#and the only way you can tell youre not dying is that you aren't experiencing air hunger

[cyeayt]

Back on my bullshit answer my questions

while doing some rudimentary research for this poll it has come to my attention that pins and needles are a feeling felt while the limb is asleep, not the period of intense sensation/tingling/sensitivity experienced while it comes back online. or maybe it's both? the stuff i read referred to it as tingling that happens while the limb is pinned/under pressure/numb. i cannot find anything that references what i have come to think of as "the agony" but ive referred to it as the pins and needles in the options for this poll anyway.

Mild: limb has muted sensation but can be moved and used carefully, pins and needles begin almost immediately after limb is moved from whatever position caused it to fall asleep. Pins and needles not painful and do not appear painful, and last a few seconds, person affected is capable of speech and moving other parts of their body during pins and needles, which last a few seconds.

Middle intensity: limb is numb or partially numb and can twitch but not be moved precisely. Pins and needles begin a few seconds after limb is unpinned or when it is moved. Pins and needles not painful but intense and appear uncomfortable, taking a lot of the affected person's attention/capacity. they last between 5 and 7 seconds.

Intense: limb is numb and cannot move/be used, pins and needles begin 5-7 seconds after the limb is unpinned. pins and needles are intense and may be painful or not painful but 'unbearable', causing the affected person to cry out, grimace, or otherwise appear to be in pain. Person cannot speak or move their other limbs during pins and needles, which last 10 or more seconds (without shaking) and have residual tingling for a few seconds after limb regains movement/becomes bearable to move

obviously this all depends on how long the limb was pinned but just answer whichever is the most common for you, and if you want you can put in the tags what positions make your limbs go numb/how you deal.

[flowersforbucky]

it's nice to have a friend

bucky barnes x reader

word count: 3.2k

summary: you're having the worst period you've had in a long time. bucky is determined to help you feel better.

author's note: this is a silly and smutty piece that i felt compelled to write when i got my period a few days ago!

warnings/tags: smutty, reader has a period, langauge, use of a vibrator, nipple stimulation, no use of y/n, use of a cbd gummy lol, 18+ only

Approximately every twenty-eight days, you curse the fact that you were born with a uterus and vagina. 

This month, however, you were cursing that fact a bit earlier than expected. Cycle day twenty three, to be exact. 

Your periods never start this early, but as soon as you opened your eyes at six o'clock this morning, you knew what had occured while you were asleep. You could feel the moisture that soaked through your underwear and pajama pants before you could turn on the light to see that your white sheets had been dyed bright crimson beneath where you'd been laying. 

One load of laundry with extra stain remover and as much Pamprin max strength as one can safely take later, you are curled up on the couch of the compound's living room with a cup of coffee and a heating pad turned up so high that you risk first degree burns. 

“Are you sure you don't want me to stay with you today? We can go to Coney Island another time,” Natasha tries to reason with you once again. 

“I promise I'll be okay here,” you assure her. “These cramps are killing me, I won't be any fun to hang out with today. Go, enjoy yourself. When is the next time that you'll all have a free day and weather this perfect?” You gesture towards the sunshine streaming through the living room windows. 

“If you're sure,” she caves after a few moments of hesitation. “Promise I’ll win you that stuffed panda that you wanted so badly last time.” 

“I am going to hold you to that,” you tell her in a faux-serious tone. 

After Natasha and the rest of your friends have left for their day of riding rollercoasters and eating hotdogs on the boardwalk, you turn on your comfort show and settle in for an unexciting and uncomfortable day by yourself. 

A few hours later, you decide you've sat in the same position for long enough - you can practically feel your body morphing to the sofa. You're walking to the kitchen to refill your water bottle and find something to snack on when you collide with what feels like a brick wall. 

A brick wall that happens to smell really, really fucking good. 

You step back, finding that the brick wall is staring at you with a confused look on his face. 

"What are you doing here?” Bucky asks as he glances you over from head to toe, taking in your choice of apparel - baggy sweats that are about two sizes too big for you, a cropped tank, and fuzzy slippers. You resist the urge to cross your arms over your stomach - you didn't think anyone else would be here today and the tank top you're wearing doesn't exactly conceal the period bloat you're currently experiencing. 

"I live here,” you snap, a bit harsher than necessary. “What are you doing here?” 

“I also live here,” he says, returning your attitude. You roll your eyes, maneuvering your way around where he blocks the doorway. 

“What I mean,” he continues as he turns around, following you into the kitchen. “Is why aren't you with everyone at Coney Island?” 

“I could ask you the same question,” you challenge, pouring some more ice into your cup. “Steve never shuts up about the glory days, all the time the two of you spent at Coney Island. I'm surprised you're not there with him right now.” 

He huffs a laugh, pulling out one of the barstools at the kitchen's giant island and taking a seat. “We did spend a ridiculous amount of time at Coney Island,” he admits, his voice almost wistful. He hesitates before continuing, staring down at his hands as he traces a metal crevice on his left palm.

"But I haven't been to Coney Island since the forties. Guess I'm kinda scared it won't live up to my memories of it. Plus, I had a lot of laundry to catch up on, so..” he shrugs, trailing off. 

You're taken aback by the honesty of his explanation. “Yeah, well,” you start awkwardly, turning away from him to search through a cabinet for something to eat. “I can't say that I know what it was like in the forties, but it's one of my favorite places, present day.” 

“Then why are you hanging out by yourself while all of your friends are at one of your favorite places?” 

Damn it, you curse internally. He's really not going to drop this. What should I say, that my uterine lining is falling out in clumps? 

You grab a bag of freeze-dried fruit from the cabinet before turning back to face him, trying to come up with an excuse. 

“I just didn't sleep great–” you come to an abrupt stop in the middle of your sentence as a blinding pain shoots through your lower abdomen. The bag of fruit falls to the floor as you steady yourself on the ledge of the counter with one hand, clutching your stomach with the other. 

Bucky rises from his seat in an instant, closing the several feet of distance between the two of you in one big step. 

"Are you okay? What’s going on?” His hands are both extended to you in an offer of help. 

“I'm fine,” you say through a sharp intake of breath. “It’s.. it’s just cramps. Bad cramps,” you force the words out, propping your elbows up on the countertop to relax your body weight. 

“Oh,” he says as realization dawns on him. He bends down to grab the bag of fruit that lays next to your feet, and then places it on the table in front of you. “I guess that answers my question, then,” he adds, referring to why you didn't go to Coney Island. 

“Ya think?” You stand back upright, grabbing your snack and water bottle off of the counter. “Now, if you don’t mind, I have a busy day of bed-rotting ahead of me.” 

“Some exercise would help,” he calls when you're about to exit the kitchen. “Laying in bed won't do much for you. A little bit of light exercise to release some beta-endorphins, maybe an abdominal massage–” 

“Are you really man-splaining menstrual cycle pain management to me right now?” You ask, slowly turning to face him with an incredulous look on your face. “I wasn't aware that you had a medical license or that I asked for your opinion.” 

“Just trying to help, sweetheart,” he shrugs with a mischievous grin. 

“If you want to help, you can go get the Italian food that I'm craving and give me an abdominal massage yourself,” you practically spit at him. “Otherwise, keep the unsolicited advice to yourself and fuck off.” 

You turn back around and all but run out of the room before you can process the shocked, albeit pleased look on his face.  

After you've closed your bedroom door behind you (with perhaps a bit more force than necessary), you sink into the fresh sheets on your bed and shove several pieces of apricot into your mouth. 

Rationally, you knew that Bucky's advice was solid, and that he was just trying to get a reaction out of you. That's just the kind of friendship that the two of you have. Sarcastic, teasing and occasionally… tension-filled. 

You definitely didn't help the matter by telling him to massage your abdomen, but what does he expect when he suggests something as horrible as exercising during a time that you simply want nothing more than to melt into your mattress? 

Your cell phone chimes from the pocket of your sweatpants. You dig it out and look at the text displayed across your lock screen. 

Bucky Barnes: What kind of Italian food, specifically? 

You would never admit it to him, but the corners of your mouth tug upwards into a smirk as you read his message. 

You type: Don't you have a lot of laundry to catch up on? and press send. The message is marked as “read” right away. 

He types. And types. And types some more – until those three dots indicating a message in progress disappear. 

Whatever. You click your phone off and toss it somewhere in the covers around you. 

The next couple hours are spent sitting under the near scalding stream of your shower, and then reading on your Kindle in the dark. As jealous as you are that your friends are undoubtedly having a blast today, you honestly don't mind your current situation - aside from feeling like your organs are being pulled out of your vagina, you hardly ever have days with zero obligations other than to just relax in whatever way you see fit. 

A strong knock on your door causes you to lose your place on the page. 

"You didn't give me a legitimate answer so I hope you like gnocchi, or eggplant parmesan, or traditional lasagna, or extra breadsticks..” 

“You know, it's not funny to joke about carbs to someone when they are–” 

You come to a stop in the middle of your sentence when you swing your door open to see him holding several plastic bags. An aroma of garlic and herbs hits you in the face. 

Oh. Not a joke, then. 

He extends one of the bags to you with his big, blue puppy dog eyes. You take it from him, opening the door further as an invitation to enter your bedroom. 

"Consider this a peace offering,” he says, placing the other bags of food on your bed and perching awkwardly on the edge of your mattress. You close the door behind you, walking back to where you had previously been lounging on the bed. 

“I'm sorry for being a smartass,” he adds more genuinely. “I just.. didn't like seeing you in pain. That's all.” 

“This is far from my first period,” you shrug, not meeting his stare. “You get used to it after a while. But consider yourself forgiven.” 

He gives you a small smile when you finally look up at him. He grabs a smaller bag that you hadn't noticed him carrying, one that is visibly less full than the others. He reaches inside, pulling out a small jar that he hands over to you. 

Your brows furrow as you inspect it closely. “CBD gummies?” You ask, your brows now raising quizzically. You open the jar, popping one of the pink, cube-shaped gummies into your mouth. “Watermelon flavored CBD gummies?” 

You notice the faintest trace of blush bloom across his cheeks. “I take them sometimes to help me sleep,” he starts, fiddling with some of the beading on your comforter. “But they can help with all different kinds of pain too, so I just thought you might like some.” 

You close the jar, placing it on your bedside table before reaching over and grabbing his flesh hand in yours. “Thank you, Bucky,” you say, giving his hand a squeeze and then releasing it. “Really. I appreciate all of this.” You try to ignore the jolt of electricity that buzzes through you when your skin comes in contact with his. His hand is both softer and warmer than you would have imagined. It brings you back to the last words that you spewed at him in the kitchen earlier. 

"A shit ton of pasta and CBD gummies,” you snort a laugh. “Would I be pushing my luck if I asked for that abdominal massage too?” You say it in a way that sounds halfway serious, halfway joking. 

“If that's what you want,” he says lowly, turning to angle his body towards you on the bed. “Then just say the word.” 

The air in your room suddenly feels suffocating. 

