Autumn Snz Prompt Challenge October (all female, various fandoms and original)

[anna]

On 10/8/2022 at 11:13 PM, Ghost_no5 said:

Yeah it's the 9th where I am, so I'm gonna post this one already because I can't contain myself.  

 

October 9^th: Sweaters

 

The knitting needles click rhythmically, the sound now and then punctuated by a sniffle. I have a book on my lap, pretending to read, but I’ve been looking at her more than I’ve looked at the pages for quite a while. Her slender fingers working that fuzzy yarn and those needles with a graceful efficiency that is a pleasure to behold. Also, I like that whole ‘hot librarian’ look she gets when she wears her reading glasses. She thinks I’m just teasing her when I say that, making gentle fun of the fact that she can’t see for shit up close and hence makes the dumbest ‘typos’ in text messages and Twitter posts when she’s too lazy to get her glasses. The truth is, I really do think she’s hot in those glasses. Hot librarian maybe, or hot professor, or hot-other distinguished academic profession.

She is neither. But she could easily pass for it with them on.

Her nostrils quiver as she sniffles again, even wetter this time. Her nose is starting to get a pinkish tint, and her eyes water; I can tell all the way from here based on the way her mascara is smudging.

I think it’s the yarn causing this slowly unfolding allergic reaction. She was so excited about it, how it would be so nice to work with, but it’s some kind of alpaca or something like that, and ever since she told me I’ve wondered what her allergies would have to say about it.

“How’s the book?” she asks without looking up from the knitting.

“Oh, uh, great.”

“Must be a lot happening on that page, since you haven’t turned page in what, twenty minutes?” Her voice is amused. A little bit congested, too. She wasn’t congested earlier.

“Lots happening,” I agree, but I keep looking at her instead. Her elegantly shaped nostrils flare a little, and her eyebrows begin to pull together in that tell-tale sneezy expression. She pauses what she’s doing, turns her head away from the knitting, and sneezes openly, aiming the spray over the side of her chair’s armrest.

“ehhhISSSHHH!”

“Bless you.”

“…snnrrrfff! Thank you. I don’t know why I’m so sniffly all of a sudden.”

Seriously. For someone so smart, she can be so dumb sometimes.

She keeps working, keeps sniffling, and I keep watching. A couple of minutes later she calls me over.

“Can you get this over your head? Snrrfff…”

“Oh you’re knitting a collar for me, how sweet,” I tease her and she has put the knitting down on her lap to rub her nose. There’s wetness glistening just inside her irritated red nostrils and she gets some of that wetness on her hand.

“I should, so I can keep you on a leash,” she says, laughing softly and wipes her hand on her sweater. That sweater is another one of her projects, it’s soft as can be but synthetic. No natural allergen there. “But no, it’s a sweater. Like this…” she gestures to the one she’s wearing. The one she just wiped her hand on. “Same style. But different yarn. You’re gonna love wearing this.”

I usually hate wearing knitted things, because most knitted things I’ve worn are wool, and that itches. I’m not allergic, it’s not giving me a rash or anything, I just hate the feeling.

I try pulling the collar over my head and it works fine.

“I love that colour on you,” she says. “It matches your eyes.”

She playfully tugs at the yarn, pulling my head towards her.

“Could work as a collar though.”

I lean forward and give her a quick kiss.

“Let me loose or I’ll unravel your work,” I whisper, taking that thread that can undo the whole thing and dangle it in front of her.

“Your loss,” she says lightly and rubs her nose again. “NNKTThh! Snrrrfff! Jesus.”

“Bless you. Don’t stifle.” I’m getting out of the collar and give it back to her. She holds it up in front of her, gives a curt nod as if approving of her job so far, and goes back to it. By now, from being stretched and pulled, the sweater-project has released lots of tiny fuzzy particles in the air, and her sniffling becomes more frequent, wetter, more itchy-sounding. She puts it down on her lap to rub her nose several times, but the itch is no longer allowing itself to be controlled.

Her breath begins to hitch, and she turns away from the knitting and sneezes, still uncovered, still wetly, but with an urgency and force that’s only getting worse.

“Heh-ISSSSHHHEW! Ugh… I’m gonna get whiplash turning to the s-side like this… ahhhISSSHHH!”

“Just sneeze straight ahead,” I suggest. She looks at me over her glasses as if I’m a complete moron. “What? You know I don’t mind your sneezing…” I wiggle my eyebrows in a deliberately non-sexy way and she laughs, nodding.

“Yeah, I know, you’re weird like that. snnrrrfff…”

“I’m kinky like that,” I correct her, and she grins.

“Yeah, true, okay, let’s go with kinky.”

“… and either way, I assume it’s washable. So we’ll just wash it before I wear it.”

She shrugs.

“If you say so.”

“I do. I also say you’re allergic to that yarn.”

“You are probably right about that.”

“You want an antihistamine?”

She gives me that mischievous grin that makes me melt into a puddle every time.

“You’ve clearly been more entertained by my allergies than by your book this whole time, so why change that? Enjoy the show.”  

Next sneeze – or fit of them, rather – she just unleashes all over the sweater-to-be. Itchy, desperate, juicy sneezes, a flow of her lovely allergies all over it.

I think she’s right. I think I’m gonna love wearing that sweater.

 

Holy shiiiiit

[Chanel_no5]

16 minutes ago, anna said:

Holy shiiiiit

In a good way, I hope! 😅 That one, plus no 13 and 14, were my favourite to write, omg I had so much fun! 😍😈

[Chanel_no5]

October 17th: Spices

(Fandom: Mental.)

***

Every Tuesday and Thursday (Fridays too if they weren’t too busy), Nora and Veronica had lunch together in the hospital cafeteria. That had been an ongoing thing for the ten years that Veronica had worked there, and today was no exception.

Nora was a bit late, so she didn’t spend much time picking and choosing between dishes, she took the one that was closest. Perks of not having any food allergies to worry about, and having given up on diets years ago.

She looked around for Veronica, but couldn’t spot the redhead anywhere.

