#bonebending

[brucekee135711]

Quali sono i vantaggi principali del bonebending rispetto alla rigenerazione ossea alveolare tradizionale?

I vantaggi principali dell’espansione alveolare con le tecniche di bonebending rispetto alla rigenerazione ossea tradizionale, come la Rigenerazione Ossea Guidata (GBR), includono: 1. Minore necessità di innesti Il bonebending riduce significativamente l’uso di materiali d’innesto, sia autologhi che eterologhi. Mentre la GBR spesso richiede l’applicazione di osso sintetico o organico per…

[den-kunn]

au thought: gods should be more powerful. The 6 gods should be able to destroy a planet if they so desire

[fortunatelyyoungbarbarian]

Thinking about avatar and bending again. Honestly, I believe myself to be quite knowledgeable on the art of bending, but I still have so many questions.

So idk, I hope someone who understands better than me could give me some insight. Also, discussions around bending stiles are really fascinating.

So, I'll just list the ones we know for sure and then some ramblings and ideas I had.

Like last time, I'll go through the bending stiles based on the atla intro because I can.

Also, I'll be basing this on the rules set up in atla, not tlok. Just fyi.

Water

Waterbending (basic)

Swampbending - just bending swamp water? Can they turn it into ice as well? Don't know why they couldn't but we never saw that as far as I'm aware

Plantbending (?) - not sure if that's the name, but I'm referring to that one guy who bended vines in the swamp. About that, how far does that go? Just vines? I'm no plant expert but I'm sure there are a lot of plants that have the same amount of water in them like vines. So they should bend them too, shouldn't they? That seemingly doesn't take the power of the moon to do that as well.

Bloodbending - the good shit. Being able to control a living being by taking control over the water in their blood. Works only under the full moon (again, I'll be ignoring tlok for this). The question I have here is how far that goes. Theoretically, could they control a corpse? As long as it has blood in it still, of course. Again, I'm no doctor, so idk how long a person keeps their blood after death. Could they constrict the blood flow and make appendages die off? Clod a vein or so? Make someone experience a heartattack?

Sweatbending - bending sweat. Duh. But does that mean they can bend urine? I'm sure they can bend tears.

Cloudbending

They can suck out the water out of stuff as Hama shows Katara. So can they suck out the water out of people? Dry out our eyes? Idk, stuff like that. I don't know why they shouldn't be able to do so

Mistbending - I don't know if that's in the show tbh. But it should be pretty much like cloudbending so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Earth

First of all, I don't know what the fuck earth really is. Like I googled it, but I'm still confused. So if someone could clear that up for me, I would appreciate it a lot xD.

Earthbending (basic)

Sandbending

Metalbending - they should be able to bend weapons, right? Like swords. They can levitate swords. They can fight from a distance with a sword.

Lavabending

Crystalbending - I'm talking about Aang when they were in Ba Sing Se, when he made himself an armour out of the crystals. That opens the question on what earth really is. Like it's minerals, isn't it? Idk about that. But if you can bend minerals, that means they can bend a lot more, can't they? Again, they could make weapons with that and use them as I explained with metalbending.

Colebending - can they make diamonds out of them? I don't see why not, diamonds are just cole with a lot of pressure. But does that mean they could bend diamonds?

Mudbending - self-explanatory imo. But could they separate the earth part from the water? I think so

Glassbending - I've heard about this before from the fandom, but idk. Is glass the same as sand or does it change it's... uh... element? Idk. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Bonebending - I've heard that a few times as well but idk. As I said, I'm not sure what earth even is and I also don't know what bones are as well soo ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Symmetric sense - don't know if it counts as bending tho

Fire

Firebending (basic)

Lightningbending

Combinationbending

Mistbending - I mean, mist is basically hot water right? So could they bend the heat there and bend the mist through that?

Heatbending - with that I mean being able to put heat into stuff and suck it out. I would say fire-breathing counts as well. Again, I don't see why they couldn't.