It is what you want - but you're at a loss for words. So instead of a verbal response, you scoot over to the middle of the bed, closer to where he sits on the opposite side. You lay down so that your back is flat against the mattress, your head propped up by a single pillow. 

Bucky's eyes widen in surprise, but he quickly wipes the look of astonishment from his features. He moves so that he's sitting directly next to your legs, giving him a proper angle to put his hands on your lower stomach. 

You're wearing the same sweatpants and tank top from earlier, having thrown the outfit back on after your shower. The loose sweatpants hang low enough to expose your hip bones and the edge of your underwear. 

The intimacy of the entire situation hits you the second that his hands make contact with your skin. 

“Tell me if you want me to stop,” he murmurs, perhaps sensing your nerves. “Or if I do anything that doesn't feel good.” 

Your eyes shut instinctively at the polar opposite sensations of his flesh and vibranium hands. Skin and metal, fire and ice.

“I will,” you assure him. Your words come out breathier than intended. 

There's an immediate relief in your lower stomach as he rubs languid circles across your midriff. It's a feeling beyond pleasure as the cramps fade the more he touches you. 

His vibranium pinky dances along the waistband of your underwear, causing goosebumps to spread across your skin. You try to focus on the relief he's bringing you - not the fact that you're wearing a thin tank top that leaves so much of your skin on display, giving him a clear view of the goosebumps that he's caused. 

He continues with the precise motions until the pain in your abdomen has faded nearly entirely - you feel so good that you can't stop yourself from letting out the smallest moan when his flesh hand applies just the right amount of pressure near your pelvis. 

You know he heard it - there's no way he didn't. Just as you know there's no way that he doesn't notice your fully hardened nipples through the thin fabric of your tank top. 

You keep your eyes closed, terrified to meet his gaze in this state. You dread the moment that you feel his hands pull away from your skin. 

"You know,” he starts, his voice possessing a strained edge. “I don't think this is good enough for you.” 

Your eyes shoot open, looking at him in a nervous confusion. There's a glimmer in his eyes that you can't quite pinpoint - his stare trailing to your bedside table on the opposite side of you. “But I think I do know what could make you feel much better.” 

“What are you talking about?” Your voice quivers as you follow his stare. You're not sure what he's looking at - all that sits on your nightstand is the CBD gummies he had just given you, your Kindle, a few books, a bottle of lotion, and the Himalayan salt lamp that paints you both in an orange glow. 

He smirks before leaning across you - keeping his vibranium hand pressed firmly on your belly as he uses his flesh hand to pull open the drawer of the small table. 

“Hey! What are you–” but he retrieves the object he’s looking for before you can finish questioning him. You freeze at what he's holding in his hand. 

Your vibrator. Your glittery, lavender colored vibrator. 

“How the fuck did you–” 

“Do you think I can't hear you using this from across the hallway late at night?” He grins smugly. “That I can't hear your little whimpers when you think everyone's asleep?” 

Your face heats up a hundred degrees. You don't know whether to be infuriated or massively turned on. 

Both. You're definitely feeling a mix of both. 

He clicks the power button, turning on the device to its lowest setting. He watches you for a moment, giving you ample time to tell him to fuck off.

Instead, you once again relax against the pillow, your body going limp for him. You spread your legs the slightest bit. 

He takes this as his signal to proceed. Not taking his eyes off of your face, he trails the head of the wand from your lower stomach and over the fabric of your sweatpants until he reaches the apex of your thighs. Your nipples pucker once again, your thighs clenching around the tip of the vibrator. 

Bucky moves the device in a circular motion, making your back arch off the bed and your head tip back. 

How is it that it feels better when he massages you with it through your fucking pants than it does when you use it on your bare pussy? 

You hear the clicking of a button again, and the force of the vibration over your clothed cunt increases. You grind down on the device, desperate for friction. 

Bucky watches you with something akin to pride on his face. 

“You know how I told you to tell me if I do something you don't like?” He asks as he pushes the head of the wand directly down on your clit with the perfect amount of pressure. 

“Yeah,” you answer - it comes out like a moan that you'd hear in a porno.

“Good girl,” he praises. “Remember that.” 

Before you can clear your head enough to wonder what he means, he's tugging up the cotton fabric of your tank top and exposing your breasts. 

You gasp at the sensation of the cool air blowing from the AC coming in contact with your already hard nipples. Bucky leans forward, keeping the vibrator on your core, and captures one of your nipples in his mouth. 

Your hand immediately goes to his hair, tugging the soft brown locks in your fingers to keep him in place. His free hand grasps your other breast, rolling your nipple between his fingers. 

The combination of pleasure radiating from your pussy and his hand and mouth on you is fucking perfect. Fucking perfect, and all too much. 

You clench your thighs together, riding against the vibrator until you feel warmth spreading through your lower belly. 

“Oh my god, Bucky,” you moan - he groans when you say his name, the vibration sending you tumbling over the edge. You come hard, possibly harder than any other orgasm you've had in your life, thoroughly soaking your panties. 

When you've finished writhing beneath him, Bucky pulls back, removing both his mouth and the vibrator. He clicks the device off, tossing it towards the foot of your bed. 

You're panting, staring up at the ceiling, trying to process what the fuck just happened when you hear Bucky let out a low chuckle. 

Your eyes snap to him, finding that he looks thoroughly pleased with himself. 

"Can't say that's how I expected the day to go when I decided to sit this Coney Island trip out,” he sighs. 

“You can say that again.” You sit upright, bending your legs and crossing them at the ankles. You lean forward, tugging your shirt back into place before pulling one of the bags of food to you. 

"We should go sometime soon. Together,” you add, somewhat nervously. You aren't sure why - the guy just gave you the best orgasm of your life (and barely even touched you). 

“Are you asking me on a date?” that sly smile reappears. 

You shrug. “Yeah, I suppose I am.” 

"Then my answer is yes. But only if you share some of this food with me.” 

♡♡♡♡♡

my masterlist

thanks so much for reading!!! can anyone tell that i really fucking love food by how often i incorporate it into my writing? 😅

[strwberri-milk]

Maybe this is a bit angsty but could I request the LADS men’s (or just Sylus’s) reaction when reader randomly, casually says in a conversation, ‘Well you’re probably not gonna stick around with me in the future anyway’ (so in short, they think they’re temporary).

Zayne's attention snaps to you so quickly you would have thought you told him you're experiencing a cardiac event. He takes a second to process the words, brows furrowing as he asks you why you'd say something like that. His reaction is so visceral you can't help but laugh awkwardly, asking him what he means by that. The confusion tinged with something unreadable and sad hurts his heart, wondering if he hasn't made it clear enough that he's madly in love with you and only you.

He falls silent, pondering your words and his own actions. Has he not been affectionate enough with you? Has he not been obvious enough about how in love he is with you? You start to squirm, usually used to his thoughtful pauses but the tension rising in the air has you suffocating.

Eventually he tells you that you're going to be stuck with him for quite a while because he doesn't intend on giving you up that easily. He cups your face in his hands, telling you that you're the most precious thing to him in the world and he's going to love you until his dying breath, then past that. The confession is quite intense especially since he just looks very intense for the most part so it steals your breath away before Zayne pushes air right back into your lungs with a desperate kiss.

Xavier immediately tells you off, raising a brow as he asks why you think he wouldn't be there in the future. He's spent so many years yearning for your warmth - it seems blasphemous to him not to stay with you until the universe tears you apart and then some. You see the hurt in his eyes immediately, trying to backtrack as he asks you if you really thought he'd leave.

He takes your hands in his gently, taking a palm to cup his cheek as he nuzzles into your warmth, looking up at you with those baby blues that seem to tempt you to fall into them as he repeats the question. Your words are dry in your throat as you look away, his hand coming up to tilt your face back to look at him.

He swears his life to you again, peppering your hand in kisses as he speaks. If you had any doubts about his feelings for you before there's no way you can now, not with the way his voice settles around you. He solidifies his feelings for you, devoting his entire being to you in the quiet space between the two of you.

Rafayel is totally unamused, brushing your comment off as a joke. He fully thinks you're just trying to get under his skin, teasing him because that's the sort of relationship that the two of you have. When you don't respond with your usual enthusiasm he looks at you with a scrutinizing gaze. His lips press together as he starts to realise that you were serious, rolling his eyes as he pulls you against his chest.

He's shaking, thinly veiled anger running through his veins. He isn't really mad at you, but it would be wrong to say that he isn't at the same time. He doesn't understand why you'd think something like that, under the belief that he's made it very clear that he's in love with you and only you. I mean, have you seen him in a room with other people when they aren't you?

His words are soft in your ear, the quietest hint of a threat in them as he asks if you're serious. Nothing about this was temporary, about his feelings for you were fading. They never did and they never could, not even if he fell to his knees and begged for someone to take them from him. He's built on the anger of a dead civilsation and the inability to do anything but love you, telling you that even if you try to leave him he'll just wait until you're ready for him again.

Sylus doesn't even stop what he's doing, chuckling softly at the notion. He thinks you're joking, unable to fathom that you're fully serious in thinking that he won't be sticking around. You feel a little upset at how easily he brushes you off, deciding that you're done for the day as you fall silent. He notices that right away, looking up at you and beckoning for you to crawl into his lap. If you refuse to he'll simply come over and pull you into his lap without question, telling you to repeat yourself.

You repeat the statement, now more unsure of yourself since he's staring at you intently. You can see the slight quirk of his lips, his smirk making your heart beat a little faster as you tell him that whatever the two of you have isn't serious. He laughs at the notion, shaking his head as he cups your face in his hands. He takes in every detail of your face, sighing softly as he buries his face into your neck, peppering kisses as he shakes his head.

He doesn't know what to say, the words all caught in his throat as he holds you. You don't need him to say anything though, the desperate way he clings to your body and his lips muttering the beginnings of words just to abandon them convincing you more with every passing second that he's going to love you until the end of time.

[jweekgoji]

I love your platonic hcs with five!! Can you make more please?:33

Yandere!Five/Reader [platonic/hcs]

tw: very soft yan!dad!five, reader described as child here, mentions of Five/Dolores romantic relationship, brief mentions of Five's past trauma, hints on eating disorders, overprotective behavior word count: ~900. a/n: Thank you for your request, Anon. It was good to write something about my old interest after quite a break. I made this is mostly based on information I had read months ago from some book. Tiny sequel for this.

Kinda sad that tua fics aren't as popular as before and slowly dying.

Let's ignore the ending and other moments we shouldn't talk and pretend like...everything ended well for the Hargreeves family! All the siblings mostly live separately from each other, but they still care for one another and meet on birthdays and other holidays.

Five meets a young, pretty lady during one of his undercover missions, and after that «love at first sight» trope, their relationship grows strong, leading to Five finally abandoning his job as an agent (honestly, good for him).

I really like the idea of Five having a quiet, peaceful life somewhere far away with his family. His wife is a popular fashion model and earns enough money for the family, while Five is the one who stays at the house, keeping you safe and raising the way he wished he was.