Then she heard a pair of desperate, itchy-sounding, muffled sneezes from one of the far corners. Veronica. The other woman had horrible allergies in spring and summer, so Nora was quite familiar with the sound of Veronica’s sneezes.

When Nora found the table that her colleague and friend was sitting at and put her tray down, Veronica looked up at her with watery eyes and a visibly runny nose, that she quickly wiped on her napkin.

“Oh you picked the Thai dish too?” Veronica said, her voice sounding slightly choked as she held back a cough. “Careful, it’s… ehhh… it’s rea-reallhh… hihhh… hihISSSHH! Really spicy.”

“Bless you,” Nora chuckled. “Well, knowing your tolerance for spicy food is about one notch above mashed potatoes, I’m not overly concerned for myself.”

Veronica blew her nose.

“Yeah, right, I’m looking forward to seeing you prove it,” she said and stifled another sneeze into the well-used napkin. “Just the steam alone is spicy enough to m-make… make meehhh… IH-ISSSHH! Ah-ESSHHH! Sneeze… HahESSHH!”

Nora was about to deliver a sassy response when the spicy scent of the dish before her hit her nose the exact wrong way. She barely had time to react at all; not by reaching for her napkin, not by covering properly, all she had time to do was turn her head and sneeze down onto her lap.

“HahTSSHHew! Ehh-TSSHooo!”

With Nora’s quite impressive bosom in the way, most of the spray landed there.

Someone nudged her elbow, and she looked up.

Veronica held out a clean napkin for her, and she was grinning, despite the itchy discomfort written all over her own face.

“Bless you. You were saying?”

 

Edited October 16, 2022 by Ghost_no5
Wrong spelling 😂

[SleepingPhlox]

21 hours ago, Ghost_no5 said:

Well, knowing your tolerance for spicy food is about one notch above mashed potatoes

OMG I loved this.

I really enjoyed these latest offerings.  So much fun!

 

[Chanel_no5]

3 hours ago, SpookyPhlox said:

OMG I loved this.

I really enjoyed these latest offerings.  So much fun!

 

Thank you so much!!  

 

October 18th: Cloak

 Yes, I am very creative with the prompts, and I post right after midnight my time.  Ah well. This is how I  (roll). 

(Fandom: Pine Gap.)

***

Kath had been in the intelligence community for a very long time, and she knew how to work it. When civilians made silly assumptions about how spying worked, she only smiled.

When people actually in the community – some above even her paygrade – started doing the whole cloak and daggers thing, that’s when she lost her patience.

Gemma had in all effect lured her out here in the desert (‘off-base’, Kath thought with an eyeroll, way off the beaten path of human civilisation, more like it, and kept her waiting there for hours. Kath had smoked four cigarettes while waiting, which was at least double what she smoked in one day, but she had very little else to entertain herself with. Her work phone was secure, and hence not able to connect to the internet, but even if it had been, she doubted there was any service out here.

What was out here however, except for scorched sand and scorching sun, was some hardy desert vegetation. She had no idea what it was, had never bothered with that kind of crap, but after a while, she began to suspect that she was allergic to whatever it was, because a sudden but intense tickle began blooming in the back of her nose. One of those tickles that you couldn’t rub away, she realised after making several attempts.

It certainly felt like an allergic tickle. And she got even more certain when her eyes began to itch and water as well.

Sure, she could get back in her car, but the sun was beating down and she’d either have to keep the windows open anyway, or keep the car running, which wasn’t a good idea either since she didn’t know how much longer she’d have to wait. She would prefer to have enough left in the tank to get back into town.

So Kath sucked it up and just stood there, leaning against the car, using whatever shade it could offer, smoked, and stared at the empty horizon, waiting to see the dust trail that would announce Gemma’s arrival.

The tickle grew into an itch, pricking at the tender lining of her sensitive nose, but every time she inhaled to sneeze, the urge abandoned her.

After five false starts she’d just had it; her nose was so itchy and the urge to sneeze was so strong. She took off her sunglasses for a moment, glanced up at the intensely bright sky, and then sneezed violently while still looking upwards.

“AaaEESSHHH! Ugh… huhhEESSSHHHoo!”

She sniffled, rubbed her nose again, and resumed waiting, the itch in her nose a persistent, buzzing companion that wouldn’t leave her alone.

***

Much later, Gemma arrived, and she didn’t apologise for either the delay or the stupid fucking meeting spot.

“I do have an office, you know,” Kath said, her voice slightly thicker than usual from the slow-burn but endless allergic reaction. “Where I wouldn’t have to be roughed up by some fucking pollen from a plant that I don’t even know the name of.”

Gemma looked behind Kath.

“That’s saltbush.”

“Huh-yiSSSHHHooo! Ay? Well, it fucks with my hayfever… uhhERSSSHHooo! AaaEERRSCHHoo!”

“Holy fuck, you weren’t kidding. Bless you. Does anyone know you’re here?”

“Oh for fuck’s sake Gemma, enough with the cloak and daggers,” Kath said and rubbed her nose against her wrist. “I’ve worked in intelligence since before you were born, I know how it works. Now, did you plan on parting with the information you lured me out here to give me, or am I simply here for your entertaiIISSSCHHnment?”

Gemma looked like she was indeed somewhat entertained by Kath’s allergic struggle, but it was true that she did have something important to share, so she began;

“We have intel that someone in the ops teams has passed intel on to China.”

“Who?”

“That, Kath, is your job to find out. But quietly. They can’t smell a rat.”

“Next time, no fucking cloak and daggers-spy shit, we meet in my office. Okay? Fuck’s sake,” Kath muttered and sneezed again before getting back in her car and turning the air-conditioning on, happy to finally escape this pollen-saturated air.

 

Edited October 17, 2022 by Ghost_no5

[Chanel_no5]

Aaaaaaaaaaand we're back in business baby!! 🥂

Which means two prompts right away:

 

October 19th: Soaked to the bone

(original.)

 

My smart-ass, impulsive girlfriend had decided to go for a run on the beach. I had looked out at the sky and told her it looked like rain. She brushed off my concerns and said she’d be home long before the rain started.

