’m not daft. I just enjoy quoting obscure media. @marewriteblr @zmlorenz @seas-dubh @moononherwings OR ANYBODY: symbol, forgive, impression, careless, attitude. 

#find the word tag #tag game #searching circle #writing #writeblr #sleepy writing #this tag is no longer in use #princess story #w: sleepy stash

[sleepyowlwrites]

find the word tag LXXIV

who tagged me? uh *checks notes* its says Ghosty. hi, Ghosty! @zmlorenz 

left (I don’t know how to write gun fights and I don’t care. Shots)

"We never should've let this get so far." The voice held fear. Evie smiled thinly to hear it.

"Shut up." The voice to the left the other swung a little, and Evie knew he'd shoved his companion just enough that he was more exposed. She adjusted Jay’s hand and flattened against the wall as he fired.

rub (Youth story)

Nyks pulled himself up off the chair and brushed edges with R, making him rub his arms uncomfortably. “Sorry.” He wasn’t. But he was the baby, so this behavior made sense.

R just stuck his chin in the air. “See if I pet your head tonight when you get all sleepy and clingy.”

“You won’t pet my head?” Nyks pouted, which frankly was unfair.

“I’ll pet your head,” R mumbled, shaking his own tiredly. “You’re the worst.”

restrict

glow (I used both my instances of this word so.)

wrist (Anxiety story)

"But," Aiden said timidly, standing up again, fingers fiddling with the ends of his sleeves. "You seemed so, um, not happy."

Ree smiled almost amusedly at him, taking his wrist and leading him out of the bathroom. "That's called concern, Aiden, and you bring it out in me more than I would like, but I'm still happy to give it. I'll give you whatever care you need. I guess, I just wish you needed less of it."

Aiden didn't have a response to that. None was really needed, anyway. It was true; he did need more care than somebody should have to give him at his age. But Ree was - for whatever ludicrous - willing to give it. He believed Ree's words, that she meant what she said. He trusted her.

base (Youth story)

“Bet you wouldn’t say that about Cal.”

“No, I would. It’s the perfect comparison. All I have to base my affection on is the surface-level facts I know about you. We’re friends, yeah. And I don’t mind loving you. But I don’t know you deeply, like fresh, spring water. The goal here is to find the clearest, purest water from the deep caves to pull our love from.”

“That’s the goal? To be spring water to each other instead of tap?”

sigh (Youth story)

“Okay, but we expected you to be skeptical because a lot of people do think that Daniel persuaded us into joining and we’re, like, a cult or something.”

R succeeded in tugging Cal away from Evie and wrapped his arms around his brother’s shoulders with a contented sigh. “We are a cult. The cult of being too good for this crappy high school.”

“That’s not how a cult works,” Evie snapped, not even looking at R.

table (Anxiety story)

“Well,” Ree let her eyes fall to the table, tapping fingers on her mug, “last night happened. And, since you said that you get bad anxiety even when you’re alone and you also said you felt safe here, I was thinking we could prolong the experiment.”

Aiden knew he was still staring, knew he must still look terribly conflicted. He couldn’t think of anything to say.

I was so tired that I stayed up because I become less sleepy after nine. it’s great. it’s fine. @woodlights @mel-writes-with-her-dragons @magnoliaash @em-dashes @kittensartswriting words? words: tired, tap(ping), trust, thin, terribly.

#find the word tag #tag game #searching circle #writing #writeblr #sleepy writing #this tag is no longer in use #anxiety story #ff: shots

[sleepyowlwrites]

find the word tag CXIII

from ghosty, @zmlorenz are we surprised? no. we are not. also we are very pleased. minus the fact that we are hungry. wait who’s we, sleepy-

try (Youth story supplemental)

For his part, Daniel was always happy to oblige in cuddles, so he just wrapped his arms around Nyks’ middle like an additional scarf, but one that actually generated heat.

“Why do none of us having heating powers?”

“We could try and get Cal to make a very hot lamp for you to carry around.”

“So I can burn my fingers? I’d rather just cling onto somebody’s back like a turtle shell.”

tear (Anxiety story -1)

He reacted too late and Ree's thumb was deftly cleaning the tear tracks from his cheeks, not saying anything and Aiden didn't dare look up until she had finished. Ree was still silent as she held out a mug, which Aiden accepted with a bashful heat in his cheeks.

top (Rain story)

"But I almost died with I was two. And I almost died when I was fifteen. And I do a lot of random keeling over and screaming when I have nightmares about the fire completely taking over. I wake up and, well, things are on fire."

Darsh's hands were resting lightly on top of his. Jaino wasn't sure when or how they'd gotten there, but he wasn't going to question it.

tight (Youth story)

“Feelings for you?” Mark asked uncertainly, also looking like he’d rather be anywhere else just then. “I don’t feel anything for you.”

R looked at him, then spun in a tight circle before pointing an accusing finger straight at Mark’s heart. “You feel for Nyks the exact things that all of us feel, that being love and adoration, because he is amazing, and deserves the world. Don’t you?”

grasp (Blood series)

“Don’t try to talk. Save your strength.”

“There’s not much to save,” Senior Lin whispered, her hand shaking in Jingyi’s grasp.