Five is scared to repeat the past mistakes his family members made; that's why I see him being extra overprotective with you. He wants to give you everything he never had in his childhood, and it often leads to you growing into some spoiled brat.

I can see him pausing for a moment and having that «wait...WHAT?» look when you reply with a sassy remark, and that's the moment he sees that you're basically becoming the tiny version of his young self. Part of him is proud, he knows that you will be able to stand up for yourself in the future, but the other part...he's not really happy to deal with someone who uses his own methods against him, as we can tell from the show (points at the other versions of Five).

Five is that parent who wakes up early in the morning to prepare breakfast for you. He has a sweet tooth, but he avoids giving you too much sugar, like I mentioned before. By the moment you wake up, you see a plate of eggs and bacon carefully formed into a smiley face with a glass of juice next to it.

I see Five spending a lot of time reading about parenting. He is well-educated enough in many fields, but it's just something he likes to do when he is free from house chores. Sitting in the chair with glasses on and a warm blanket laid on his lap, it's a heartwarming sight. Dolores will return from work later this day, only to see her husband having a nap in their little library and their child eeping next to him.

Five is especially careful with the food he prepares for you. After decades of loneliness in the apocalypse, he had few food choices. Every day felt like a constant survival, and the idea of you experiencing the same at such a young age terrifies him. He unconsciously gives you a little too much food, constantly asking “you need more?” just to make sure you're well-fed. Five might pay less attention to himself, but you're getting the best meal ever.

Five gives me the idea of that dad who will hold you close next to him 24/7. Yandere Five just can't bear the idea of you being somewhere away from home for more than an hour. There's a deep conflict in his heart, and his wife always tells him that it's fine. You're growing up, it's natural for you to try and separate from your parents, but this bothers him to insanity.

There's no more apocalypse, no more The Commission; the world is quiet now; there's no need for him to worry about. He never argues with you about it, the moment you leave your home to meet with a friend, your phone will cry from constant messages like “are you okay?”, “where are you now?”, “when will you go back?”. He needs to know it in case, well...just something happens, he's responsible adult, after all.

For most parents, Five seems like the ideal father figure, but he gets a little overbearing sometimes. When you snap at him, giving something like “just leave me alone!”, he would get quiet immediately. It is a significant difference between him now and in the past.

Usually he never lets people to dismiss him like that, he would have dragged you back and lectured you about disrespecting him, but now he's just sad. He will let you cool down, just to think what he has done wrong.

Five loves spending time with you, mainly because he never had the chance to spend some time with his own family. There were missions, there were trainings, there were constant fighting, etc., and after his retirement he plans to give his full attention to you. He knows a lot, from how to solve some difficult equations under 15 minutes to how to kill a person with a pencil, but it's not the same when the person whom you trust the most teacher you everything.

Reginald never bothered to spend a simple father and son moments, how to be a man and deal with various situations in his life, that's why he wants to teach you of something simple. He knows it's not as impressive, but it's quality time that matters.

[coraniaid]

I don't know if someone asked this already but: AU where the final big bad of Buffy was the Council of Watchers. Or AU where Buffy *does* take Anya's advice on charging money, or a job in some way that's related to her slaying.

Oh, the Council as the Big Bads of Season 7 is kind of fun.

Trying to make this as different from my other S7 AU as possible, let's lean harder into the idea that no Slayer was called after Buffy died in The Gift. The Council know that Buffy died stopping Glory and (especially after what went down in Checkpoint) they're pretty pleased about it. No more Hell God and no more trouble-making, too-old Slayer. Win-win, right? Only ... they wait and wait all summer and no new Slayer is called to replace her, and then they learn Buffy is, somehow, alive again. How does she keep doing it? They decide that they're sick and tired of waiting for a new Slayer they can control and this time they're going to make sure they get one.

We start with the Council trying belatedly to patch things up with Faith. They start talking about getting her convinctions overturned and how she could be doing much more good out in the world, but she figures out pretty quickly that they're trying to get her to replace Buffy and tells them to get lost. So the Council decide it's time for Plan B. We cut to Ethan Rayne, somewhere in a military prison in Nevada. "Good news," his guard tells him. "You're getting extradited back to England. You can thank your new lawyer for that." Ethan is confused. What new lawyer? In walks Quentin Travers... As the season continues, Buffy still has nightmares like the ones we see her have in canon, but this time the girls she's dreaming about being killed aren't just Potentials. They seem to have full Slayer powers, though not much training or experience. Otherwise the first few episode of the season go mostly as in canon (except no First). Meanwhile Buffy herself [and also Faith, we later learn] starts to have moments where her powers start to fail her, just like back in Season 3's Helpless. In one of Buffy's dreams, the girl whose life she's experiencing is in the middle of a fight with some vampires when her own powers also fail her.

As Buffy and her friends soon work out what's going on. Somebody [spoiler: it's Ethan] is using magic to temporarily drain them of their powers and hand it to over to other Potentials. Only those Potentials aren't ready for it, the power transfer isn't stable, and the people don't seem to care that the new temporary Slayers keep dying. They track Ethan down (for handwaving reasons he has to be close to Buffy to do the spell), she recognizes some of the props he's using [the same crystals from Helpless, let's say] and correctly guesses that the Council are involved. While confessing, Ethan lets slip something about the Council being happy to keep doing this until "one of you" gets killed, and realizes that Faith is in danger. We cut to a version of Faith's introductory scene from Salvage: Faith's working out when she's attacked by another inmate. At first she effortlessly disarms her, but then suddenly her powers begin to short out. The other woman suddenly has the upper hand, but Faith is rescued at the last minute by Buffy herself, who has managed to break into the prison [possibly using that super jump from The Harvest the writers later forgot all about] to save her.

Buffy breaks Faith out of prison and they head back to Sunnydale. Lots of similar-to-canon vibes here [Buffy being very weird about Faith being back while blaming Faith for 'weird mixed signals', plus Faith being just as weird about the fact that Buffy once again chose to save her life]. For their part, the Council seem to have moved on to plan C: trying to get Faith and Buffy killed as quickly as possible. They use a mixture of their own agents and freelance assassins for this [maybe we can bring back the Order of Taraka too?]. Meanwhile Giles is in England and we learn that there's a growing split in the Council between Travers' faction and a group of people who aren't quite so willing to go along with all this dark magic stuff [can namecheck Gwendolyn Post here, maybe]. Ethan admits that he was just hired to demonstrate that the concept worked, and that Travers is working on a spell that will let him give and take away Slayer powers from any Potential he wants. He's already had dozens of Watchers send their Potentials to England for evaluation [and this is how we can meet Kennedy and any other Potentials we want to include].

Back in Sunnydale, the gang are brainstorming their next move when they get word from Giles that the anti-Travers faction have managed to kick him out and are inviting Buffy to England for (essentially) peace talks. Faith loudly insists that this a trap but when Buffy insists on going anyway because it will give them a chance to find Travers spell preparations and destroy them (and gives a big speech about how they have to do this, not just for their own sake, but for every Slayer who will be called after them). They go, and while it's not a deliberate trap -- and Buffy finally gets to meet the Potentials in person -- Travers does launch a final attempted coup; having his allies attack the Council headquarters to get rid of both Slayers and the rebel faction that tried to oust him.

The situation looks pretty bleak at first, as the anti-Travers faction of Council don't have much in the way of loyal fighters (all the hardline types like Weatherby have defected) and Travers has pulled together a small army of various minor villains from the history of the show. But Buffy and the others find Travers' ritual prepartions in a hidden part of his offices [maybe throw in something from Faith explicitly comparing Travers and the Mayor here?] and Willow is able to modify the ritual to cast a version of the spell she casts in canon in Chosen, activating all the Potentials who are then able to use their new strength to defeat Travers' allies. Standing in the badly damaged ruined headquarters of the Council building, Buffy tells the Council (including Giles) that they're not going back to the old way of doing things -- that the problem wasn't just Travers, but the whole institution he represented -- and this is the end of the Council giving orders. It wasn't just the Potentials in this battle that Willow's spell activated, but all of them. Then we segue into [a version of] the final moments of Chosen; Buffy and Faith standing where the Council used to meet and looking out over all the new Slayers. Dawn asks Buffy what she's going to do next, now she's not "the one and only Chosen anymore" and Buffy slowly smiles.

[cynicalclairvoyantcadaver]

Solangelo first meet rewrite-making it better

So, I've been thinking, and I really think that Will should've strongly and firmly advised Nico, but never ordered him. And in case you're wondering what I mean, just read this-

Will blew out a breath. 'Nico.......listen, can I tell you something?'

Nico frowned at the healer. 'What?'

'I'm a healer. And when I touched your hand........well, I've never felt so much darkness.'

Nico raised his eyebrows. 'And?'

'And, simply put, in my medical opinion-' here Will held up his hands, palms facing Nico, '-you're in no shape to shadow travel anywhere, much less that tent. One more shadow slip and you'd never come back. I strongly advise you not to shadow travel anymore as an experienced healer and probably the best camp medic.'

'But the camp is about to be destroyed. My powers are necessary to defeat the Romans!'

'We can stop the Romans without your powers. I'm pretty sure of it. We can do it our way-Lou Ellen can control the Mist. We'll sneak around, do as much damage as we can to those onagers. I very, very strongly advise you not to travel shadow again in the next few hours. Literally.'

Nico snarled. 'Are you ordering me not to use my powers?'

Will Solace glared daggers at him.

'Nico di Angelo. Don't ever say that to me.'

His tone make Nico stop and stare.

'I'm a healer. I'm a combat medic. And I give great medical advice. But one thing that I'm never supposed to do is order someone not to do something. Patient consent is always necessary, and doctors aren't allowed to do something that the patient doesn't want even if they're at the risk of dying. So I can give you very strong advice that I think you should follow, but one thing I'll never do is demand that you follow orders. I don't even know the extent of your powers, but right now I'm pretty sure you couldn't summon a wishbone without melting into a puddle of darkness, but if you think that your powers will help us? By all means go ahead. Please, just remember.........keep yourself safe out there. And you're not the only fighter in Camp Half Blood. There are more experienced fighters and magic users than you are, and we're all working overtime to defeat the Romans. You're not the only one fighting this battle.'

Nico stared at Will Solace. He'd never imagined that Will could be like this-sure, he had seen him in action, the best combat medic in Manhattan, but he'd never thought that he could be so firm or even say something that was actually true.

Nico wasn't the only one fighting this battle. There were Hecate kids, and even Clovis could make people fall asleep in battle, which was more dangerous than it sounded. There were so many magicians and fighters both on the frontlines and back in the camp, and all of them were doing their part too.............

@rosabell14

@percabeth4life

@lady-menrva

[jumpywhumpywriter]

Dislocated Shoulder Whump

Warnings: dislocated shoulder, intense pain, careless/annoyed carewhumper

Heehee here's a short scene where Shadow gets to be a grumpy, reluctant carewhumper when Thomas accidentally dislocates his shoulder during a fight. How inconvenient for Shadow to be forced to help! 😂

Poor Thomas, he never catches a break.