Well. It’s now been pouring down for the past fifteen minutes, and I very much doubt that she somehow walks between the raindrops, so to speak. So I put on some tea water, because she’s going to be soaked through and freezing.

The front door opens. Oh this is the perfect opportunity for the delicious phrase ‘I told you so’, so I smugly walk out into the hallway to meet her.

She looks like a drenched kitten. Hair flat, soaked, and sticking to her skin. She’s wearing all black, which is probably a good thing because otherwise it would’ve been all see-through, and the entire neighbourhood would’ve been treated to the colour of her underwear. Not that anyone would be dumb enough to go outside in this weather.

“Hi, idiot,” I say in the sweetest of voices. “That wasn’t a very bright idea, was it?”

Before she can even reply, she sneezes, a full, drawn-out, uncovered, spraying sneeze that is only slightly less wet than the weather.

“EeeeISSSSSSSHHHHIEW! I think I’m getting sick…”

“No way,” I say. “No one catches a cold from being in the rain. It’s a myth.”

“Yeah?” she mutters and begins to peel the soaked clothes off, right there. “huhhIISSSCHHH! Well, get ready for some myths to get busted, because oh my GodddJIEESSSSHHHooo!”

Okay, I give in, my delicious mockery may have to wait while I take care of my idiot, so I go get the biggest, fluffiest towel I can find and wrap her in it, and even as she starts drying herself, the sneezes just keep coming.

“My throat feels really sore,” she complains.

“Good thing I have tea water ready, then,” I say, and I’m completely mystified. People don’t catch colds from being soaked. It’s just not a real thing.

“HihISSSSHHH!”

Then again… it is her we’re talking about here.

 

 

October 20th: Embroidered handkerchief

(Fandom: Pine Gap)

 

 

Kath had nearly zoned out during the meeting, which really wasn’t like her at all, but she hadn’t slept more than a few hours a night for the past week, thanks to her hayfever.

It was bad. It was always bad this time of year, but this year was really, really bad. Her meds weren’t doing anything – at least that’s how it felt – and she had another two days to go before she had an appointment with her allergist.

“Oh I’m sorry Kath, are we boring you?” Dani said with her usual snark.

“Try looking focused when you’re so fucking itchy you wanna claw your own fucking face off,” Kath threw back at her, but her voice was so strained and thick that her annoyance only sounded pathetic. And then, of course, she had to sneeze.

And there was this thing about hayfever. Once she started sneezing, she couldn’t fucking stop.

“Jesus, Kath,” Dani said after an even dozen harsh sneezes from the redhead, “shouldn’t you take something for that?”

“I already have,” Kath said, dripping into a wad of tissues on the verge of falling to pieces. She was not someone who felt embarrassed easily, and certainly not about things she couldn’t help, but this was a bit embarrassing. Mess dripped out of her red, chapped nostrils and the tissues she had with her were nowhere near enough to deal with her allergies.

Dani took something out of her pocket and slid it across the table to Kath.

Kath looked at it.

“Just take it,” Dani said. “Those tissues look like they’re about to disintegrate.”

It was a handkerchief, quite large and looking decently absorbent, but was embroidered with a flower bouquet in one corner.

Kath pondered the irony of a hayfever sufferer with a flower-embroidered handkerchief for a moment, but she needed to sneeze again so badly she couldn’t pass up on it.

“Thanks, Dani.” She was reluctantly but genuinely grateful.

“Don’t mention it,” the American said, rolling her eyes.

“AeeRRSSHHoo! Fuck…”

“You said you were on meds?”

“Ugh, yeah… hahhhESSSHHHooo!”

“I’d get a second opinion from a different Doc, if I were you.”

“T-tomohhhh… ohhhESSSHHooo! Tomorrow. “

“Good.”

 

[Chanel_no5]

October 21st: Unlikely caretaker

(Fandom: The 4400.)

***

Diana brought a handful of tissues up to her face for the umpteenth time that day, and sneezed several rough, stuffy sneezes that only succeeded in making her throat raw and her head hurt even more.

She was miserable. She would have taken a sick day if this wasn’t so important. They only had one shot at this, and if Tom’s undercover identity was revealed, he was in deep trouble.

All she could do now was wait. But she didn’t want to take a sick day; all she would do at home was pace and make Maia even more anxious – she had asked if Maia had any precognitive feelings on how this would end, but the future refused to reveal this particular outcome to the girl. It was better for them both if Maia went to school and then came home to her regular sitter as usual. They were making cookies today, apparently. Not that Diana would be able to enjoy them when she came home; her throat was so sore she could barely swallow, and she was too congested to really smell and taste much.

She was shivering despite the turtleneck and blazer, and she had discarded the coffee because it was too rough on her throat, but she was too exhausted to get up and get some tea instead.

There was a knock on the glass door, and she looked up to see her boss. Jarvis was a tough boss, and Diana didn’t like her very much.

Now, however, her facial features were softer than usual.

“How are you doing, Skouris?”

“Oh, fide, dever better,” she said and coughed harshly.

“Yeah, cut the crap agent, you’re sick as a dog.”

“Actually, I think bost dogs are id better shape thad I ab,” Diana said, cringing at the congestion in her voice and mumbled a quick sorry before blowing her nose. 

“If you get any more congested I’m gonna need a codebreaker just to communicate with you,” Jarvis said, “and normally I’d send you home so you’d at least stop contaminating the entire building with whatever plague you dragged in, but I know how worried you are, so I won’t.”

Instead, she put a cup of hot tea down in front of Diana.

“You got lemon and honey in there, and if it doesn’t suit you, well, sucks to be you. Which it very clearly already does.” She smiled. “Also I went to the medical wing and talked the nurse into lending me this,” she said and swept a warm blanket around Diana’s shoulders. “Don’t tell anyone though. I don’t want anyone to think I’m some kind of soft boss. Okay?” She gave Diana a gentle pat on the shoulder. “I’ll let you know as soon as I hear from Baldwin.”

“Thank you,” Diana said, trying to keep tears from welling up in her eyes.

“Don’t get all sentimental on me, Skouris.”

“I’ll try not to,” she said and coughed out a quick laugh. “But thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

 

[Chanel_no5]

October 22nd: Sudden storm

(Original.)