Lavabending - I would use the same explanation as for the mistbending. Again, idk if that would be possible, but it's a neat idea I've seen around the fandom a few times.

Chibending - this is something I'm again not sure about but hear me out: We got chi-blocking, granted, it's from Ty Lee and a lot of people theorise that she's an airbender decent so that could come from there. But at the same time, lightningbending and lightning redirection rely heavily on chi. So that gave me the idea that maybe they can bend their own chi and the chi of others? On the other hand, chi could also be something that everyone has. That would mean that everyone can redirect lightning, wouldn't it though? Again, idk, just a thought.

Heat... sight? - basically, couldn't they feel/ see the heat from living beings? Similar to the symmetric sense?

Air

Honestly, I don't have that much on airbending so my bad ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Airbending (basics)

Sucking air out - like out of lungs or stuff

Temperature regulation

Flight

Earthbending - Ok, listen. Rocks have air bubbles in them, right? So could they bend the air in them and move rocks? They could also blow them up through that, right? Again, just spit balling.

Firebending - again, fire needs air, so could they manipulate fire through air?

Waterbending - same thing here ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Spirit stuff idk - airbenders were the most spiritual so maybe they could spirit bend or something idk.

Again, I would love to hear what other think. A lot of those things are also just ramblings and ideas and I'm no genius so keep that in mind.

[gatesofember]

Good parts:

Will canonically wears shorts to Tartarus. Like an idiot.

Will likes putting things in pockets. I like to imagine that he collects rocks and seashells and twigs that he thinks look cool.

Nico collects little bones in his pockets. they both like putting things in pockets ig. I think that’s sweet of them. couples who put things in pockets together stay together.

Nico is a bonebender now

some of those dream sequences went hard

Hiss-Majesty

Nico has cool new scars

there are funny little creatures

Will’s much-hyped “inner darkness” and “plague powers” only go as far as hay fever which I find hilarious because it’s just so lame

Bad parts:

the word Percabeth was said in canon

“ball of darkness” “night light” “death boy”

“sun and star” “sun and star” “sun and star”

Percy was called straight again when we all know he’s not

Worst parts:

pov time was unbalanced and Will got very few sections, which contributed to him being a much less well-rounded character than Nico

inconsistencies with previous books and even inconsistencies within the book itself

Will’s issues with abandonment and inferiority were barely addressed and his character arc came out underdone—his development revolved around his acceptance of Nico rather than personal growth, implying that his purpose as a character is merely to be Nico’s boyfriend.

coming out party?????

first kiss BAD

a primordial goddess had children with a 15-year-old

[prinscar]

Avatar-Marioverse where Mario is thought to be the avatar until he gets (half-)killed and Luigi turns out to be the avatar, except that everyone taught Mario how to control his power, whereas Luigi was taught nothing other than how to increase his own power

It turns out that Luigi's avatar power was being channeled through Mario for the world's safety

And now an Avatar Luigi produces bending such as the world has never seen (honorary mention: bonebending)

People should have known when Luigi kept saying he didn't understand why there were separate branches of bending and why other things such as wood or bodies or souls were supposed not to be bend-able

[froggybirdtaco]

Can i go to ellie and mason HOUSE 💜

Unrelated to what I usually post but quirk ideas for just in cas

Needles - Transformation

The user can create small needle like objects around their hands and wrists. The needles are sharp and can be fired out of the users arms at high speeds.

Quirk names /and or villian/hero names

1. NeedleStrike

2. SharpShooter

3. SpeedNeedle

4. SwiftSpike

5. PrecisionPierce

6. DartDash

7. BladeBolt

8. SpikeStorm

9. NeedleNinja (ITS BAD I KNOW SU)

10. FastPoint

2. Sharpshot

3. Quicksilver Needles

4. Swiftneedle

5. Razorburst

6. Spikeblitz

7. Dartstorm

8. Thornstrike

9. Velocity Needles

10. Stingerburst

…………….

Psychoweaponization

Ability to create weapons/items that while look and feel real are really just illusions and trick the brain into the feelings caused. Can still cause the mental health problems causes by illusionary damage. Ie: illusory death by flamethrower still kills person, just doesnt have any actual burns.