It was too late for Thomas to dodge the soldier rushing toward him. The soldier was making a mad dash for the exit he was standing in front of, and that was the problem: he was standing in front of it.

Thomas tried to scramble out of the way, but was a hair too slow. The soldier was too desperate to escape, and couldn't care less about the human of an object in his path. He charged right through him, accidently clipping him in the shoulder on the way out, hard enough that it sent Thomas slamming into the wall behind him.

As soon as he hit the wall, there was a sickening pop, followed by a zing of sharp pain that ran through his whole right arm, and then he suddenly couldn't move it anymore.

Thomas crumpled to the floor with a gasp as pain radiated throughout his entire arm and shoulder, quickly spreading across his chest. It was an intense, overwhelming agony that overtook him, and he gritted his teeth against it. Out of the corner of his eye, he could Shadow moving nimbly around as she took down the last few soldiers in the room, before she leaned down to pick up her dagger and sheath it again. He could only hope she'd be able to help him out of whatever he'd just gotten himself into. But it hurt... so... much...

-------------------------------------------------------

*Switching to Shadow POV*

Shadow heard the cry of pain, but was too busy fighting to spare the source a glance. Only when she had knocked the last man out did she look over to see Thomas twitching on the floor in pain, one shoulder sticking out at an unnatural angle.

"I… I can't move my arm!" He exclaimed, panicking. "Am I dying? I'm dying, aren't I?!"

Shadow walked over and loomed over him with arms crossed over her chest and rolled her eyes at what she thought to be his over-dramatization, before remembering that Thomas had never experienced a serious injury of any kind before, and it made her understand why he would be so terrified. From his perspective, it must literally feel like he was dying. She could hear his heart racing faster than a rabbit's with adrenaline.

She kneeled next to him with an unhurried sigh and tentatively touched his shoulder, feeling around the muscles to get an idea of how bad the dislocation was. Thomas yelped in pain, and instinctively tried to jerk away, but Shadow put her knee over his stomach and leaned her weight onto him to keep him pinned down.

"Mmhmm, that's definitely a bad one," she said in absent observation after a few moments. Shadow knew how to relocate the joint, but first needed Thomas to stop panicking. She needed his muscles to relax a little to make it easier for the joint to pop back into place... and his hyperventilating was only exacerbating the whole situation.

"Good grief, you're not dying! Pull yourself together," she snapped, exasperated. She could tell that Thomas was on the brink of passing out because of the fast, shallow breaths he was taking, which was causing the carbon dioxide in his blood to drop too low. She let out a weary sigh and put a firm hand on his chest.

"Look at me, listen to my voice. You need to calm down. Slow your breathing, okay? Take a deep breath, and let it out slowly," she instructed sternly, trying to sound reassuring, which certainly wasn't her strong suit.

"Focus on filling your lungs up as full as you can, and then let it all out, and relax. Release the tension. I'm right here to help you, kid. You don't have to keep panicking."

There was something oddly comforting about her words, even though "comforting" was probably the last thing Thomas would use to describe Shadow. Regardless, he tried to focus on her gruff voice, gradually slowing his breathing down increment by increment, feeling his racing heartbeat finally start to calm.

"Good. Now I'm going to put your shoulder back in place, all right? It’s guaranteed to hurt like crazy, but bear with me. Are you ready?" Shadow said, looming over him. She took his wrist in one hand and placed the other near his shoulder.

Thomas nodded weakly, bracing himself.

Shadow gave him a countdown. "Three, two, zero--" In a single sharp, swift motion, she suddenly jerked his arm straight forward, and a loud pop followed as the shoulder joint slid back into place.

It was cruel of her to surprise him with a fake countdown, Thomas distantly thought. He let out a strangled shriek, and had to bite his tongue hard to avoid screaming in agony.

Then, he felt gentle waves of magic flow through his arm, repairing damaged ligament and muscle tissue. It took the edge off his pain, lessening it to a dull throb. One of the many perks of having someone like Shadow as an ally. He finally let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding, relief flooding him.

"See? That wasn't so bad, now, was it?" Shadow smirked knowingly. She put an arm under his back and helped him slowly sit up, before effortlessly pulling him to his feet with surprising strength.

"Let's get out of here before anyone sees us, shall we?"

"Shadow... Thank you. Seriously," Thomas croaked gratefully, gently trying out his newly healed shoulder with a wince. He looked at the floor sheepishly.

Shadow shifted her weight uncomfortably at his sincere gratitude.

"Let's... just try not to ever do that again, all right?" She said tensely.

Masterlist #1 - all of my whump stories

Masterlist #2 - all stories specifically involving my OCs Shadow and Thomas

@scoundrelwithboba @lumpofsand @isikedmyself878 @iamheretohurt @fleur-a-whump

@ay5ksal @otterfrost @sausages-things @togzy

@whump-till-ya-jump @cravesunconditionallove @whumpwritinglover222

[perpetualexistence]

Total Drama Fic Rec Week Day 3: AUs

*rubs hands together maniacally* Oh boy do I have a bunch of AU fics to recommend to you folks. I'm a sucker for a good AU if you couldn't tell by my own. There's also some horror/darker fics becuase I do love when the teens are put through The Horrors. I've separated the non-horror from the horror for those who aren't as big of fans as I of the genre.

Face the Sun (and Fall) by Noah_about_it: An Alenoah superhero fic where Noah is a vigilante trying to hide his identity despite working for one of the city's most prominent superhero couples. It's got assistant Noah, Chref dads, and Team E-scope. Also a cool variety of powersets. What more could you want?

Shoot Your Local Celebrity! by butterflyclipped: An Alenoah fic where Noah is an aspiring screenwriter forced to be Chris' assistant to make ends meet while Alejandro is a rising celebrity who got signed onto a buddy cop movie he hates with his only reprieve being the assistant of the actor he hates the most. Has a lot of Bojack Horseman vibes in the best possible way. It's only two chapters and hasn't updated in so very long, but I still enjoyed it and highly recommend it.

Total Drama Kingdoms and why Noah hates royals by QuestionableLasagna: A fantasy Alenoah fic where Noah is a wizard handling all the behind the scenes of a fantasy reality show that Prince Alejandro happens to be taking part. These two butt heads in the most glorious of ways, and it's fun to discover what fantasy creature each cast member is! There's also mystery in both Alejandro AND Noah's backstories, so that's a treat.

The Horrors

Death Cast by Nocopops: A really good Island of the Slaughtered fic that goes over each of the deaths, and then the experiences of each of the survivors. Does a really good job of making them all feel like teenagers who just made horrible mistakes due to their circumstances. Also, it's finished! Which isn't a thing you can say about a lot of IOTS fics. This was one of the fics that helped me segue into the Total Drama fandom when my love for it was rekindled thanks to IOTS, so it's got a special place in my heart.

Despair Island by Knifez: This one's an oldie, like was made in 2014 classic. It's a TDI AU where getting eliminated from the show means getting killed. All these teenagers are on edge for some fairly obvious reasons, and that tension carries throughout the fic. There are moments of OOC-ness, but most of which can be explained by the situation, or by the author. Though uh, I will say that if you're a Cody fan, I don't think this fic is for you. You'll see what I mean by the first chapter. He doesn't get better.

Total Drama World Tour: Massacre by Pearl_Islands7: A more modern fic based on Despair Island. Same premise of teens dying if they get eliminated, though with the spin that it's during World Tour. It's juicy in a different way to have the characters know each other already and still have to choose who gets to live/die. There's also a twist that a couple of teens will randomly be allowed to live, and Chris experiencing hauntings from the eliminated teens.

@totaldramaficrecweek

[junkdrawerfics]

Safe Place

Summary: Takes place when Bob and Phoenix almost go down from the bird strike. Afterwards, Rooster seeks you out to make sure you're okay because you aren't answering anyones calls. He finds you in your safe place. (hurt/comfort)

Word Count: 1278

Warnings: spoilers? Kinda? Reader struggles with the concept of losing someone.

---

It was a hard day.

Now, when you joined the Navy, you were expecting hard days. Plenty of them. But that doesn’t mean you feel any more prepared for them.

There’s no way to prepare for your best friends almost dying, after all.

You know they’re okay. Everyone has told you that over and over and over again. Natasha and Bob experienced minor injuries at best. But you can’t get past it. The sound of her rising panic over the comms. The sight of the plane careening into the side of a mountain. The pillar of smoke. It’s burned into your head, replaying on loop as your imagination runs wild.

What if they hadn’t ejected in time? 

What if the plane had blown up?

What if they had died?

What’s to stop the same thing from happening to you? To Rooster?

Tendrils of panic dig deep into your chest, leaving you gasping, and all you can do is seek out the one place you always do when you need to clear your head.

---

Rooster knocks softly on your door before drawing back and waiting. He rocks on his heels, lips pulling into a frown when nothing happens. Even after he tries again, nothing. Something uneasy forms like a rock in his gut. He glances through your windows, but the little house looks empty.

Where are you?

He came by to make sure you’re okay, not able to shake the worry clinging to him. He was right next to you when it happened. The sight of your face, crumbling with so much anguish, is trapped in his memory and it makes his heart ache.

With a frustrated sigh, Rooster rubs at his face. You could be anywhere. You grew up here, close to Top Gun, so you know the place front and back. He already tried calling you, with very little success. Even Phoenix and Bob couldn’t get a hang of you, which made the feeling in his chest so much worse.

So, he digs through every memory he has, trying to figure out where you would go first. Not his place, he just came from there. The beach maybe, but he doubts it with the dark clouds looming overhead. He really thought you’d be here, the house you grew up in. It’s yours, since your parents moved. You love telling him stories about growing up here, especially about the little house you and your dad built out ba-

Rooster takes off, right into the rain. His steps are sure as he rounds the corner of the house, eyes scanning the backyard before falling on a small cabin-like shed tucked into the back corner.

“(Y/n)?”

Even with no answer, he can’t shake the feeling that he’s right, so he keeps going.

It’s old, definitely a little worn around the edges. The walls, once painted green, are now faded and chipped, showing the wood beneath. There’s a little sign on the door, one that would make him smile if he weren’t so focused on finding you..

‘(Y/n)’s Hangar - certified personnel only’

Considering he’s an aviator, he figures he’s certified, so he doesn’t hesitate to crouch down and slowly push the door open, calling your name again.

---

“(Y/n)?”

Your breath rattles in your lungs as you take a sharp inhale. Looking up from where you’re tucked into a pile of blankets and pillows, you watch as the tall man shuffles into the small playhouse, practically bent at the waist.

“Hi, Ro-o,” your voice breaks, even at a whisper.

Bradley settles down next to you, and if it were any other day, you might laugh at how out of place he looks. Like a giant in your small home.

“Hey, songbird.” You offer a watery smile at the nickname, at the concern dripping from his words. “We’ve been worried about you.”

“Yah, I um…” You swipe at your eyes to get rid of any leftover tears. “I just, I didn’t…yah.”