 

When the alarm clock rings, I turn it off, waiting for her to do her usual ‘yawn-stretch-get up and get on with the day’-routine, because she’s a morning person.

The weather has turned overnight, from a nice autumn evening with clear starry skies and rather pleasant temperatures, to a howling storm with rain rapping at the windowpanes. It’s really not a day when you’d want to get out of bed, but that usually doesn’t bother her. She’s overflowing with joie de vivre and has energy for two, even when the weather is dreary.

Today, however, she’s sleeping right through the first alarm. When it rings a second time ten minutes later, she reluctantly wakes up, but instead of getting up, she cuddles up closer to me, pulling me into her arms, nuzzling my neck.

“Mmmmm five more minutes,” she mumbles, and the sound of her voice so close to my ear gives me a pleasant chill down my spine. Then it gets even better, when she sniffles a little.

“Ten,” I push it. I can feel her lips curve upwards.

“Or ten.”

This is not like her. Her voice has that gritty morning-rasp, but isn’t it a little bit scratchier than usual? Maybe. But maybe not.

She rubs her nose against the back of my neck, not just nuzzling in a cuddly way, but in a way as if her nose really itches. She sniffles.

“Ugh, sorry honey, I have to… NNkth!”

She stifles a sneeze against me, and I feel some wetness from her nostrils against my skin, where her nose is pressed up against it. She rubs her nose again and sniffles.

“Bless you,” I mumble. She sniffles, and then sneezes again. “Bless you again…?”

She makes a tired little noise in the back of her throat and huddles up even closer, as if she’s trying to suck the very body heat out of me.

“I’m freezing,” she mutters.

It’s not cold in here. And between that comment, her uncharacteristic sleepiness, and the sneezes, I’m pretty sure what’s going on.

“Babe, I think you’re getting sick.”

There’s silence in response. And then, a tired sniffle.

“Maybe you’re right.”

I turn around so I can face her, and yeah, she has a feverish flush on her cheeks and her nose is already a bit pink.

“Oh yeah, I’m right.”

She groans. On one hand, she usually works through her colds and doesn’t pay attention to them until they forcefully take her down, but on the other hand, today there’s a storm outside, and she’s freezing, and the bed is warm…

I’m a bad influence, because I’m a comfort monster. But when I say:

“Sick day?”

all she does is letting out a low purring sound and rolling over, making me the big spoon.

“Is that a yes?” I whisper as it’s my turn nuzzling her.

“Sick day is a go,” she replies, and her voice is thick and sleepy.

“Good. Go back to sleep.”

I think she’s halfway there already.

 

[Anonymace]

whajgdshgshsgshdgjsgs i don’t even have Words 😭 god i love everything you write so much

i’m not usually an allergy person but your writing is so skilled and sweet that it more than compensates ❤️ 

great job sticking with it by the way! i’ve been guilty of lurking and not leaving comments but i look forward to this thread every day :>

[Chanel_no5]

22 hours ago, Anonymace said:

whajgdshgshsgshdgjsgs i don’t even have Words 😭 god i love everything you write so much

i’m not usually an allergy person but your writing is so skilled and sweet that it more than compensates ❤️ 

great job sticking with it by the way! i’ve been guilty of lurking and not leaving comments but i look forward to this thread every day 😆

Thank you so much!!  I'm so happy to hear that, thank you tons! It really means a lot to me.  

Oooof, some prompts have been really difficult to write for, not gonna lie!   But I know myself well enough to know that if I miss one day I'll probably drop the whole thing, so I'm trying to crank out something, at least.   So far it's working.... reasonably well. 

 

 

October 23rd: In the leaves

(Fandom: The 4400).

 

The local sheriff had showed them the last place – a hiking trail – where the missing returnee had last been seen. Nothing had seemed out of the ordinary, and there was no trace of him. They were heading back to their car, deep in thought.

“So, do we think they’re starting to vanish again?” Tom said.

“Well, we have to take into account that letter he left…” Diana said, then stopped dead in her tracks. “Damnit, Tom, I must’ve dropped my necklace in the woods!”

Tom sighed.

“Was it expensive? Like heirloom stuff?”

“No!”

“Then I’ll buy you a new one. Let’s go, it’ll be dark soon.”

“It wasn’t expensive, but it was priceless.”

“How so? It’s getting cold too, you really want to be searching through wet leaves for some trinket?”

“Tom.” Diana looked at him with such emotion in her eyes that he gave in even before she continued. “Maia gave me that necklace on Mother’s Day, right after the adoption went through. I have to find it.”

“Fine, we’ll go back.”

They did, finding nothing on the trail itself. Diana began searching through the leaves on the sides of the trail.

The fallen autumn leaves expertly hid the ground, whatever grew there, and any silvery item dropped by a passing agent.

Her searching hands found the silver chain – broken – and the pendant was at least still on it.

“Found it!” she called out and stood, wiping her nose with the back of her hand. She hadn’t noticed when she was focused on searching, but her nose was running. Her eyes itched.

“Good, because I think you found some ragweed plants too,” Tom said, nodding towards the area she had cleared of leaves with her bare hands.

“Oh. Oh, no…”

“Oh, yes,” Tom said.

Diana groaned; her eyes were already getting puffy and watery, and her nose was itching even worse, as if visually noticing the ragweed made the allergic reaction speed up.

“Let go back to the car.”

“Ehhh... ISSSHHooo! Probably a good idea,” Diana agreed and shoved the necklace into her pocket. “Hehh-ITSSSHHoo!”

“Bless you.”

“Ugh, thanks.”

 

[Chanel_no5]

October 24th: Carnival/fair

(Fandom: The 4400. 1270 words. Yes it got away from me a little, lol. Slight V-warning. Implied only.)

 

***

“Mommy, can I go on that ride?” Maia asked. Diana looked up, a bit apprehensive.

“Are you sure, sweetie? It looks awfully quick-paced.”

“I’m sure.” Maia gave her a wide grin. Diana sighed. She had a gut feeling that her little girl was going to grow up into the kind of daredevil that would keep her up all night worrying.

