This is a 100 Challenge, found on Deviantart and copied from LiveJournal. Originally, it was intended to be for drawing, but I figured why not use it for writing?
It's is the first 100 challenge I've attempted and I really hope I'll get through it all! There are a few prompts that are going to be hell to write!
It'll be broken up into ten separate chapters, each with ten drabbles. Most, if not all, will be centered around the characters Ben and Alicia, and their relationship. There will be mentions of Reed/Sue too, and, of course, our favorite fire starter Johnny will be included from time to time. But I do intend to make it mostly Ben/Alicia.
The prompts won't be in order, aka 1, 2, 3, etc. I write the prompts in the order that I get inspiration for.
Here we go!
1. introduction -
Alicia led Ben by the hand to her work room in the back of the studio, ignoring the catcalls and teasing jests of her friends in the gallery. Ben ducked his head as he passed the door frame and looked around the dark room. "Oh wow." Marionette dolls hung from the walls, tools and half finished works cluttered a workbench. Little sculptures and pottery lined a row of shelves on the back wall. Chairs and end tables were thrown together in a heap in one corner.
Alicia nodded. "It's not much, but all the little figures and pottery you see are mine."
"I think you're downplaying your skill a bit too much." he replied.
"You're sweet." she smiled. "Here," she pulled up a chair and guestured to it. "sit down."
He rose a rocky brow. "I don't think that's a good idea, considerin' what I did to that bar stool."
She blushed. "Oh. Of course. I'm sorry."
"Maybe something sturdier. Like," He gazed around the workroom and, spotting a barrel, picked it up and set it by her. "this."
She ran her fingers over the grained surface and nodded. "Perfect. Go ahead, take a seat. I have to get a few things."
As Ben sat down, he watched her peruse through a set of tools on her workbench. Brushes, a small chisel, a sponge. "Eh, you never did tell me," he mentioned. "How exactly are you gonna help me with bein' dusty?"
She looped a workbelt around her waist and smiled. "I have to periodically clean my sculptures when they're out on display, to keep them from getting dusty and gritty. I bought a special set of tools to help me do exactly that. So, I figure I'll try the same set with you. After all," She picked up a few tools and secured them into the loops and pockets in her belt. "you're basically the same as a sculpture, but living. Living, moving, breathing, feeling, incredible-" She caught herself mid sentence, face reddening. "Y-You get the idea."
Ben chuckled as her face deepened in hue. "Oh yeah. Nothin's sexier then a walkin' gargoyle."
Alicia gave him a good whack on the arm. "Hush. I don't want to hear you saying things like that anymore."
"What, speakin' the truth?"
"No, I mean emotionally degrading yourself on some ridiculously preconceived notion that everyone thinks you're a monster!" Her hand slowly brushed his, blind eyes connecting with clear blue. "You're not, you got that?"
His heart skipped several beats, and he found himself wordless.
"Now stay still." she continued. "I still don't have the feel of you yet, so this will take a little while."
Ben gradually smiled. "I ain't got nowhere to go."
2. good morning-
Alicia loved sleeping in. Burrowing into the sheets of Ben's bed and just letting her dreams roam wild was one of her favorite things to do. Of course, not every day's schedule allowed her to, but when she could get away with it, she would sleep until noon or later. And whoever had the unfortunate job of dragging her out of bed would find it hard pressed to do so.
Usually, that task was left to Ben.
He knocked on the door to his room one morning, having already showered and eaten long before. "Alicia?" There was no answer from within. He sighed, opening the door and finding his love sprawled across his bed, tangled in the sheets. "Alicia, babe, it's time to get up."
The figure shifted slightly, groaning. "Go away..."
He approached her and sat on the bed. "Come on hun, it's already eleven."
"...don't care..."
"Don't make me pull the sheets offa you." he warned.
Alicia curled up, clenching the sheets around her. "Nnnhnnn..."
"You know I will."
Begrudgingly, Alicia propped herself up on her elbows and fixed him with a half-assed glower.
He held back a chuckle at her mussed bed head. "Good mornin'."
"Sometimes I wonder why I even bother sleeping here if I know you'll wake me up." she growled.
