Challenge #02559-G002: Needing a Hand
His name was Marvin. He traveled with a band of friends on various adventures. But his life had not been quite this pleasant before he met them. Abused, mistreated, made to feel stupid, even when he was with the gang, people he thought were his friends, it had been misery. Now, with the wizard, the kobold, and the others, he actually had a chance. But, on quiet nights like this, as they had set up camp and he was not on watch, he thought back to those days, and when asked, again, why he had trouble sleeping, after all this time, he decided it was alright to talk about it. – Anon Guest
Lady Anthe usually took the middle watch. Her being naturally adapted to the dark also made her naturally inclined to be nocturnal. It also aided in making sure Marvin was okay. Their first few nights as a party cemented the fact that he was a light sleeper, but after a few weeks, the fact that he actually had chronic insomnia became known.
It was at its worst when they were on the road. Some nights, he just didn’t sleep between dusk and dawn. He would lie very still in his sleeping bag,, eyes closed, but he was not sleeping. He would always have one hand curled around the hilt of his weapon. Some nights, that grip would be white-knuckle tight.
Most nights, Anthe couldn’t get him to respond in more than grunts to offers of conversation, but she kept hope in her heart for a breakthrough. When he felt safe, he would permit himself to be vulnerable. Tonight, her calm announcement that the stars were beautiful tonight actually got a verbal response. “I can’t really sleep on quiet nights,” said Marvin. “When I was with the gang? It was the quiet before the storm. I knew I was gonna get hurt, and the worst part was the waiting, so… when it went on too long? I’d get something wrong on purpose so the hurting would be over with. Quiet… always makes me tense right up. Can’t sleep. Waiting for the hammer to drop.”
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Challenge #02437-F247: Looking For the Light
The human had seen his entire ship destroyed. It had been a sneak attack, an ambush. He fought for hours, it felt like months to him, but in the end, the pirates had overwhelmed them by sheer numbers. The only reason he survived was because one of his crewmates had done a “hail mary” maneuver and jettisoned an engine that had gone critical. The pirates were so badly damaged from that explosion that they were no longer able to go after what they’d come for. He had managed to get into an escape pod which, after being picked up by a havenworlder’s transport, got him to a spaceport. But now he was alone, everyone he cared for was gone, and every part of him wanted to join them. How do havenworlders help a man who has given up on life itself? How do they react, when they find him unconscious after a botched attempt at suicide? – BrighidRaven
There was one survivor. A Human whose nameplate declared them as Jenkins. They didn’t say a word when the Anisoptae found them. They hadn’t said a word for weeks. The Anisoptae tried their best to provide intermediate therapy, but Human Jenkins remained unresponsive.
Human Jenkins didn’t want to talk at all. They did not respond to physical contact. They did not wish to get involved in any kind of activity that the Anisoptae attempted. Human Jenkins just… sat there. Staring. Not at anything at all, it was more like they were staring across space and time at something they found disturbing. They went through life like an automated machine.
Though they hurried to reach a Human medical expert, they could not get there fast enough. Something was bound to break, and it was the Human Jenkins. Deathworlders only seem invulnerable by comparison to the more fragile Havenworlders. They do have their vulnerabilities, some of them were inside their own heads.
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Drought Breaker - InterNutter - The Adventure Zone (Podcast) [Archive of Our Own]
All ten of my fingers slipped again.
This time, it’s Taako’s process of making the Candlenights’ Elderflower Macaroons.