“I’ll go with her, Di.” April, Diana’s sister, gave her a grin that matched the girl’s. “I’m not scared, like you are.”

“I’m not scared,” Diana objected. “But Maia’s had two corndogs, cotton candy, and a soda since we got here, and…”

“… blah blah blah,” April said, rendering her a delighted giggle from the nine-year-old.

Diana sighed.

“Okay, you two, go. Have fun. Me, I’ll stay on solid ground, thank you very much.”

“She’s scared,” April said in a matter-of-factly tone as she took Maia’s hand and followed her to the line. “Once, when we were kids…”

“Don’t lie about me to my daughter,” Diana called after them, but neither listened.

Once the ride was over and they came back, Maia seemed as perky as always. April, on the other hand…

“You okay, April?” Diana asked, finished her soda and tossed the empty mug into the nearest trashcan. “You look a little… green.”

“Ugh,” April groaned. “Sorry, I’m just gonna, uh… I’ll be right back.”

She left. Maia laughed, but Diana only shook her head and gave Maia a stern look.

“And how about you? You doing alright, sweetie?”

“I’m fine,” Maia said, beaming. “Can we go on the hayride?”

“Uh, sure. Wanna wait for Aunt April?”

“Oh, she’s not going to want to go on anything that moves for the rest of the day,” Maia said. Diana laughed.

“Is that a guess, or precognition?”

“Precognition.” Maia grinned.

“You didn’t see that coming before the ride?” It was a valid question; Maia did have a sixth sense, but it wasn’t like she always knew what would happen. Sometimes she did, other times the future was as hidden to her as it was to anyone else.

“Well, yes… but if Aunt April hadn’t gone with me, you wouldn’t have let me go either.”

“I see.” Diana smirked. “So you sacrificed your aunt for your own fun? Cheeky.”

Maia looked guilty and Diana laughed and ruffled her hair.

“It’s okay. She kind of had it coming ever since that whole gambling thing. Besides, it’s not like you twisted her arm. Aunt April is a big girl, she can make her own decisions. Well, she should be able to, not that I really trust her on that account.”

They walked up to the area where the hayride would soon return from its last round.

“Have you ever been on a hayride before?” Diana asked. Maia didn’t talk much about her life in the 1940s. Sometimes she talked about her parents, but less and less as she really settled into her life in the 2000s where Diana was her mother. Diana didn’t want her to forget her parents, whom she had once referred to as Maia’s ‘real’ parents only to be gently corrected by the girl and told to refer to them as her ‘previous’ parents.

“Yes, when I lived in California.” Before Diana could ask any follow up questions, Maia tossed the question right back; “What about you?”

“Me?” Diana laughed out loud. “Oh God no, I wasn’t much of a fair-goer as a kid. And definitely not a horse-and-wagon-girl.”  

The hayride, drawn by two big, brown horses, came down the dirt road, approaching in a steady pace. Diana had a strange feeling that she’d forgotten something important, but she couldn’t figure out what that would be. April would be okay, and she had her cell phone number if she needed to get hold of her. Maia was right here. As were her wallet, cell phone, keys.

It's probably nothing, Diana thought. Either it’s nothing or I forgot to turn the stove off and the house has burned down when we get home, she added sarcastically to herself, but nothing I can do anything about now.

The people on the hayride climbed off, some of the kids went to the front to pet the horses for a bit while the new bunch climbed onboard and got seated on the surprisingly comfortable hay balls. Once everyone was properly seated, the driver clicked his tongue – not even touching the whip – and the horses obediently started moving. It was a pleasant pace, rocking gently, the autumn breeze bringing a sweet scent of fallen leaves, hay, and horses as they left the fairground.

Diana rubbed her nose, trying to get rid of a tickle that had firmly settled deep within. It didn’t work. All it did was making matters worse, and suddenly she brought her hands up to her face and stifled two quick sneezes behind them.

“Bless you,” Maia said.

“Thanks,” Diana replied, but the tickle remained. “Uh-oh, I have to sneeze agaihhh… hahhISSSHHew!”

She rubbed her nose and sniffled, then had to rub at her eye, which had started itching too. She froze mid-rub.

Oh, shit.

Diana was well aware of her allergies. They were her constant companion from early Spring to early Fall. She’d only been off her allergy meds for about three weeks. But what she hadn’t taken into account was that hay was dried grass. And she was allergic to grass. She had no idea if horses were a culprit as well; could be. She hadn’t really been around horses before; she was a city girl through and through.

“AaaISSSHH! HahhhISSSCHoo!”

Two more sneezes, even wetter, escaped her as the realisation was still dawning on her. This was probably the worst thing she could have done off allergy meds. Well, this and roll around in freshly mowed grass. Or sit underneath a birch tree with full, heavy catkins releasing their glittery sneeze powder all over her.

“Mom, are you okay?” Maia asked.

“Fide, sweetie. Just by allergies,” Diana replied in a heavily congested voice.

The farmhand at the helm, or whatever it was called, turned halfway around.

“Do you need to get off the ride, ma’am?”

“Oh, doh, I’ll be okay,” Diana said. “It’s just sdeezig…”

“Well, you’re not the first to discover hayfever on a hayride,” the man chuckled. “Sorry I don’t have any tissues to offer.”

“I’ll be alright, really,” Diana insisted, now a bit embarrassed as she looked through her pockets for something to wipe her streaming nose with. She found a couple of napkins – thank God – and blew her nose softly into one of them, then reluctantly put it back in her pocket and brought the other one up to her nose and mouth, just holding it there to hide the constant stream of mess from view, and to stifle sneezes into when holding back just wasn’t possible.

For most part, she did manage to suppress the sneezes, even though the itch was torture, and she did it because she didn’t want Maia to feel bad. But if she had been alone, she would’ve scrambled to get off the ride, and then she would’ve sneezed with no inhibition until the itch was gone. It really was that unbearable.

Returning to the fairground, they found April slowly sipping on some sparkling water. When Maia jumped off the hayride, followed by a drippy, sneezy, all in all messy Diana, April couldn’t help laughing.