Quirk names /and or villian/hero names

1. Mirage Maker

2. Illusionary Arsenal

3. Phantom Forge

4. Deceptive Armory

5. Psyche Weapons

6. Illusory Artillery

7. Mind Trick Arsenal

8. Mirage Munitions

9. Illusionary Ordnance

10. Psychedelic Armaments

.…………….

Efialtiskinesis

The ability to enter and manipulate others nightmares.

Quirk names /and or villian/hero names

1. DreamWeaver

2. NightmareShaper

3. SleepSculptor

4. FearBender

5. DarkDreamer

6. NightfallManipulator

7. ShadowDreamer

8. NightmareWhisperer

9. DreamTamer

10. Sleepwalker's Curse

.……………

Dermakinesis

The ability to control skin.

Quirk names /and or villian/hero names

1. SkinShift

2. Dermawield

3. Epidermancer

4. Skintwist

5. Dermakinetic

6. SkinSculptor

7. Dermamancer

8. Dermawave

9. Skinfusion

10. Epidermalist

11. Skin Shaper

12. Epidermal Empower

13. Dermis Dynamo

14. Cutaneous Control

15. Pore Proficient

16. Melanin Master

17. Dermakinesis Diva

18. Follicle Force

19. Epithelial Enchanter

20. Sebaceous Sorcerer

(sorry)

………………….

Osteokinesis.

The ability to control bones

Quirk names /and or villian/hero names

1. Bonebender

2. OsteoMaster

3. Skelekinetic

4. OsteoShift

5. BoneManipulator

6. OsteoMage

7. SkeletalShaper

8. OsteoWielder

9. BoneWhisperer

10. OsteoControl

……………

Lexiconicy

Transforms written words into the actual object or element.

Quirk names /and or villian/hero names

1. Textmorpher

2. Wordweaver

3. Scriptshifter

4. Verbivore

5. Pagebender

6. Fontcaster

7. Syntaxsorcerer

8. Linguamorph

9. Glyphwielder

10. Letterlithifier

11. Texttransmuter

12 Fontforge

13. Syntaxshift

14. Verbverser

15. Grammargrafter

16. Prosepolymorph

17. Linguilithifier

I KNOW it's bad but shut the fuck up pls with a cherry on top with whipped cream and little sprinkles

[transboysokka]

Idk if you’ve read people in the mirror by nele on ao3 if that’s your thing (it’s jeeko) but the author has some super cool ideas abt firebender sex and like how they can sort of “feel” through their inner flame and push and pull with another firebender’s. Like soul-sex. I just think that’s neat. I don’t rly ship any firebenderxfirebender but boy I wish I did bc soul sex esp with like someone who struggles with emotional intimacy (cough Zuko cough) would be so cool 2 read

Not *my* headcanon but *someones* headcanon lolol

omg i dont know how this one slipped through the cracks

NO i havent read it but i love when ANYONE pushes the bounds of bending as we know it like in general like bonebending or heatbending or creating light (i cannot for the life of me remember the zuko fic that has that) but writers exploring these concepts with SEX omg amazing sign me up, you're right the concepts of the stuff with inner flame and chi and lol soul sex wowwwwww!!!!

[thewhitefluffyhat]

State of the Blog 01.01.23

Taking a quick break from queues for an announcement: Happy New Year, all!

For this state of the blog update, I’ve decided to show my hand a bit and list every one of the many projects I’ve been kicking around. Think of this as a kind of New Year’s Resolution, perhaps? I certainly won’t get to all of these, but I’m making it my goal in the coming year to at least finish a few!

(And yes, if one of these piques your interest, feel free to reply/message/reblog/etc. No guarantees, but it would certainly move it up in priority!)

Multichapter Fanfics

-If the Fifth Found Out: AU in which the Reverend Parents invite a Fifth adept over to exorcize Wake’s revenant. Abigail and Magnus then proceed to discover a war crime, report a war crime, and adopt a war crime in the aftermath. (Or they try to, anyway. It’s complicated, they only manage to get Gideon at first.)