Rooster’s brow furrows, and you turn your eyes back out the window, to watch the raindrops race. You really don’t know what to say. You should be with them right now, but you just…can’t. Because then it’s real. Too real. So you’re here, and now Rooster is too, just sitting quietly beside you. It’s not often the aviator is quiet, but he can practically feel the storm of emotions coming off you, like a reflection of the world outside.

“This is my safe place,” you murmur after a long moment, fingers curling deeper into your blankets. “I would, I would come here when I was young, whenever I was upset. Dad said, he said it would protect me ‘cause inside, I’m part of the Navy. And the Navy protects its own, but, but today-” You take a shuddering breath, holding back the pain in your chest as much as you can.

Rooster pulls you close, his arm wrapping around your shoulders so tenderly, so surely, as if he can protect you from everything crashing down on you. You look up at him, eyes wide, gleaming with a fear you’ve never felt before. And the look in his eyes, the warmth, the sadness, the understanding-

It shatters you.

A heaving sob shakes your whole body as you curl into Rooster. He immediately pulls you into his lap, cradling you, making soft shushing noises in your hair as he presses a kiss to your head. You hold on to him for dear life, his shirt twisted between your fingers, because you’re scared. Scared that if you let go for even a moment, he’ll be gone too. 

“I could’a lost them, Roo,” you sob, “I could have lost both of them.”

“I know. I know, sweetheart.” His voice is soft, softer than you’ve ever heard it. “But they’re okay. You didn’t lose them.”

“But I could have!” Your voice pitches with desperation. “What if it happens again, Roo? What if I lose you? I can’t- I couldn’t-”

“(Y/n).” Bradley cups your face. You bite back your cries, eyes too heavy with tears to make him out. But his hands are warm. They’re warm and calloused and tender and they’re holding every broken piece of you together. “You didn’t lose them and you won’t lose me. I’m not going anywhere.”

“But how can you say that, Bradley?” You whimper, “How can you be so sure?”

“Because I know I will do everything on this Earth to come back to you-” Rooster rests his forehead against your, and your eyes flicker shut at the contact. “-always. I’d even partner up with Bagman if I had to.”

A watery laugh escapes your lips and some of the tension slips away. Rooster smiles, a faint one still creased with concern, but at least you’re laughing. He pulls you back into a hug, lips finding your temple. 

“Why don’t we go see Phoenix and Bob? Then you can see that they’re alright, and maybe all of us can go get dinner. How does that sound?” He proposes in a soft whisper, tracing random shapes on your back.

“Only if we get Thai, that’s Phoenix’s favorite,” you sniffle, “And ice cream after for Bob.”

“Sounds like a plan, songbird.”

You don’t move, though. You just need this a little longer. Just a few more minutes wrapped in Bradley’s arms, listening to the steady sound of his heartbeat. You release one last, shaky breath when his fingers interlace with yours. You give his hand a squeeze, appreciation swelling in your chest.

Because here, in his arms, you feel safe. Safer than you’ve felt in a long time.

It looks like Bradley Bradshaw is your safe place, now.

---

Cheesy, I know. Let me love my cheese.

Also let me know if you guys have any requests or prompts!

[spilledmilkfkdies]

Hi! First off, thank you very much for answering my earlier asks; I really appreciate that you put in the time and thought to answer my questions. Secondly, I wanted to ask, how do you think the wizards would take it if they had been sentenced to Lightrock rather than Omega? (I think I have also asked this question of another blog, but I’m kinda hooked on the idea.) Thank you very much!

Hiii again!! You're so welcome too! I love answering asks and putting some energy into them, even if that means they take me a sec sometimes djskshsj I get to it eventually stinkyexhaust if you're out there-

And to answer the second part; Honestly I kinda vibe with the idea, I think about it sometimes, briefly. But that's because I'm biased and I simply don't want them to be frozen for eternity. Or for however long the comics kept them there before making them work for some guy and eventually imprisoning them in Solaria boo boo tomato. Absolutely YOINKED them from their planet, which ig Lightrock would also do. But like. That's different.

How would they take it though? Hmmmm yeah probably beats Omega, if only because they're together and able to talk to each other. Hopefully. Unless they're separated. I think Ogron would struggle the most, he's still experiencing some very strong emotions of the angry sort- but I feel like he'd eventually be fine as long as he's with Gantlos and Anagan who are TIRED. And in mourning. Ogron will get there too. Is Lightrock the absolute perfect solution for them that will fix all their problems though? Will they straight up vibe there without any issues? No!! But I really don't think they're as kill kill destroy as modern Winx writing is trying to sneak in there, they can be civil! At least for as long as it would take to get the "yeah lol they're fine now" stamp of approval so they can be on their way, which I think is the end goal? It's a rehabilitation thing right, those aren't permanent usually, I don't think.

Y'know who really could've used Lightrock. When we give it a minute of thought.

HE. HIM. THAT THING.

You're telling me this SICK man, who had been feverishly yapping away on your couch just minutes prior, DARES to speak the words "Who says I want to recover?", proceeds to reveals big evil plan (it actually being true aside for a moment) and you decide to KILL him where he stands as he BEGS for his life?? Bit overkill tbh. Yeah imprison the other ones but just explode the dying one, kill him faster! The medical bills just weren't worth it huh

Also?? Imagine there was no evil plan, and he really was just delusional and saying shit again. Could we perhaps say? Medical malpractice? Hm?

Really if any of the 4 were to be put in Lightrock, realistically it should be him?? This was him canonically going insane fam, please get him some therapy or something he'll be fine. Probably. BONUS POINTS if they'd let him stay in the bat form, I'd really like that and I'm not getting into the logistics of it. Just make sure his wings have room to move :(( I pinky promise he won't try to fly away pls :(( I don't think he even could pls pls :(( Y'all have security measures in place :((

[punkerplusone]

Saved by Grace

Even though it was the last class of the day, seventh period seemed to drag on forever.

For Sunny, that was the case. Time usually seems to be going by slower when you aren't doing anything, and that was exactly what Sunny did in her seventh period P.E. class, nothing. It wasn't out of laziness, she didn't mind walking a few laps around the gym if that was the way she was going to get an A and maintain her 4.0 gpa. At least, she didn't mind doing that in 9th grade. But now, there was no point. She had already gotten her physical education credit as a freshman, and the guidance counselor just put her in gym 7th period because she only needed six classes that year, and there were no other openings. There was no point in participating if she already did the class, and she wasn't going to get graded for pointless exercise, she wasn't going to do pointless exercise.

Gym class was more of a free period for her. Usually, she'd just leave school early and go to work. She worked at a record store only about half a mile away from the school, "Ringworm Records.". On the normal school day, she'd leave as soon as the bell rang for 7th period, walk down to the shop, and sort t shirt or shelf CD's for as long as Ángel and Mikey wanted her too, which was usually until 6pm. Then, she'd go home. Today was different though, she didn't work today.

She considered just going home anyways, but this time, she was busy. Busy pretending to listen to Zain's never ending story time. Zain Ali was her best friend, a friend she'd had since middle school, and honestly, one of her only real friends, other then per say her father and this sarcastic mall-goth named Winter that had recently moved to Rainbow Beach from California and became part of the friend group. Zain was much different from Sunny personality-wise, but they were both similar in the aspect that they both stood out like a sore thumb. Sunny did almost on purpose, with her dyed hair and piercings and alternative sense of style, as well as her strong opinions that she expressed in an assertive way, in every situation, even situations where speaking your mind can only mean the worst. Zain, on the other hand, didn't really intend to stand out, he just did. He talked too loud, only talked about the same 3 things most of the time, and said pretty much anything that came to his mind, but not with an intention to speak his mind. He just didn't know when or when not it was time to speak or time to shut up. This difference from everyone else they both experienced was the reason why they ever ended up being such good friends in the first place.

Zain turned the pages of his sketchbook (which was really just a cheap notebook that you could tell had been shoved into his backpack without care about 1000 times). On the next page, he revealed some art of this elegant, but sort of terrifying monster-woman thing. She had blue skin and long, purple hair, along with some semi-skimpy armor and angel wings that expanded behind her body. She had six arms, 3 on both sides, she almost reminded Sunny of the Kali Ma statue at the house of her dads ex girlfriend, who wasn't a Hindu, but rather an esoteric hippie who's marijuana habits led to the end of the relationship. Zain had always come with with his own weird little characters, he had at least 100 that he would draw constantly, over and over again. The stories of these characters made up a large amount of conversations Sunny and Zain had together.

"What's her name?" Sunny asked, trying to get something out of the conversation. She felt find of bad, like she was leading Zain on, pretending to be interested in what he was talking about what she really wasn't. Then, she remembered, it was very unlikely that Zain could even tell whether or whether not somebody gave a f*ck about what he was talking about in the first place.

"This ones name is Indigo. I've told you about her already, remember?" He said, with his dark-brown eyes staring at the paper instead of his friend.

"Come on, bro. You know I don't remember half the sh*t you tell me!" Sunny said in a lighthearted tone. Just as she got the words out, the coach blew the whistle, which marked the 10- minute mark for the end of the period. This is when the coaches made all the students start changing and cleaning up. In 7th period, the gym was occupied by both students who had P.E. that period and volleyball girls who had practice, they sort of shared the gym during that period, unless the coached made the P.E. kids go outside and run on the track that day.

For a few minutes after that, Zain continued yapping about his character, retelling the story he had probably already told Sunny countless times before. Sunny, only half listening, noticed something on the other side of the gym.

It was Noah Infinger. A girl who had moved to town only a week before the school year started back, making it about a month ago since she first arrived to Rainbow Beach. She was on the volleyball team, and was talking with her two other teammates, another well known senior named Renee, and a short sophomore that Sunny didn't know existed until recently named Monique. Sunny wasn't looking at Monique or Renee though, only Noah.

Sunny hadn't known Noah for very long, only the few weeks the had been in Rainbow Beach. They had the same second period, AP Chemistry, and the teacher, a fat, strict pentecostal lady named Mrs. Locke, moved Noah from her seat beside Zahida Ali to the desk beside Sunny, in hopes this would make Noah chat less, Unfortunately, for Mrs. Locke, it did not.

Noah was the type of person Sunny had never imagined herself being friends with-let alone talk to in a million years. Even more so, Sunny never imagined someone like Noah talking to her. She thought by looking at her, Noah would immediately object to being sat next to a weird kid. Surprisingly, Noah almost immediately warmed up to her new lab partner. And so did Sunny.

As Noah talked to her friends, she noticed Sunny's face on the other side of the gym. Noah’s freckled face flustered a big smile as she broke off from her two teammates and walked to greet her little green haired friend. Noah was wearing something different from what she had worn to school that morning. She was in her practice clothes, which consisted of a grey tank top and black short shorts along with white sneakers that looked completely brand new, as they probably were, considering Noah came from a family that could routinely afford such things unlike Sunny and Zain. Her long, curly, ginger hair was tied up in a messy bun, with some strands falling out and sticking to her sweaty face.