“So, Di. You always lecture me on how I should think things through first, but shouldn’t you have thought about popping an antihistamine before getting on a hayride, of all things?”

“S-shuhh… uhhhAARRSSHHooo! Shut up, April.”

 

Edited October 24, 2022 by Ghost_no5

[Chanel_no5]

 

October 25th: Scarf 

(Original. Yeaaaah I have someone in mind, but I’m sure you can conjure up your own hottie for it. Some mess.) 

***

The actress was miserable.

Despite fever suppressants, decongestants, a ton of makeup to hide the redness around her nose and the dark circles around her eyes, despite all the cough drops she’d sucked on and the hot tea she’d been drinking in a desperate attempt at saving her voice, she was miserable.

She was huddled up in a cozy winter parka, a blanket over her legs, and a warm knitted scarf around her neck, but she was freezing horribly anyway.

It took them forever to get the set ready for the take. She wasn’t the kind of person to, ha ha, cause a scene, but she wished she hadn’t been called to stand by.

A chill ran through her body and she shivered, then her nose began to burn, in that deep, relentless way that signalled that a sneeze was inevitable. What followed was one sneeze, immediately followed by a raspy, chesty cough, and ending with… 

“AaESSSCHHhugh!-snnrfff!”

... of course, yet another messy sneeze.

She immediately regretted sneezing into her scarf; both sneezes had been quite messy, embarrassingly so in fact, and now she had no idea how to get out of the situation with her dignity intact.

Then again, her dignity had gone out the window at the cold’s first sneeze the day before yesterday. Some women had the ability to stifle or keep their sneezes dainty, cute, clean. Most of all clean. She did not. At best they were just wet. At worst, well…

“… disgusting,” she muttered to herself. “Disgusting snotty mess.”

She wondered if she could sneak off discreetly and wash her face. She’d need a makeup touch up after, but… she already did.

“HhgTSCHHkkk!”

Yeah, now she definitely had to clean herself up. If it wouldn’t fuck up the filming schedule (and piss off the director, whose temper was already resembling Krakatoa two minutes before it blew), she would have asked if there was some way to reschedule so she could get at least one sick day. She felt like crap.

But, the show would go on anyway. It had to.  

 

[Sneeze-aholic]

Really loving the variety of dabbles you've come up with in this thread 

[Chanel_no5]

8 hours ago, Sneeze-aholic said:

Really loving the variety of dabbles you've come up with in this thread 

Thank you! It's... quite the challenge, honestly, but a lot of fun!  

 

October 26th: Mischievous prank

Okay first off, I don’t condone doing this. Especially not for someone with a snz kink, but not for anyone else either. That said, this is fiction. Also, I don’t know if you’d call this either mischievous or prank, or just plain assholery, but yeah.  

Fandom: Pine Gap. 

 ***

“Oh you’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” Kath said as she stepped into her office and stared at the huge bouquet of flowers on her desk. She didn’t even need to check the note attached to it to know who it was from; the entire bouquet consisted only of flowers she was allergic to and that couldn’t be a coincidence.

It had to be Jacob. Nobody else would have the knowledge and the sheer fucking audacity. And how the hell had he gotten them into her office? It was locked. With a manual passcode. He and his fucking ACIS-insiders.

She was momentarily at a loss at what to do. She just stared at the bouquet, brazenly dripping pollen all over her desk, her computer, papers, pens, files and folders… oh, it was a beautiful bouquet, absolutely. Colourful, lush, probably cost a fortune at that.

There was a note attached, and curiosity got the best of her, so she approached the floral evil, but cautiously. She dropped her purse on the floor right inside the door, not wanting to drag it anywhere near this allergen-sprinkler. She gently turned the note so she could read it, careful to rouse the flowers as little as possible, but still involuntarily sending puffs of pollen into the air. She tried to hold her breath this close, despite knowing it would make no difference in the long run. Her eyes were already itching.

Congratulations on winning in court, it said. As you know I’m gracious enough to congratulate you and not have any thoughts at all on revenge. Enjoy the house. And the cat. And not being married to me anymore. Also, bless you. Jacob

Kath was shaking with fury, resisting an urge to pick up the bouquet and just throw it in the wall, vase and all. She didn’t, but only for two reasons: it would ruin her reputation as cool calm and collected, and it would send all the pollen flying… inside her office.

The itch in her eyes had spread to the back of her throat and her sinuses now, and she knew it was only a matter of time before she started sneezing. She picked the bouquet up and carried it out of her office, holding it as far away from her face as she could. The mixed fragrances teased and tickled her nose, but she couldn’t hold her breath very long, so she was forced to inhale it. Along with whatever pollen shaken loose.

She brought it outside and just chucked it onto the lawn – good riddance – and headed back inside. By then, her hayfever had reached the tipping point, where the itch was no longer an annoyance that could be ignored, but a desperate impediment that needed to be immediately addressed.

“…hahhh-aaRSSSSHHHuhh! AaaEESSHHHoo! Hahh-RRSSHHHuhh! F-fuhhh… uhhhhIISSSSHHHooo!!!”

Or immediately surrendered to.

Unfortunately she had no choice but going back into the pollen-infested air and wipe up the fine sneeze-inducing plant dust that covered all her important papers.

Fuck you, Jacob!

 

[Chanel_no5]

October 27th: Pollen/plants

 (Fandom: Mental).

***

 

“Arranging flowers?” Veronica said. Her tone was sceptical. “That doesn’t count as art therapy.”

“Oh yes, it does,” Jack assured her. “And it’s perfect for your open clinic-project.”

“I, I don’t think…” she began, but Jack gave her shoulder a pat.

“I’ve already gotten a delivery of second-hand flowers from the flower shop nearby, you know, flowers with tiny defects that they’ll throw away otherwise? So, you’ve got a bunch of flowers there already, better make good use of them.”

“Jack,” she began, but he was already strolling down the corridor. Veronica groaned inwardly, but… oh well. It was easier to just roll with Jack’s ideas.

Her patients did turn out to enjoy it, but Veronica’s nose wasn’t agreeing with some of the flowers, although she had no idea which ones. She was getting increasingly itchy and kept having to turn away and stifle sneezes, doing her very best to be discreet about it so not to unsettle the OCD and mysophobic patients.

