100 DashAe Themes
I collect lists of 100 theme challenges of all sorts. Sometimes I don't use the themes for the challenge they are intended for. Like these ones, this list is from the 100 drawing themes that I used to write 100 drabbles revolving around two of my characters, Dashiell and Alezae. I will update these as I continue to write them. The themes appear here in the order they appear on the list I have.
1. Introduction
Books flew as toes hit hard concrete and wailed in pain. His body hit the ground with a thump among his scattered things.
"Stupid step." He muttered, shoving his bruised body up off the floor and crawling forward to gather his books and papers.
"That looked painful." Came a female voice. He looked up to see a small brown and black female Shiba bending down to help him collect his books.
"Thanks." He murmured shyly.
"No problem." She said brightly, offering her paw, "I'm Alezae, Nice to meet you."
"Dashiell." He smiled, and took her paw. She never let go.
"Stupid step." He muttered, shoving his bruised body up off the floor and crawling forward to gather his books and papers.
"That looked painful." Came a female voice. He looked up to see a small brown and black female Shiba bending down to help him collect his books.
"Thanks." He murmured shyly.
"No problem." She said brightly, offering her paw, "I'm Alezae, Nice to meet you."
"Dashiell." He smiled, and took her paw. She never let go.
2. Love
She told him that she loved him as she hit him. She told him that she worried as she shoved him into the wall. He promised that he'd always love her as he shoved her away. But then, he found someone else. Someone who told him that she loved him as she hugged him and licked his wounds as she told him she was worried about him and that heroes didn't hurt people. He shrugged, thinking that love just looked different to everybody. Until one day she pressed her paws into his throat. He left. He found love. Real love.
3. Light
Don't let her dark fur fool you, she was anything but dark. She was light. Happy. Her smile was her omnipresent accessory. She was his light. When she'd offered him her paw that fateful day, she'd pulled him up off the ground, up out of his darkness. Opening his eyes to the way things could be. The way things should be. And because of that, he swore that he would never let anyone dim his light. He would protect her from darkness. Because she deserved it. She'd saved his life that day, and for that, he couldn't thank her enough.
4. Dark
His pelt was light, but his past was dark. Melancholy. Thinking of the pain he'd been through made her sad. And angry. How could someone put their own son through that? Who could beat their son while telling them that they loved them? The thought disgusted her. He hurt because of it. He hurt badly. Sometimes, late at night, she heard him whimper in his sleep. On those nights, she'd curl up next to him and press herself into his side, hoping that her quiet and comforting presence was enough to save him from the darkness of his troubled mind.
5. Seeking Solace
When he left his house that day, broken and bleeding, bruises rising on his throat and tears streaming down his face, he knew that he'd never go back. He couldn't go back. His mother had tried to kill him. For a while, he ran blindly. But when he stopped running, he was standing on Alezae's doorstep. He knocked on her door, and when she answered, her gasp made him flinch. He was sorry to show up on her doorstep as he had, broken and bruised and bleeding, but he'd been seeking the solace that only she could give to him.
6. Break Away
Sure he had bruises, but it wasn't a big deal. He was clumsy, his mom was clumsy. No big deal. Sure, she hit him, but everyone got mad sometimes. It wasn't a problem. Right? Didn't every parent hit their child at some point? Maybe his mom did it a little more often than usual, but he never got hurt too bad. Bruises were nothing. Right? So why did Alezae gasp when he told her? Why did she want him to leave his mom? Why did the beatings suddenly get worse? When did he realize that he had to break away?
7. Heaven
She’d always taken pity on the mopey kids in school. Always
tucked the willing ones under her wing and helped them through their rough
patch. She remembered them all, her charity cases, the fledglings she taught to
soar. But Dash was so much more than a charity case. Everyone could see it. And
Alezae didn’t care. There was something endearing about the tentative way he
wrapped his arms around her as if he thought she might shove him away. But she’d
never do that, not when his arms around her made her feel like she was up above
the clouds.
8. Innocence
Her clear, bright eyed innocence astounded him. Probably as much as his dull acceptance of the beatings had astounded her. Together, they were oppositely innocent. She unaware of the pain and horror of the world, he unaware of a life without bruises. Together, they could teach each other. So neither would be innocent. But he didn't want that. He didn't want to hurt her innocence with his melancholy. Now he'd seen a world without beatings, he was indescribably angry and confused. But he was determined not to let his pain ruin her happiness. Determined not to ruin her innocent smile.