-The Mysterious Curse of Castle Drearburh: Rumor has it that any suitor who seeks the Reverend Daughter’s hand in marriage is cursed to die soon after. Cam and Pal therefore put on their detective hats to investigate… by using negotiations for Camilla’s marriage to Harrowhark as cover! A Canon Divergence/Fake Arranged Marriage/Mystery AU, where determining the divergence event is part of the mystery. Also featuring: my aroace Cam headcanons, and eventual Griddlehark.

-Butterfly Daze: Seemingly typical Griddlehark Modern/College AU with a supernatural twist. But is Kiriona’s new roommate a vampire? A cryptid? A ghost? Or just a normal, if traumatized kid? Turns out the answer is none of the above… and John, the loving father who has always been part of Kiriona’s life, may know more than he’s letting on.

-Puella Magi Nonagesimus 💀 Magica: Crossover with the setting of magical girl series Madoka Magica, and a continuation of this snippet. TL;DR: magical girls as an excuse for a Time Travel AU. The story is split  between the present day survivors in the wreckage of Canaan House, where Harrow and Gideon learn the ins and outs of being a magical girl while bodysharing, and Harrow’s wish-induced dreams of the past, where she and Gideon try to forge a better timeline.

Fanfic Oneshots, in order of more silly to more serious

-harrowhark nonagesimus does not like pizza: God orders pizza for the Lyctors on the Mithraeum. (Somehow.) This goes over exactly as well as you’d expect.

-Effervescent: In which Abigail is very confused as 200 dead Ninth children (led by a handful of shitty teens among them) attempt to crash Harrow’s River Bubble AU party.

-Growing Pains: Character study of ~13 year old Harrow, in which Gideon gets her first period and assumes (quite logically) that it must be another of Harrow’s attempts to kill her.

-All That Glitters: Harryanthe Arranged Marriage AU, where Harrow is running the riskiest puppet show of her life on the Third, Ianthe is initially pissed her dad is marrying her off to some weak-willed nun, and Yakety Sax is probably playing in the background as clueless narrator Coronabeth keeps dragging both of them off to various social events.

-Reverend Daughter for a Day: Back in their bodies and on the Ninth for [insert vague handwavy reasons], Harrow proposes that she and Gideon switch places. For one day, Harrow will be the servant and obey any orders Gideon gives her. No refusals, no limits. Naturally, everything that can go wrong, does go wrong.

Misc Projects

-Keep a Consistently Active Tumblr: For whatever reason, actually posting things as opposed to lurking is a major struggle for me, but let’s see how long I can keep this up! I’ve still got a few more analysis rambles on the backburner, and plenty of material for themed queues… the trick will be crossing that last step and actually putting them up.

-Gideon: The Last Bonebender: You know those “if TLT was written by a straight, cis dude, what would be changed?” satire posts? Imagine if instead, Gideon the Ninth was adapted for Hollywood by a straight, cis director. Just how bad could it be? Note: this is the closest project to being finished, but needs reworking to be less cynical and depressing. Oops...

-Gideon the Ninth for D&D 5e: A homebrew module that uses GtN as a jumping off point for a spooky dungeon and murder mystery adventure. Try your hand at the other Lyctor puzzles! Play out a full cavalier tournament between all the Houses! Attempt and probably fail to save Jeannemary and Isaac from their fate!  …And yes, someone’s going to have to become a Lyctor at the end. Not happening while the owners of D&D are being jerks, that’s for sure.

-TLT Fanfic Rec Lists:  At the moment, I’m up to August 2022 in my chronological journey through the AO3 TLT tag. And once I’ve caught up, I’ll have recs to share! Not sure if it would be better to do longer / broader topic lists, or lots of weird and hyper-specific themes like “Gideon Joins the Cohort AUs” or “Life on the Sixth” or “In Which Ianthe Is There.” Maybe a mix of both?