It was steadily getting worse though, and twenty minutes into it, and having to be close by at all times while the pollen whirled in the air, the allergic psychiatrist felt like her entire head was itching. It felt like the height of grass pollen season, but in November, and, indoors.

There was a box of tissues on one of the tables and she took a tissue and went to the other end of the room to softly blow her nose, only realising when she was about to lower the tissue what a grave mistake she had made.

The tissue box had been sitting there this whole time, gathering a layer of pollen. Pollen that she had just unknowingly brushed right up against her face. Inhaling it.

It could have been just a psychosomatic response – must have been, because allergic reactions rarely if ever happened that fast, although of course she was already mid-reaction – but the urge to sneeze overtook her completely. It was probably a bad idea to hold on to the pollen-dusted tissue, but she wasn’t planning on sneezing uncovered. Not here.

“NkkT-nkkt-nkkt-ktSH-NKTSSCH-ISSCHEW-uhhhISSSSH-hhESSSSHH!-ESSSHHH!-AAAEESSHHHooo!”

She gasped for air but only got another noseful of pollen. Her eyes watered, her nose was streaming, and the need to sneeze had only intensified.

“HahhISSSH! AhhhISSSCHH! NkkTSH! NnGTXXTH! S-sorry, it’s… ahh… ahhhIISSSHH! A-ahh… allehhh… allerghhhIISSSHH! Allergies…”

At that moment, Jack came by to check how things were going. He stopped and just stared.

“Oh my God, Veronica. Sorry. Why didn’t you say something?”

“I t-tried… ahhhESSSSHHH! But you walked away.”

Jack winced.

“Yeah, I did. I’m sorry. Uh, I’ll take over here, why don’t you go take some meds..?”

Veronica didn’t need to be asked twice; she all but ran away, still with the pollen-contaminated tissue pressed against her face.

[Chanel_no5]

October 28th: A curse

(Fandom: The 4400.)

 ***

 

“EhhiSSSHIEW-ISSSCHEW-aahhISSCCHH! HiiiTSSHHHOO!”

“Bless you,” Tom said automatically, having resorted to only bless full fits instead of each sneeze individually. It quickly got old.  

“I don’t feel blessed,” Diana groaned, giving her nose a forceful upwards rub with the heel of her hand, further accentuating the already rather prominent crease across her nose. “I feel cursed. These allergies, oh my God… hiiiSSSHHH!”

“Yeah, are they worse this year or what?”

“I think so,” Diana said and blew her nose. “I mean, every year I think it’s worse than the y-year… heh… year before…. hhheeISSSSHHHoo! But this year I think they actually are.”

“Global warming,” someone said, and they both turned their heads to look at their boss. “Longer pollen season and more intense pollination. Or so they say. I was just about to send you two on a case across the state line, Oregon. In the woods,” Jarvis said with a pointed look at the sneezy agent. “Maybe I should reconsider.”

“What’s it about?” Tom asked.

“Hm, more like who is it about. Our old friend returnee 4234.”

Tom looked at Diana. She looked back, eyes red and watery but with an obvious look of concern in them.

“We have to take this one,” Tom said, more to Diana than to Jarvis.

She nodded.

“Alright,” Jarvis said, dropping the case file in front of Diana, who twisted herself into a pretzel to contain the next outburst of wet allergic sneezes within her own personal space, and not spray either her boss or the file. “Maybe stock up on antihistamines and tissues before you head out, Skouris.”

Diana was still sneezing, unable to even draw a full breath between the itchy pollen-provoked outbursts.

Jarvis looked to Tom.

“Am I making a mistake here, Baldwin? Can you rely on her in this condition, or should I send someone else?”

“She’ll be fine, Nina,” Tom assured their boss, who didn’t look convinced.

Diana let loose with a final, deafening sneeze and resurfaced from her pretzelled position, eyes streaming, nose dripping, and wincing as if she’d pulled a muscle.

“Yeah, yeah, don’t worry about me,” she said and reached for a tissue.

“Then I won’t.” Jarvis gave Tom a look. “You’re responsible.”

“Oh Jesus Christ, I’m not some teenager neehhhdihhhng ihhYESSSSHHHooo! Needing supervision,” Diana said.

Jarvis rolled her eyes.

“That would have been way more convincing without the sneeze,” she said, shook her head, and left the office.

“Well… she left the file,” Diana said. Tom huffed out a laugh.

“I suppose that means you’re not grounded after all.”

Diana would have loved to give a scathing retort, but, alas, she had to sneeze again. Tom waited until the sneezing fit subsided before he blessed her again.

Diana was still convinced this was a curse.

 

[Chanel_no5]

Close to wrapping this up now. Go me!  

 

October 29th: Interrupted evil monologue

(Original).

 ***

Her voice had an impressive span, and she could imitate almost every accent there was flawlessly, her regular speaking voice was deep, soft, and very easy to listen to.

She was perfect for this job; narrating audiobooks.

There was only one backside to making a living off your voice; if you caught a cold, there was no ‘working through it’.

She’d felt the tell-tale tickle in the back of her throat all morning, the first sign of what was to come. It wasn’t painful yet, it was barely even a discomfort. It just felt… tickly. That was usually how her colds started. A tickle in her throat, sometimes in her sinuses too, then a headache. During these early signs of a cold, she still didn’t sound sick; perhaps a little bit off but nothing that people in general would notice. Then the scratchiness would come, and the congestion. So she probably had today, if she was very lucky and took great care of her vocal cords – even more than she usually did – she might have tomorrow as well, but she didn’t think so.

She had reached the part where the villain – a sexy shapeshifting witch queen – would pace back and forth in front of the chained-up heroine and brag about her evil plan.

She lowered her voice into a sultry purr with a core of sharp steel, but as she spoke, that tickle in the back of her throat slowly, teasingly spread into her nose.

“… and you, princess, will be very the weapon I’ll use to end your realm...”

Her nose tickled like crazy, nostrils quivering. She fought back the urge, struggled to keep going.

“… and you will remain here, forevehhh-EEESSSSHHooo!”