Sunny waved back akwardly. She didnt expect Noah to actually notice her. She almost felt embarassed, staring at her like that. Staring at other girls like that had created problems between Sunny and other girls countless times. Even though most of the time, she wasnt looking at them to admire them, moreso just because her eyes happened to meet theirs at the same. Then, the girl and her friends would usually approach her, with their arms crossed and a condescending look on their faces, interrogating her on whether she liked them or thought of them sexually. Even though shes girls didnt scare Sunny, she was intimidated by very few people, she still tried to avoid eye contact with other girls to avoid unnecessary beef. This time, she wasnt thinking about that. When you really like someone, you dont worry about what they think when they catch you looking at them.

The red haired girl threw her volleyball backpack down and cheerfully sat down next to Sunny on the bleachers. Renee and Monique looked back at Noah with a somewhat disgusted looked, whispering back and forth to each other. Noah didnt notice.

“I didnt know you had gym class this period!!” Noah said, her smile still on her face. Sunny noticed that she had perfect teeth, she could tell she had braces in the past.

“Oh yeah…I do!” said Sunny while trying to seem chiller than she actually was, playing with her hair akwardly, Zain had stopped talking, and was putting his notebook back in his backpack.

Noah subtly reached back and touched Sunny’s hair. “Did you dye your hair last night?” She asked. Yesterday, Sunny hair was split dyed; half green and half pink. Now it was completely green.

“Yeah…..”

“You know, I wanted to ask you something in Chemistry class….” Noah continued. Sunny’s eyes were glued to Noahs. Noah was wearing the same silver cross necklace she wore every day. The cross was swallowed by the bra under her tight grey tank top.

“Oh yeah, what?” Sunny asked. She figured that whatever Noah had to say, it was important. Zain was listening behind her.

“Well, I was going to church with Ellen tonight, but she cancelled on me because her boyfriend asked her to come over while his parents were gone.” She said. “I was hoping..maybe you’d want to go with me instead?”

The question casually rolled off Noah’s lips, just like any other question would. Sunny’s cheeks turned red. Did she just ask me to…hang out with her? Outside of school? Voluntarily? Sunny thought. A million thoughts ran through her head at one. Does she actually want to hang out with me? Or is she doing that thing christians do when they see an infidel and want to be generous and introduce them to Jesus?

As solid 5 seconds of silence passed as Sunny thought. Finally, she answered. “Yeah..yeah sure! I mean…I’m not working tonight…and I don’t have any plans…so yeah! Why not! I can get my dad to drive me since he doesnt work today either-”

“Don’t be silly!’ Noah interrupted. “You live on Picasso Drive, right? I’ll pick you up! It starts at 5:30!”

“Oh…you don’t have to-”

“No! I insist!” Noah continued. “Your dad probably doesn't know the directions to the place anyways. I’ll pick you up at 5:00, how does that sound?”

Sunny nodded and Noah got up. They both exchanged byes and see-you-laters. Zain looked at Sunny, confused.

“I thought you didn't believe in God?” Zain asked.

“I don’t.”

Later that evening, Sunny’s dad was sitting on the coach, smoking a cigarette and watching Dukes of Hazard reruns on TV. Sunny had asked him earlier that afternoon after she got off school if she could borrow on of his flannel shirts he wore when it got cold outside. She didn't really have any “nice’’ clothes, but she wanted to show Noah that she did in fact care.

It was almost 5:00, Sunny walked into the living room of the single-wide trailer in her fathers button up flannel tucked into her jeans, the same jeans she wore to school today, and the same Doc Martins she always wore (except for this occasion, she replaced her purple laces with the default black ones). She combed her hair neatly, to the point where it was barrel recognizable, laying almost completely flat on her head.

Her dad looked at her across the living room from the recliner he was sitting in. He took another hit of the cigarette and inhaled it out through his nose. “So, why are ya gettin’ so dressed up tonight, anyways?”

Sunny sat on the coach that sat under her a taxidermied deer head and a 2x4 portrait of Che Guevara hanging from the wall. “Noah invited me to go to church with her.”

Her dad sat and thought for a second. “Oh…I remember…that's the girl you like, ain’t it?” He said. Sunny’s dad had never cared that she liked girls, in fact, he prides himself on the claim that he “knew before she did”. “Well, have fun, I guess.”

A few minutes later, Sunny heard a honk from the front yard. She waved goodbye to her dad and hurried out the door to Noah’s car. She drove a white Toyota, an automobile that looked much nicer and newer than her dads old truck that he had had since 1985. Noah smiled at her through the passenger window, and Sunny smiled back. Her long red hair was pulled back in a ponytail. She had on a long floral dress with black sandals and a green cardigan on over it. Sunny opened the door of the truck and climbed in the passenger seat.

The ride consisted of multiple conversations. Sunny and Noah had gotten to a point where they were close enough to have actual conversations without anything feeling awkward or uncomfortable. Somewhere in the middle of the 10 minute ride, Noah took one of her hands off the car's steering wheel, and put it on top of Sunnys hand that was resting on the center console, and intertwined her fingers with hers.

When they both arrived at the church, there were many people there. Noah led Sunny to this room in the downstairs part of the church. The room was extremely bright, and filled with fold-up chairs with lots of kids Sunny recognized from school sitting in them holding their study bibles. In the front of the room, there was a small stage with a microphone and speakers set up in the front. The stage had a background that looked like a painting interpretation of the Garden of Eden. On the stage, a man who looked to be about 25 was sitting in a chair, adjusting his mic. The man had slightly-thinning brown hair pulled back in a man bun along with a goatee. He was wearing glasses and had on a t-shirt that read “Catch up with Jesus” in the style of the Heinz Ketchup logo. He was wearing khakis and Nikes, along with what seemed like 10 or so rubber band bracelets.

Noah and Sunny sat in the back row of chairs. Noah pulled out the study Bible sitting under her chair and handed it to Sunny. Sunny started flipping through the pages of the book, mainly interested in the pictures of the maps of biblical Canaan and the drawings of the jewelry worn by the women of ancient Judea printed in the back.

The service started, and the teenagers making up the small congregation in the basement of the Baptist church got quiet as the youth pastor adjusted his mic and started talking into it. “Good Afternoon! My name is William, and I am on the pastoral leadership team here at Jericho Baptist Ministries!” The man said in his loud, effeminate voice. Noah elbowed Sunny and said “That's my cousin.”. Sunny smiled and nodded.

The pastor continued speaking. “As some of y’all may remember, we explored the topic of sin and evil. This week, we are going to use this as a springboard for our new subject, temptation.”

As he continued his sermon, Sunny kept flipping through the pictures in the back of the study bible. Noah looked over her shoulders at the pictures with her as they both half-listened to the youth pastor.

“We have examples in the BIble of people being tested, not tempted, so that they could grow their relationship with God. Job had everything taken from him, including his children. The prophet Elijah experienced a great depression. The Apostle John was banished to a secluded island, self isolated. They went through a process of losing parts of God that they didn't understand, in order to gain a more complete understanding of what God is.”

His voice was loud, the speakers were turned up to oblivion. It was almost uncomfortable how bright and cramped and loud the room was to Sunny. She could tolerate it, though, or at least pretend it wasn't uncomfortable. “If Zain were here, he would have already run out the building to go hide in Noah's car.” She thought to herself.

The preacher continued. “In our members, there is a slumbering inclination towards desire, which is both sudden and fierce.” He said, sounding much more serious than his previous happier tone. “Desire seizes mastery over the flesh. All at once the smoldering fire is kindled, the flesh burns and is in flames.”

As William spoke, Sunny something came over her hand that was sitting atop the Bible she had just closed. It was Noah’s hand.

“It makes no difference whether it is sexual desire-”

Sunny unfolded her hand, and turned the palm up so Noah could hold it.

“Or ambition, or vanity-”

Sunny felt Noah's fingers intertwined with hers. Their warm hands met and connected perfectly like a puzzle piece. They were both looking in front, at the stage where the pastor was standing, but both girls could tell each other were smiling. They were happy.

The sermon lasted for about 30 minutes. Soon, it was time to go home. Noah had just remembered that her mom had left her wallet in her husbands office down in the church’s basement. Her dad was actually the founder of Jericho Baptists Ministries, and the church had been the reason why Noah’s family even moved down to Rainbow Beach.

As her an her friend got up, Noah asked Sunny a question. “Hey so…my mom actually self her wallet in my dads office here when she and my dad were here last night cleaning up.” Said Noah. “Do you mind helping me find it?”

Sunny shook her head, smiling. She didn't really smile a lot, because she didn't really experience extreme emotions a lot, but tonight was different. “No, I don’t mind!’’ She said,

Sunny followed Noah into this hall behind the big room that the youth group they had just attended took place in. The hall was dark and had many different offices and meeting rooms. It was a pretty big church.

Mr. Infingers office was the last door down the hall. Noah opened the big door leading into his office and let Sunny in. Sunny looked around the small room, neither one of them were paying much attention to Mrs Infingers wallet. After all, it was sitting right in the middle of the desk, in plain sight. Its not like they would have to do much work to find it.

“So, did your dad like, make this church, or what?” Sunny asked, looking around the room at all of Mr. Infinger’s pictures and motivating quote decorations he had around his room, One thing Sunny noticed was a framed picture of president Ronald Raegan hung right above what appeared to be a picture of Mr. Infinger and his wife on their wedding day.

Noah giggled. “Yeah, basically.” She said. She was leaning on the counter behind her dads desk. “My dad has been a preacher since, before I can remember. He and the ministry he worked for had some…disagreements. He broke off and made Jericho Babtist Ministries so he could have more control.”

“So like? why’d you guys move here?”

Noah was looking at her feet. “Well, I used to live in Babylon, in Alabama. Its a pretty small town, not far from here. Only about an hour, its right at the state border. Anyways, my dad wanted a bigger congregation. Like, a huge one. He had dreams of becoming a televangelist, like the preachers you see on TV, screaming and ranting on their microphones to crowds of thousands of people. Back a few years ago, maybe when I was in ninth grade, my dad got a call from a local TV network her in Rainbow Beach saying they’d broadcast his sermons. So he started building this church, and here we are now.”

Sunny nodded her head as her friend talked. “Ya know, I think Ive seen your dad on TV before.” She said. “I think that christian channel comes on late at night, when my dad falls asleep on the coach”.

Noah giggled. She smiled at Sunny and looked into her blue-and-green hazel eyes. “Yeah, you could say ny dad is pretty famous, locally at least.” She said. “He loves the attention. Almost more than he loves me.”

The last sentence was meant by Noah as a joke, but it still grabbed Sunny’s attention. “Does your dad love you?”

Her smiled faded, and she looked down at her feet again. “Well, I don’t know if he loves me. I’d say, he loves the his idea of me. The me he wants me to be. I really doubt he would still love me if he knew rhe real me.”

“What do you mean by that?”

Noah sighed and looked at her friend. “You know.”

Sunny did indeed, know. She sighed too and looked around the small room, trying to think of a way to make the mood less awkward. Before she could get her words out, she felt a hand grab the bottom of her face.