9. Drive
He hated driving, the narrow streets, looming buildings, crazy cyclists, and impatient other drives overwhelmed him. Car horns made him jump and yellow lights made his heart race. It didn't much matter though, the town he lived in was small and his long legs easily carried him wherever he wanted to go. But sometimes, he would drive if he was going far across town with Alezae, her short legs were strong, but Dashiell still felt bad watching her short legs move twice as fast as his just so she could keep up. When that happened though, Alezae offered to drive.
10. Breathe Again
Some nights, the memory haunts him. Pushing on his throat with pale paws and heavy breath as angry blue eyes glare at him through the darkness of his nightmare as his windpipe is crushed ever so slowly. Try as he might, he can't get away. But other nights, he's the one with the angry blue eyes, and it's his pale paws pushing against Alezae's throat. On those nights, when he wakes, wide eyed and panting, Alezae is always there, breathing softly at his side in peaceful slumber. And suddenly, he can breathe again, knowing that she's there, breathing with him.
11. Memory
Sometimes, if he really thinks, he can remember the good times. Before the yelling and the hitting. The times when his mother would hug him and bruises came from falls in the playground. But those times were long ago, and he couldn’t remember the last time his mother had hugged him, the last time his skin had been bruise-free. Despite it all, he was still sad that his time with his mother was now just a memory. Because he was never going to go back to the bruises. Instead, he’d make new memories. Memories of hope and hugs and happiness.
12. Insanity
Insanity. That's the only reason that Alezae could think of to explain the things that Dash's mother had done to him. That's the only reason that she could think of to explain anyone hurting Dash. He was too much of a soft-hearted, gentle lump of a guy for there to be any other feasible explanation. Alezae also thought how much Dash seemed to miss his mother was insanity. She had tried to kill him after all. But she was still his mother, insane or not, and Dashiell still loved her, despite the physical and emotional hurt. Was that insanity too?
13. Misfortune
The day was supposed to be perfect. Dash had been planning it for weeks, constantly checking the weather reports and sneakily making sure that Alezae didn't make any other plans, all while keeping his own plans secret. When he got up in the morning, the sky was full of clouds. Hoping they would burn off, he led Alezae to the park anyway, for a surprise picnic. But then, the heavens opened up and soaked everything, even the cheesecake he'd carefully prepared the night before. Dash was crushed, his perfectly planned day ruined. "Sorry, Al." "Don't worry, Dash. You're still perfect."
14. Smile
She was always smiling. Her pearly white teeth always glittering in the light. Even when she was sad, her lips quirked upwards in a heart wrenchingly sorrowful smile. His smiles had been ripped from his face years ago, his muscles no longer remembering how to pull his lips upward for anything but a snarl. But that changed when she smiled at him. And what started as a small, shy quirk of his lips when she said hello, quickly grew into a goofy grin when he was with her and a peaceful smile when he was not. They were always smiling.
15. Silence
She didn't like silence. It scared her. Made her feel alone. She thought that being alone was the worst feeling in the world. Worse than pain and anger and sadness, because being alone made her feel hopeless. She was glad that silence wasn't very common, even in the middle of the darkest and stillest of nights she could hear the house creak as it settled, the soft snores of her parents in the room down the hall, and the whimpers of Dashiell as he dreamed. Some nights, she wondered how she would cope if she was deaf like her cousin.
16. Questioning
She didn’t ask too many questions. When she did, they weren’t
ones that took him to dark places. Her questions were always simple. What do
you want for dinner? Can we go to the fromagerie? Wanna go to the park? She
never asked him what his nightmares were about, just offered hugs and soft,
calm words. He knew she wondered, her curiosity was immense, but she never
asked. One day, he asked her why she never asked him about his nightmares. She responded
simply, “You can tell me when you’re ready to, and until then, I don’t need to
know.”
17. Blood
He wouldn’t say that he was afraid of blood. No, who could
be afraid of something that can’t hurt you. Not really. Only a lack of blood
hurts. It only hurts when you lose it. Right? It’s not the red stains on the
carpet and the window that are scary, it’s the fact that blood isn’t supposed
to be on the carpet and the window. His
blood supposed to stay inside his
body. That’s where it belongs. Not on the carpet, not on the broken glass, not
on her paws. That’s what he’s scared
of. His blood on her paws.
18. Rainbow
For his birthday, only a few months after he'd moved into her house, Alezae made Dashiell a scarf with rainbow colored wool. She hoped that he would understand the symbolism of it. She's chosen rainbow for a specific reason. Because he was becoming a rainbow. The calm after the storm. He was healing, his face brightening as his bruises and cuts faded. But she knew he'd forget, so Alezae made the scarf to remind him. Everything would keep getting better. There was always a rainbow after a storm. Alezae knew that, maybe not now, but someday, he'd see it too.