The sound guy outside her recording booth startled – she wasn’t a very loud sneezer, but straight into the microphone, yeah, it was probably really loud to him.

She winced.

“Sorry,” she said.

“Whoa. Bless you. Okay, let’s take that again. From the start of the monologue?”

“Yeah, gotcha.” She pressed her knuckle against the side of her nose, hoping that there would be no more outbursts like that one. At least not for right now. A light sniffle later, she was ready to tackle the evil monologue again.

She was pretty certain today was her last work day for a couple of days. Maybe a week. Not ideal, but… yeah. That’s what she had to work with.

 

[Chanel_no5]

October 30th: Werewolves/vampires/humanoids

(Original.)

Guys I fear I'm gonna fail this challenge, I am 100 % blocked on the last one, so we'll see if I manage to scramble up anything at all for the 31st. The prompt is 'my favourite trope', and my mind is completely blank. So, yeah, we'll see. I've got this one for the 30th at least. 🤷‍♀️

 

***

“Cad we dot?” my girlfriend says as she climbs into bed.

“Not, what?” I ask, mouth full of candy. What? It’s Halloween?

“Dot watch horror bovies.” She leans against me, and she’s so hot. I mean that literally; she has a fever. The cold she’s dragged around for days has taken the sinus infection-road, and her body launches a desperate counterattack, giving her a pretty impressive temperature.

“It’s Halloween,” I object. I know she’s not a huge fan of horror, but, I mean… a tiny little werewolf? A bunch of vampires? A shadowy serial killer with a psychic connection to a random girl?? Come on! It’s Halloween!

She reaches for the tissues, a suffering look on her face.

“UhhhEESCHHuh! ahhheeeSSCHHoo!”

Her sneezes sound very rough, which is no wonder, she’s been sneezing so much the past few days her entire upper airways must be completely raw and deeply inflamed.

“Bless you, baby.”

She blows her nose, moans in pain, and blows again.

“Please?” she says. “Cad we dot watch horror? You know I get dightbares whed I have a fever.”

I kind of forgot about that. She’s such a strong and generally easy-going person, getting nightmares from having a fever sounds so out of character for her.

I sigh and pull her into my arms.

“Sorry. What do you want to watch?”

“Sobethig silly.”

“Like our vacation videos from last summer?”

She laughs, the laugh turns into a thick cough, then into a sneezing fit, and then back into laughter.

“Ohhh God,” she wheezes.

“Nothing too funny, then. And no werewolves. Or vampires?”

“Dothig with lots of blood.”

“Not a lot of blood, got it.”

“UhhhEEERGSSSHhhoo!”

Eventually we agree on 'Dirty Dancing'.

She’s asleep before the watermelon scene, snoring loudly.

I watch her instead of the screen for a while. She’s so cute, but poor thing is so sick. Fever spots on her cheeks, nose so red and chapped I want to cry on her behalf, mouth open because she can’t breathe otherwise. Dark circles around her eyes, and a constant rattling in her chest and crackling in her sinuses with every breath.

At least it doesn’t seem like she’s having nightmares. That’s a good thing, at least.

I put in earphones and put on 'Poltergeist'. Yeah the special effects are dated, but it’s a classic.

And it is Halloween.

 

[Chanel_no5]

October 31st: Your favourite trope

You can’t just give me this much freedom all of a sudden, my brain went completely blank and I still haven’t managed to come up with a trope/prompt to work with.  So word poop is what this drabble will be. Plain and simple stream-of-consciousness pointless hayfever nonsense.

It should be Halloween-themed since it's Halloween today (it's past midnight where I am, so yeah it's Halloween today). But it's not. Because my brain has absolutely refused to cooperate, so this is as good as it's gonna get, I guess, because I suck. 🤷‍♀️

But I fucking filled the entire month, one for every day!!! Which should count for something. Maybe.  

(original.)

 

 

The pollen count is off the charts but she doesn’t need an app to tell her that; her itchy eyes keep overflowing with allergic tears and the prickle in her nose refuses to let up even for a moment. She has long since ignored reason, she knows rubbing it only makes the irritation worse, but she’s so desperately itchy she can’t help herself. She rubs her nose any way she can; knuckles, palm, the heel of her hand, between thumb and index finger, back of her hand, wrist, through a tissue, just scrubbing at it the hardest she can, sniffling back the persistent trickle of watery mess that keeps escaping her inflamed, quivering nostrils.

Nothing helps, but the relentless abuse of her already tingling nose does make it worse, and all of a sudden, mid-rub, she sneezes forcefully, spraying her hand with the full, unrestrained outburst.

It’s like breaking a dam, and she knows it, but there is absolutely nothing she can do about it. Her pollen-tortured nose has reached a limit for what it can take without violently rebelling, the microscopic grains of glittery tree dust pricking at her desperately sensitive nasal passages like tiny needles, white-hot barbs of allergic torture forcing her into a brutal sneezing fit that she can do nothing but surrender fully to.

Sneeze after sneeze after helplessly desperate sneeze, she is completely at the mercy of her hayfever, unable to focus on anything but how urgently she needs to sneeze, still, after a dozen or so sneezes, the urge is still as great. If not greater. Each sneeze seems to trigger the next into a stream of allergic eruptions, unleashed completely uncovered, spraying all over herself and everything in her immediate vicinity.

As the allergy attack slowly begins to taper off, leaving her a drippy, messy wreck, she reaches for the box of Kleenex that was full this morning but now is almost empty. She underestimated the sheer force of her hayfever – again. It’s the same thing every year.

Still sneezing, although no longer with just a single breath in between each outburst, she tries to clean herself up, but ruining the attempts with each new mini fit that hits her.

She’s tempted to throw out her meds, because they can hardly be doing anything at all if it’s this bad… but she doesn’t, because what if they are, and this would be even worse without them?

She can’t wait for summer to end.

 

 

 

Soooo... yeah.  That's it, I guess. Thanks for reading.  

 

[Sneeze-aholic]

Congratulations on getting the whole month, it's quite a feat to have written something everyday.  I've really enjoyed reading them, thank you so much for sharing them all.