It was Noahs hand. She felt her one diamond ring against her jaw. Almost naturally, their lips met each others, and stayed together for about 4 seconds.

When they seperated, they both took a second to process what had just happened. Sunny tastes Noahs pink lip gloss. Noah thought for a second she had made a mistake, due to the akward silence. Sunny said nothing, but she knew she wanted to do that again. So she got in Noahs face again, and kissed her.

They were sitting on the grey carpet floor of the office. Noah was sitting in Sunnys lap, while her friend was sitting against the cabinets on the ground behind Mr. Infingers desk. They were holding each other and kissing, This continued for about 2 minutes. Sunny disconnected from the kiss, and looked at Noahs sparkling hazel-brown eyes, smiling.

“Not to make you feel like Im not enjoying this, because I definetly am..” Sunny said, looking at Noah with a dazed smile on her face. “But I think we should get going. My dad is probably wondering where I am.”

Noah wipes her mouth with the back of her hand, also smiling. “Yeah, you’re right. I told my mom I’d be back before she did.”

They got up. Noah helped Sunny off the floor and they exited the church, and loaded up in Noahs car.

The ride home was alot like the ride to the church. They talked about school, made fun of Mrs Locke. Noah asked if Zahida was Zains sister, and Sunny told her that they were twins. Sunny asked Noah if she dated anyone back in Babylon, and she told her about her ex boyfriend, Joseph, who she dated for the last semester of sophomore year. He was a football player, a benchwarmer, but a football player nontheless. Her dad liked him, her mom liked him, and his parents plenty liked her, but he broke up with her that summer. He couldnt stand how she never wanted to kiss him, of hold hands with him. He said he felt like she wasnt attracted to him, and he was right, she wasnt.

Noah asked Sunny the same question; “Have you ever had a girlfriend?”. Sunny told her about her ex girlfriend, Katrina. Katrina was a senior while Sunny was a sophomore, thats when they dated. Their relationship was almost the opposite of what was described between Noah and Joseph. Sunny did indeed like Katrina, but Katrina saw Sunny as more of an experience. She told Noah how she’d only kiss her to make boys laugh, and she stopped altogether when she realised she didnt like the experiment after all.

After about 15 minutes, they had arrived at Sunny’s house. “See you at school tommorow!” Sunny said as shs opened the car door and waved to Noah. “Wait!” Noah yelled before Sunny reached her front yard.

Sunny turned around. “What is it”.

Looking at Sunny through the car window, Noah pointed to her right cheek. “You have some lip gloss right here.”

[writingquestionsanswered]

Character Goes "Insane" and "Snaps Out of It"

Anonymous asked: Hello! I hope you’re doing well! 😊 I’d like tips on how to write a scene where a character who has snapped and gone completely insane softens or snaps out of it when they see their love interest dying (because of them), without it being unrealistic or just poorly developed/thought through/written. Context: MC snaps after numerous events that made them more and more deranged and the last straw was finding out their love interest betrayed them, so they kinda destroy their love interest’s country and when they’re about to deal the final blow to their love interest, they can’t do it.

Note: This ask came in off Anon, but since they--like most of us--are in the process of unlearning harmful information drilled into us by society and the media, I thought it best to put it on Anon for their protection. Please remember we're all in this process of unlearning and relearning together! ♥

Unfortunately, even today, the behaviors resulting from mental illnesses and other neurological conditions aren't well understood by the general public. There's still a lot of harmful beliefs and offensive terminology being perpetuated in the mainstream, and it looks like you have yet to start the unlearning process. So, let's unlearn together! ♥

Issue #1 - Outside of its continued use as a term in criminal law, the word "insanity" is outdated and meaningless. It dates to a time before specific mental illnesses and neurological conditions had been identified to explain associated behaviors. Even if your story is set in a time or place when mental illnesses and neurological conditions aren't understood or labeled, as a 21st century writer, you still need to know and understand the mental illness or neurological condition responsible for your character's behavior. You can't just have them experience increasing psychosis as a result of various traumatic events. You can start by researching the relationship between trauma, mental illnesses, and neurological conditions to learn which specific mental illnesses or neurological conditions may be responsible for your character's behavior.

Issue #2 - When someone has a mental illness or neurological condition that worsens over time and causes an increase in associated behaviors, that doesn't just go away in an instant due to some moment of emotional appeal. There are mental illnesses and neurological conditions that are characterized by episodes of associated behaviors interspersed with periods of improvement, but again, it wouldn't be a gradual slide to experiencing psychosis full-time that suddenly vanishes because a light bulb went on. Fortunately, this is something you should be able to figure out as you figure out exactly what is happening with your character and how it would affect their behavior/role in the story.

Issue #3 - Since mental illnesses and neurological conditions are many and varied, and many people are living with more than one, I can't tell you how to write this scene, because how to write this scene depends on the specific mental illness/es and/or neurological condition/s your character is living with and the specific behaviors they experience as a result. Only you can figure that out after you do the necessary research. Until that time, you're not ready to write this story without it being both harmful and offensive. The good news is, there is a ton of information available online, and if you put in the time and work to do the research and learn, you should be able to portray this character and scene in a way that is believable and well done. I would also suggest that before you share this story with an audience, you should look for a sensitivity reader with experience in whichever mental illness/es and/or neurological condition/s you decide make the most sense for your character. That way they can vet your portrayal to make extra sure it isn't harmful or offensive.

Here are some links to help with research:

WQA’s Guide to Internet Research Writing About Difficult to Research Topics

Best of luck with your research and story! ♥

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[givehimthemedicine]

where does El's NINA blood keep going?

so I was talking about how the nosebleeds El gets inside NINA match her nosebleeds in the "memories" she's experiencing right then. I'm telling you those aren't just memories, but that's not the point of this post.

em just like you said about how that weird Henward closeup would be way too apparent if they had put the shots side by side, if they didn't keep cutting away to other stories in the middle of El's NINA scenes this would have been glaringly noticeable.

4x5

El has her bloody-hands-light-circle-game flashback in which she's bleeding from one nostril. this causes her such distress that she goes into cardiac arrest inside the NINA tank, where we see her also bleeding from the same nostril.

we cut away to other stories awhile and the next thing we see of El is this: getting shocked awake on the table outside the NINA tank. then she hits Brenner and makes a run for it.

what happened to her nose blood?

4x6

El has her post-bullying flashback, in which she sort of "catches" bloodstains from the vision of her little self in the mirror. and then she wakes up like this - clean - and says "I killed them didn't I?"

we aren't shown an in-tank view on this occasion, which I really wish we were.

4x7 - 4x8

One tries to kill El but she breaks out of it sporting a two-nostril bleed, which also appears in the tank:

once again we cut away, this time til a whole other episode, and the next time we see her she's being shocked on the table looking like this:

where 👏 is 👏 the 👏 blood?

occam's razor says the doctors merely cleaned up her blood in between the shots we're shown. but why?

aside from the fact that there's no reason for doing that besides cosmetic - having a little blood on her upper lip doesn't interfere with the seal of the oxygen mask or anything like that -

why would they take the time to do something so trivial BEFORE administering life saving measures? remember, the literal fate of humanity is riding on this girl's success. you can clean her nose to your heart's content, AFTER you make sure she's not dying.

and even if they did wipe her nose, they did it so well that there's zero residue. not even IN her nostril. it looks like she never bled at all.

where 👏 is 👏 the 👏 water?

something else that's bothering me now that I'm all up in these screenshots:

in some of these NINA wakeups El seems remarkably dry for someone who was just floating in water seconds earlier. I know, her hair is dry because she was wearing a cap, that doesn't count. but her suit would still be wet.

look in 4x5 look how wet the table around El is, and the puddle she leaves when she gets up.

compared to 4x6 and 4x8 where things seem pretty dry. granted her neck/chest skin looks a little wet, varyingly, but she could be sweating a lot which is a heart attack symptom.

look, you cannot lie on a table in a wet wetsuit without leaving a wet spot on the table when you get up. you also cannot haul a dripping wet person out of a tub of water and plop them down on a table without leaving some drips along the floor from point A to point B.

either more time elapses than we think - enough for her to dry - between the onset and treatment of El's heart attacks (which makes no sense)

or maybe it's straitjacket time: that's not the same girl.

we never do actually see them fish her out of the tank in any of these scenes. what if the El on the table isn't necessarily the same El as the one in the tank?

idk but there's something is weird about this part where Owens sees El having a heart attack in the tank and is yelling at Brenner to pull her out, and not only is Brenner not in a hurry, but he doesn't seem to want to at all. he never agrees. the scene just ends like this.

if they indeed just have this one chance to save the world, this one girl, why isn't Brenner in a hurry to preserve her life?

Brenner: "if you are lost, so are we all" also Brenner: sees Humanity's Only Chance having a heart attack and orders no action to save her

I'm back in my twingate era yall. except there might be like 4 of her.

[phanfictioncatalogue]

Dark Magic Masterlist

A New Journey (ao3) - your_starless_eyes

Summary: Meet Daniel Howell and Phil Lester- two very different people. Dan is from a merchant class family, while Phil is from a working class family. Both have their secrets, things they wouldn't dare tell anyone.

Dan isn't interested in keeping up the family business, in prolonging the family line. It's mundane and boring being a shopkeeper. It's not for him- he doesn't want it, anyway.

Phil's is a little more serious, a little more deadly. He's an experienced sorcerer, able to conjure something out of nothing with a thought.

Their lives collide in a very strange way, though, and they might find they have a little more in common than they'd originally thought.

Blessed with a Curse (ao3) - Mi_Munson

Summary: A prince accidentally wrongs a wizard and is cursed so that no woman shall ever love him. Fortunately, the prince is gay and now that the wizard is a little calmer he notices that the prince is super cute.

Sparks fly, and not because of a magic spell.

Déjà Vu (ao3) - xawesometrio

Summary: Daniel Howell was born with the curse of immortality and the only way to break that curse is to meet his soulmate twice and fall in love twice. He has already met Philip once and now he must wait for the chance to find him again.

A/N: Yes, I did put character death as a warning in the description, but that is just for Philip dying the first time (he comes back, hence reincarnation). This story will have a happy ending, I promise! I wanted to include that as a warning just in case though!

Hold the Weight of Worlds (ao3) - letspartyrightnow

Summary: The curse could only be unleashed by a life being taken. Dan still remembered the blood, the screams, the terror in his mother’s eyes. The rush of power and strength that consumed him after, right when the curse was coursing through his body, and how it was unimaginable, painful, yet liberating.

That’s what scared him the most.

Light Meets Dark (ao3) - PHILosophy97

Summary: Takes place during the Wizard War.

Dan, a Slytherin, is forced to perform an unforgivable curse on a Hufflepuff, however he finds afterwards that perhaps you can find a friend in the most unlikely place.

love me in your dreams (ao3) - thelesterhowells

Summary: "Love. A word that Dan thought about way too often. Pretty much every night. A word that other people were allowed to feel freely and limitless. A word that was just a word to Dan, but never more. Never an emotion."