“Don’t say that,” Sizhui scolded her.

good (Youth story)

"Since when do you not want cookies? Cal made them, so you know they're good." Evie held out the bag with both hands and even adjusted her expression so that her eyes curved more brightly. Nyks recognized the sight of contrived optimism, especially on Evie's face.

"I'm happy you brought me cookies but I still want a hug."

grow (I don’t know what this thing is that I wrote but I kind of love it)

“Mama, you should take your pearl out.”

She smiles at me, and pats me on the head, leaving a kiss on my curls. She never looks at her pearl now. It would be too bright after all these years. But I wonder about it. I love my pearl. Will I really grow old enough where I don’t need to see its glow or hear its secrets for me? That seems like a very long time away.

“Did your pearl ever stop glowing completely, Mama?”

“Mm,” she wraps her arms around me and holds me tight against her chest, so I can hear her heartbeat and it matches with mine. “It’s still glowing now. It always glows. But I came to a point when I didn’t crave its shine anymore.”

I tuck my head under her chin and whisper, “When was that?”

Her voice always sounds like its smiling, even when I can’t see it. So I know that my Mama was smiling when she says, “When I first saw you.”

gap (Anxiety story 1)

"Hey," she said again, taking steps to close the gap when Aiden didn't move. "Aren't you cold?"

Aiden simply nodded.

The girl paused before breaking out into a warm smile. "It's December and there's snow. Why aren't you wearing a coat?"

Aiden opted for shrugging his way out actually answering.

my sister is learning how to play bohemian rhapsody as I type this and talking herself through it. it’s endearing. go fetch: dear, dance, deny, drink, dare. @insomniac-dot-ink @goblingraveyard @uraniumwriting @lanawritesalittle OR ANYBODY 

#find the word tag #tag game #writeblr #writing #sleepy writing #searching circle #this tag is no longer in use #anxiety story #rain story #flash fiction #ff: blood series

[sleepyowlwrites]

find the word tag CXI

have I run out of really long alternatives to your nickname? maybe. sorcery. @akindofmagictoo also, I can’t believe I’ve had a headache for a whole week now! it’s not an awful headache, at least, not all the time, but wow. what the heck. I sure hope the snippets are less of a downer than that. don’t say “oh no poor sleepy” in the tags, though. I just needed to complain and then shut up.

goal (Youth story)

R stared at her with half his mouth pulled up in distaste. “Bet you wouldn’t say that about Cal.”

“No, I would. It’s the perfect comparison. All I have to base my affection on is the surface-level facts I know about you. We’re friends, yeah. And I don’t mind loving you. But I don’t know you deeply, like fresh, spring water. The goal here is to find the clearest, purest water from the deep caves to pull our love from.”

grand (Youth story supplemental)

Someone was seated at the grand piano in the corner of the larger hall room, as Nyks had dubbed it in his head. It was essential a hall but shaped like a room, so. As the various couples spaced themselves about, Nyks considered that they might actually be in a ballroom.

He voiced this thought aloud to Daniel, who laughed.

“Yes, it’s a ballroom, Nyks.”

“You’ve had a ballroom in your house this entire time?”

glide (Anxiety story 1)

"What do you want from, from me?" His voice ground against his teeth, a roughness where hers had been smooth as clean snow. Everything about him was rough, unfinished. Ree still glided across his surfaces like a dancer, like a whisper on the wind.

glove (Youth story supplemental)

R zipped up Nyks’ coat with a crestfallen expression that Nyks had not predicted. “Whatever you want. I’m not really good for much of anything right now.” His voice was low and tight.

Nyks kicked him in the shin, lightly. “I don’t want to hear anything like that from you,” he chided.

Mark somehow knew that Nyks had gloves and a hat in his coat pockets and pulled them out so he could set the hat on Nyks’ head while side-eying R. “You’re not upsetting him with that nonsense, are you?”

(wait that was a bit of a downer. hang on. adjacent to glove is mitten)

Nyks loved snowflakes, okay? He hated the cold, he hated walking through snow, he definitely hated sliding on ice, especially since he was more likely to do so than to remember to just pass through it. But snowflakes individually? Snowflakes were magical, whether he was catching them on his mittens or his tongue or just watching them fall.

And that’s why he was standing outside, bundled up so much he resembled a fully dressed snowman, head tilted backward as he watched little snow fairies drift gently down to the ground. It was after dinner, and the flakes were only illuminated by the moon and a lone streetlight.

Cal stood next to Nyks, less bundled and also less spellbound, but watching Nyks was almost as fun. Even if Cal was the youngest of the group, Nyks was still someone he could feel protective of and care for greatly. The absolute delight all over Nyks’ face was making Cal’s heart thump with proud, fond beats.

there. okay. we’re safe. from the downer gremlins. doesn’t stop us from being the gremlins and scampering about leaving words everywhere, like these ones: proud, pretend, pout, plenty, pure. @softestruler @ink-fireplace-coffee @vivian-is-writing @mel-writes-with-her-dragons OR ANYBODY

#find the word tag #tag game #searching circle #writeblr #writing #sleepy writing #this tag is no longer in use #anxiety story