"Didn't you say it was cause I'm 'your favorite pillow'?"
"Let me rephrase that then- you're my favorite pillow next to the ones who don't attempt to drag me out of bed."
9. in the storm-
He remembered the very second it hit him.
He remember the sickened feeling in his stomach as the force of the impact hurtled him through space.
The way time seemed to jump to light speed and yet slow to a crawl all at once.
He remember how the crimson colored clouds pounded through him as if he wasn't even there.
How the gases seemed to seep through his very skin and cause his blood to boil and his every nerve ending to scream.
He remembered the fear racing through the last bits of his conscious mind, wondering if he would live to see his fiance again.
The shock on his friends' faces as he slammed into the inner door of the portal.
The Von Doom Space Station accident was the most terrifying thing to even happen to Ben Grimm. But looking back on it, and what came from the following transformation, he wouldn't trade it for anything. Not even his humanity.
12. mirror-
He had hated mirrors.
Every time he passed one, he would catch a glimpse of himself. Not just the monster he'd turned into, but the humanity he had lost. The wife and kids that never were. The life that never happened. The loneliness he lived.
He had hated mirrors because every time he saw himself he found a new reason to spite life.
He had hated mirrors because they reassured him that this disfigurement was permanent. That Reed would never find a cure like he promised.
He had hated mirrors because he hated himself.
Now, when he looks in the mirror and sees his reflection, he sees the people he's saved. The woman he loves. The family and team he's gained.
Now he looks in the mirror so he never forgets. So he remembers why he's grateful.
So he never slips back into the same dark reflection that once stared back at him.
32. blood-
Reed looked down at the syringe, then back at his friend. "So...if you're made of solid rock, how are we going to be able to get a blood sample?"
Ben shrugged. "Don't ask me. You're the genius, you figure it out."
A few moments passed. "...Say 'ah'!"
"Oh, hell no!"
39. cat-
Ben stared at the little bundle of fur in Alicia's arms. "Where did you get that?"
"Not 'that'," she chastised, "Her. She's a girl."
"But where did you get i- I mean, her?"
The tiny kitten mewed and Alicia cooed at it, stroking it's brown fur. "It was stranded outside by its mother, all alone. There wasn't a collar, and no one was paying any attention to it, so I kind of... took it."
"You took in a homeless cat?" Ben asked incredulously. "Who knows what kinda diseases that thing could have?!"
"Aww, Bennn," Alicia said, lifting the kitten up face to face with him. "look at this adorable little kitten, and tell me again that it's diseased."
Ben eyed the wriggling fluff ball. It looked up at him with big eyes and mewled happily, licking his nose.A smile pulled at the corner of his mouth.
"She is kinda cute."
"See?" Alicia cuddled it to her chest and beamed. "I knew you'd come around Benjy. Now, I was trying to think up some names for her..."
43. tears-
"Benny, where are you?" With the assistance of her white cane, Alicia felt her way into the tv room, a smile on her face. She could hear the television being flicked from channel to channel, but no one answered. "Hello? Ben?"
"Oh, hey Alicia." Johnny threw up a quick wave from his slouched position on the sofa. "You looking for Ben? You might want to check his room. Think I saw him go in there an hour ago."
She frowned. "An hour?"
"Yeah, he seemed kinda upset about something. I dunno. Ask him yourself."
"Okay, thanks."
She stopped at Ben's door, folding up her cane and putting in her back pocket. "You in there Benjy?" A few cautious knocks brought no response. A small sound slipped through the door; it sounded almost like a gasp, or a sob. Concerned, she opened the door and stepped inside. The noise came again, from the far side of the room. "Ben, are you okay?"
He turned suddenly, caught off guard."Uh, h-hey Alicia." He cleared his throat, his voice thick with sadness "Yeah, I'm fine. What are you doin' here?"
"You don't sound fine," Alicia replied, brows furrowed. She approached him and knelt at his side. "Are you sure everything is okay-?" As she spoke, she reached up a hand to caress his cheek. Her sentence cut short though, as her fingertips met a wet trail of tears. "Oh, Benny..."