19. Gray
Sometimes he wondered. Wondered if she knew that she was his sunshine, his ray of light on a cloudy day. Ever since they met, he knew that he could go to her when he was feeling down and she would cheer him up. She could always make him smile, right from the start. Even when he thought he'd forgotten how to smile. But with her, he'd never forget how to smile again. With her, his skies would never be completely gray, because she'd always be right there, shining light on his gray skies and turning them to beautiful, shining silver.
20. Fortitude
He amazed her. He looked more intimidating than he felt,
having been cowed by his mother his whole life, he felt meek, scared,
worthless. She knew that he wasn't though. She showed him that he was good,
that he deserved better. She cracked the brave face he put on every time he
left his house, and licked at the wounds with a gently tongue, pulling out the
hurts and showing him warmth and care that didn't hurt. He began to show his
fortitude, to stand up against his mother, to feel wronged and scared by it
all. So he left.
21. Vacation
(Coming Soon!)
22. Mother Nature
(Coming Soon!)
23. Cat
(Coming Soon!)
24. No Time
(Coming Soon!)
25. Trouble Lurking
(Coming Soon!)
26. Tears
(Coming Soon!)
27. Foreign
(Coming Soon!)
28. Sorrow
(Coming Soon!)
29. Happiness
(Coming Soon!)
30. Under the Rain
(Coming Soon!)
31. Flowers
(Coming Soon!)
32. Night
(Coming Soon!)
33. Expectations
(Coming Soon!)
34. Stars
(Coming Soon!)
35. Hold My Hand
(Coming Soon!)
36. Precious Treasure
(Coming Soon!)
37. Eyes
(Coming Soon!)
38. Abandoned
(Coming Soon!)
39. Dreams
(Coming Soon!)
40. Rated
(Coming Soon!)
41. Teamwork
(Coming Soon!)
42. Standing Still
(Coming Soon!)
43. Dying
(Coming Soon!)
44. Two Roads
(Coming Soon!)
45. Illusion
(Coming Soon!)
46. Family
(Coming Soon!)
47. Creation
(Coming Soon!)
48. Childhood
(Coming Soon!)
49. Stripes
(Coming Soon!)
50. Breaking the Rules
(Coming Soon!)
51. Sport
(Coming Soon!)
52. Deep In Thought
(Coming Soon!)
53. Keeping A Secret
(Coming Soon!)
54. Tower
(Coming Soon!)
55. Waiting
(Coming Soon!)
56. Danger Ahead
(Coming Soon!)
57. Sacrifice
(Coming Soon!)
58. Kick in the Head
(Coming Soon!)
59. No Way Out
(Coming Soon!)
60. Rejection
(Coming Soon!)
61. Fairy Tale
(Coming Soon!)
62. Magic
(Coming Soon!)
63. Do Not Disturb
(Coming Soon!)
64. Multitasking
(Coming Soon!)
65. Horror
(Coming Soon!)
66. Traps
(Coming Soon!)
67. 67%
(Coming Soon!)
68. Hero
(Coming Soon!)
69. Annoyance
(Coming Soon!)
70. Playing the Melody
(Coming Soon!)
71. Obsession
(Coming Soon!)
72. Mischief Managed
(Coming Soon!)
73. I Can't
(Coming Soon!)
74. Are You Challenging Me?
(Coming Soon!)
75. Mirror
(Coming Soon!)
76. Broken Pieces
(Coming Soon!)
77. Test
(Coming Soon!)
78. Drink
(Coming Soon!)
79. Starvation
(Coming Soon!)
80. Words
(Coming Soon!)
81. Pen and Paper
(Coming Soon!)
82. Can You Hear Me?
(Coming Soon!)
83. Heal
(Coming Soon!)
84. Out Cold
(Coming Soon!)
85. Spiral
(Coming Soon!)
86. Seeing Red
(Coming Soon!)
87. Food
(Coming Soon!)
88. Pain
(Coming Soon!)
89. Through The Fire
(Coming Soon!)
90. Triangle
(Coming Soon!)
91. Drowning
(Coming Soon!)
92. All That I Have
(Coming Soon!)
93. Give Up
(Coming Soon!)
94. Last Hope
(Coming Soon!)
95. Advertisement
(Coming Soon!)
96. In The Storm
(Coming Soon!)
97. Safety First
(Coming Soon!)
98. Puzzle
(Coming Soon!)
99. Solitude
(Coming Soon!)
100. Relaxation
(Coming Soon!)