But how can Dan ever explain that he isn't allowed to love?

Magic Shop (ao3) - your_starless_eyes

Summary: It made sense that Dan would need time to recover from the tour, just the same as Phil. It was logical reasoning.

How was he supposed to know? How was Phil supposed to know that it was, in fact, a bigger issue than he could imagine?

No Nicer Witch Than You (ao3) - inevera13

Summary: A black cat with hazel eyes has decided to plague Phil, a witch living peacefully in the middle of the forest. Phil decidedly hates the cat! ...until it goes missing.

Pixie Dust and Fairytales (ao3) - DreamingFandoms

Summary: There are Stories told to Children at night, quiet whispers to children to get them to sleep peaceful and ignore the world around them, all based of truths, though many aren't told in their stories. but One thing that is for sure is that most stories are better told as history then Fiction.

From a Heartbroken Blacksmith to a Prince dreaming to be a Knight, with Witches, Kings, Knights, and more to tell their own Tales that mix and Mingle to form one big Tale.

Of Pixiedust and Fairytales.

Seaspell (ao3) - orphan_account

Summary: A kiss, a curse, a quest. When Dan discovers that the prince of his kingdom and childhood best friend, Phil, has been been hidden away in the castle for years after his disappearance, he quickly understands why. A curse has been passed down through the Lester family for generations, marking Phil with magic and transforming him into a creature of the waves and sea, forcing him to hide from a kingdom that is afraid of the unknown. But curses are made to be broken, and Dan joins him on a journey across the ocean to find the Witch that cast the spell, as his own growing feelings and a hidden danger rise to the surface.

Spells and Other Life Skills (ao3) - Allthephils, CamCam774 (orphan_account), itsmyusualphannie (itsmyusualweeb)

Summary: Or How Dan and Phil got their TV back.

Steal My Heart (steal my whole life too) - ineverhadmyinternetphase, auroraphilealis

Summary: Captain of the Royal Guard and Prince of Morellia, Philip Lester has never been given the chance to find love. Instead, he’s run from a system that works to end class differences and improve equality for its citizens. Happy as he is to make the world a better place, Phil can’t help feeling bitter towards his ancestors for making it impossible for him to find someone who will actually love him for more than just his title, and strives instead for a life of justice and doing good - only to meet his match in the King of Thieves, a man who will change everything he once thought he knew in life. Together, they must depart on a quest to save the kingdom, and, in the process, destroy their differences and find their own form of love.

The Meeting Place (It's a Pastel/Punk Thing) (ao3) - AnotherPhanficWriter

Summary: Pretty boy Dan is a little pastel wearing homosexual (out and proud) and can't wait to go to university in the next few months, while his punk bad ass neighbor and classmate, Phil, wants nothing more than to cause havoc, ruin plans, party and smoke. Dan and Phil go on a school trip and on the way back are in the St Pancras train station next to The Meeting Place statue, this is where the two boys are placed under a spell. The two wake up the next day to find that they've switched bodies.

[unhingedhearties]

I'm Not Even Supposed to Be Here Today

I should be getting ready for a big family event (that of course has to happen while the new season airs. Good thing there's space on the TV to record the rest of the season) but then THIS catches my eye, and I can't not share it:

I see the name Writer Janine so I know this is going to be good.

Oh! It's been a post or two since I've explained it, so here's a refresher for those who don't know who Writer Janine is. Writer Janine is the Heartie who wasted no time calling Lucabeth breaking up a massacre right after a real world massacre happened and when asked to rethink her choice of words since it was grossly inappropriate, doubled down because the slaughter of innocent people half a world over means nothing to her.

Never. Ever. Forget. That.

So this is what this brilliant mind wrote:

You'll notice a lot of the same words get reused. Hmm... I feel like I've pointed this out before 🤔

Wow, it's almost like Mei and Mike are in love or something. It's almost like Mei's only ever been in an abusive relationship and Mike's in his first real relationship and they're both nervous and happy about it. But other people (real or fictional) can't be happy. That's not allowed! Not when Team Lucas fans are still hurting 7 freaking months after their soap opera didn't end the way they wanted.

Bill Avery... lousy inspector *literally travels to the scene of the crime & figures out Pike's testimony doesn't add up with nothing more than a stopwatch and his own 2 feet.*

😂 This woman watched WCTH, believes this and actually thinks she's a writer. It's like a dog thinking it's people.

disloyal, disloyal, disloyal etc...

Janine, this show doesn't take place on Kashyyyk and the cast isn't made up of Wookiees. No one has a life debt to Lucas. Especially when they've known Elizabeth far longer. And yes, Lucas is a fraud, a crook and con. I'm sorry him being interesting triggers you this much. We like us some bad boys here, not neutered down tea sippers. It's time for him to dip into the whiskey and have a real drink like a man's man.

Little Jack easily transfers affections from his dad for half his life to mom's new guy.

Okay, I've got to say this first. White Americans have the weirdest relationship with the concept of "community". You all claim to want it, you cry about how it apparently doesn't exist anymore, you idolize some long-gone concept of community from "the good old days", but when you actually see what a loving, supportive community of people is (usually from *gasp* large immigrant families) you fall apart. Community isn't going to your mega church once a week to gossip about which families looked at you the wrong way or aren't raising their children in a way you approve of. It's family and friends you trust pitching in, going out of your way to lend your time and help when someone needs it instead of just sending "thoughts and prayers", and doing what you can to create a positive environment not just for your kids, but all the kids around you. Especially with kids that are experiencing difficult circumstances like, I don't know, one parent leaving or dying. Like Elizabeth and LJ.

I remember 30 years ago when people were quoting the phrase "It Takes A Village To Raise A Child" like they were profound scholars, but never put it into practice because the reality of what that means sent them into a tizzy. That's why I love Faith looking after Lilly and the whole Daycare Center plot. Everyone pitches in to help the kids and community grow.

A four year old boy having several positive male role models in his life isn't going to harm him. Lucas wasn't LJ's "dad" for half his life, he was his buddy. And his buddy is still a positive influence in his life. And if it surprises you that LJ has affection for the Mountie that's kind to him and shares the same job as his biological father, I don't know what to tell you (besides that you're a shit writer if you didn't see that coming).

Anyway, how about some of the responses:

Oh Lynne, you sweet summer child. I wish I had your optimism.

Oh my God, we're still doing this!?

Team Lucas Stop Deflecting And Actually Address The Horrible Behavior From Your Side Challenge: Impossible.

Stop. You do not want to be this kind of person. You need to stop ignoring when a handful of people you agree with do awful things and you need to stop bring up the awful behavior of the handful of lunatics from the side you hate as deflection. If you live your life like this, it will come back to bite you in the ass. If you really want to keep acting like this though, I have no problem pinning the reprehensible behavior of people like Janine and Liz onto all Lucas fans. If you want to be this way, I can start saying all Lucas fans think the massacres in the middle east aren't that big of a deal and that Ben Rosenbaum raising money to fight MS really pisses them off. The choice is yours.

"talks down on her ex's love language"

AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH! I've ranted enough on this post and don't have time to go into this, so I'll leave it up to people who have said it before and better than I could: Love Language is bullshit part 1

Love Language is bullshit part 2

Love Language is bullshit part 3

Love Language is bullshit part Just Go Here

[cosmicjoke]

What do you think about ash’s fate on banana fish? On one hand, he will no longer suffer and did die knowing that at least one person cared about him. On the other hand, it is death and he doesn’t have a chance for a happier future either. I kind of dislike how some people say that ash suffered so much that he was better off dead. The ending feels so tragic but people dying suddenly and unexpectedly happens very often in life.

Hi there,

I've written a few posts about this specifically. Obviously, Ash's death is incredibly tragic, but I also feel it was the only ending that Banana Fish could have and should have had. It's the right ending. I often hear people who complain about the ending say "But it wasn't fair" or "Ash didn't deserve to die", and I'm like, no shit, Sherlock. Nothing that happened to Ash in his life is fair. If you're going to say his death wasn't fair, then you have to say the entire story wasn't fair. But that's the point. Child abuse isn't fair. The consequences of it aren't fair. The fact that any child has to fall through the cracks the way Ash did isn't fair. None of it SHOULD have happened to him, just like no child who in reality ends up homeless or abused should. The entire point behind the story is to show the injustice, cruelty and unfairness of children like Ash ending up where they do.

I feel like the ending is deeply important to the story working as a whole, because by embracing the tragedy of Ash's life and ultimate death, it refuses to let the reader undermine or brush off that tragedy. They don't get to ignore the brutal and horrible reality of the kind of life Ash was forced to live. They don't get to ignore the violence of it, the cruelty of it, the devastation of it, and in the end, the tragedy of it.

I also feel like people who insist that the ending of Banana Fish enforces toxic belief systems about abuse victims having no chance at happiness fail to understand or acknowledge that, for SOME victims of abuse, it's just not that simple or easy to move past what's happened to them. I know that makes a lot of people uncomfortable to hear, but I've heard people who have experienced abuse in their lives say they relate to and love Ash specifically because they see their own struggle to overcome their trauma in Ash's struggle. The fact he isn't, in the end, able to move past it is reflective of a very real percentage of real life abuse victims who aren't ever able to move on. I've talked at length about how this doesn't make them weak, or failures. It just makes them human. Each person has a different capacity and ability to cope with the things that have happened to them. Ash wasn't weak or a failure for being unable to just let go or move beyond what was done to him either. That's what makes Ash such a real and deeply moving character. This insistence by some that if you just work hard enough, or try hard enough, or go to enough therapy, you'll be able to move beyond your trauma is, in my opinion, infinitely more harmful to people who CAN'T move past it than just accepting that they can't, and allowing them that, and acknowledging that what they've been through is too tough and too horrible for them to "get better". Because what are we telling those people when we insist that they CAN get better when they just simply can't? We're telling them they're failures, we're telling them they just aren't doing enough, we're telling them it's some failing in THEM that's preventing them from magically finding happiness. That's not how trauma works.

Some people can't get better. They can't ever move past it. And again, that doesn't make them weak or a failure. It's just an acknowledgment that everyone is different, and has different capacities to cope. It's our own inability or refusal to accept that, that exposes so many's supposed desire to see others "get better" as nothing but it's own selfish coping mechanism, to make US feel better, because it's simply too hard to accept the reality that, for some, certain trauma's just can't be overcome.

And truly, in the end, we should never put pressure on anyone or undermine anyone's trauma and abuse by insisting to them that they can get better, as if they haven't tried, or as if it's that easy. We should never make anyone feel like a failure or like what they've been through isn't that bad by telling them, even badgering them with the notion that all it takes is hard work, and they'll be right as rain.

Again, that's why I feel like the ending of Banana Fish is integral to the story working on the level that it does. Because it shows us, in Ash, those people who couldn't get better, and it shows us that it's okay, and even important, to acknowledge those people. It might make all of us work harder ourselves to prevent anyone from ever having to go through what Ash went through in the first place.