Ben brushed her off. "Nah, it's nothing. I'm fine, I swear."
Alicia said nothing in reply- she simply wrapped her arms around him and held him. As the rock man felt his emotional barriers break down again, he tried to hold in his pain, but found that the comfort of the woman he loved was too strong, and broke down into tears of grief once more.
"It's okay," she murmured. "I'm here."
53. family-
"Ben?"
"Yeah, babe?"
She shifted on the sofa to face him. "I just realized... I know almost everything about you, but I know nothing about your family."
Ben looked down and rubbed his neck uncomfortably. "Well, that's cause I really don't have any."
"What?"
"They all died. My brother, my mom- and my father," he scowled, "well...after what he's done, he's dead to me."
A taut moment passed.
"My family died too. Both my mother and my father. Never had any siblings."
Ben nodded knowingly. "Still hurts, doesn't it? The loss?"
"Every day."
66. childhood-
Arms around each other and whispering lovingly, Reed and Sue strolled down the hall. They were headed to the tv room, looking to spend some time alone together away from the usual noise of the apartment. So far, they hadn't seen anyone. Johnny, Ben, and Alicia were no where to be found. The couple wasn't about to question their good fortune though, so they seized the opportunity for a seldom found moment of peace.
As they neared the room though, they realized that someone was already inside. Music, sound effects, and riotous laughter poured from the door, rousing Reed and Sue's curiosity.
They stopped just inside the door frame and peered inside at the interesting scene.
Johnny sat at the far end of the sofa, arms crossed and staring moodily at the couple across from him.
On the other end of the sofa was Ben and Alicia, the latter holding onto the former as she doubled over with laughter. Ben was hardly any support though, as he was also laughing hard enough to bring tears to his eyes.
And what was on the tv?
Tom and Jerry.
Reed was the first to speak. "What in the world is going on in here?"
The laughing couple looked up at the scientist, only to break down in further hysterics.
Johnny answered for them. "I came in to watch my shows and found Rockhead and Alicia already in here." He nodded his head towards the tv. "Apparently, some network's airing a marathon of this stupid ass show. They haven't left all morning, and they won't stop laughing!"
"Stupid? This show's a classic!" Ben exclaimed.
The blind woman next to him nodded, catching her breath. "I haven't seen this cartoon since I was a kid!"
"How are you even watching it?!" Johnny cried. "You're blind."
"The music tells me. It goes along with what they're doing. Haven't you ever watched-?" She paused, shaking her head. "You know what, never mind."
"Me and Alicia grew up with this stuff." Ben said. "Not our fault you don't know good tv when you see it. Now shut up or get out. We're missing the show."
Johnny turned to Reed and Sue. "Aren't you going to do anything?!"
"Shh! I like this episode." Reed hushed, joining his friends on the sofa.
"AGHHH!"
72. opposites-
They were complete opposites, Ben and Alicia.
He was a brawler from the streets of Brooklyn. She was an artist from Upper New York.
He loved beer, a good deep dish pizza, baseball, and football. She ate sushi, Thai, drank herbal tea, and loved opera, sculpting, going to art galleries and dancing.
When he was growing up, he dreamed of being a firefighter or a cop, something heroic. When she was growing up she wanted to be a princess, or a ballerina.
So, how did two souls so different, fit together so well?
Ben loved the way she smiled. He loved her giggle, and the way her hair was so messy in the mornings when she woke up. He loved how she was compassionate to every living creature, and how optimism was her outlook on nearly everything in life. He loved her.
Alicia loved his sense of humor and the way he said her name. She loved his ability to make her smile even if she couldn't stop crying. She loved his passion, and how when he laughed she could hear the rumble in his chest. She loved how his arms felt around her. She loved him.
So how, exactly? Just call it fate.
First ten are down, ninety to go!
I got the idea for number 66, Childhood, when I was watching tv and stumbled across a Tom and Jerry marathon. The nostalgia ensued, and so did inspiration.
As for 72, Opposites, I really don't know where Alicia grew up, so I put Upper New York, though that could be- and most likely is- completely wrong. Sorry!
Review please!