[justanotherthrowaway1950]

Sozin already did that in "The Avatar and the Fire Lord" when he cooled the lava.

The following is from "The Avatar and the Fire Lord" transcript: "Cut to an aerial view of the two volcanoes. Sozin and Roku ride on the Fire Lord's dragon's back to the second volcano. Cut to Roku bending the fire fountain down into the crater. Cut to Sozin balanced on the mouth of the vent, as he cools the lava by absorbing the heat, passing it through himself, and redirects out through his other hand. "

So the only question is whether or not it is possible to do that to humans. Cause if I remember correctly, F.C. Yee wanted bonebending to be a subset of earthbending, but one of Bryke shut him down, even though bones are made of minerals and earthbenders can obviously bend them, due to it being too gruesome. So maybe Bryke won't canonize (human on human) heatbending due to its inherent gruesomeness.

Heatbending as a form of Sub-Bending

So! Fire sub-bending is way more lame than it should be- lighting is awesome, cool, amazing yeah yeah- but I propose an idea:

The sun warriors said something along the lines that fire is life, and that it’s in everything if I remember correctly. So: What If firebenders could bend (absorb) heat? They can redirect lighting, and they draw they’re fire from the sun, a giant flaming source of heat. It wouldn’t be far-fetched (I think.)

So as you can see in my visual aid: a fire bender could hypothetically freeze someone to death (ironic), though I’m not sure how accessible this would be — it can be anywhere between bloodbending-rare to metalbending-common really.

[brucekee135711]

Sei un chirurgo orale/maxillo-facciale o un parodontologo e cerchi un modo per migliorare in modo predicibile e sistematico il tessuto osseo e la mucosa cheratinizzata intorno ai tuoi impianti osseointegrati?

Come chirurgo, spesso hai bisogno di interventi di aumento osteo-mucoso per gli impianti che inserisci. Puoi immaginare un sistema che ti permetta, caso dopo caso, di far avvenire tale aumento avvenga in modo naturale e sempre affidabile dall’interno della compagine alveolare? Puoi immaginare tecniche chirurgiche che ti permettano di ottenere risultati rapidi ed eccellenti con un disagio…

[wolfeyedwitch]

And Still, Part 12

No. 24 - ONE DOWN TWO TO GO

self-induced injuries to escape | flashback | revenge

This one gets.... rough. Read the tags at the end to decide if you want to read it; let me know if you want a summary that will skip over the self-induced injuries. This one is also really long, so for that and the "please read the tags in case you have triggers or squicks" I added a read-more. The tags have spoilers. CW: solitary confinement, referenced (obliquely) torture, sleep deprivation, mild (I think?) body horror, mouth horror, teeth.

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9, Part 10, Part 11

Masterlist

“You get to rot in this cell until you change your mind.”

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

Lynnura did not enjoy boredom.

She had never liked being bored. She had always wanted to move, to read, to learn, to do something; sitting around doing nothing was a foreign concept to her. Avery joked that she would only stay seated if someone was sitting on her. She liked having things to do, and she didn’t have the most patience.

Which meant that solitary confinement was a particular type of hell.

She had no one she could talk to, not even the guards who delivered her meals. She had nothing to do. They wouldn’t give her so much as a pencil to doodle with for fear that she would use it against them. (Which, to be fair, she would have. Pencil lead was just graphite; with enough concentration, she could control it.)

She needed to make a plan before she lost her mind.

She had to keep herself busy, stay focused, and figure a way out of here. Avery would be trying to break in to save her, and she needed to get out before that happened. She couldn’t let her beloved get anywhere near this place, near these people who considered her an expendable asset.

Lyn had been trained on how to deal with being held prisoner as part of her time with Heroes League: survive, evade, resist, escape. SERE. That training had always assumed that the hostiles would be villains of some sort, though, not a well funded and well known company like Corporation. A good bit of what she learned wouldn’t be applicable. She was more or less in a high tech, high security jail. They wanted information, but they were content to wait her out in solitary for it—for the moment. Whether they’d resort to torture eventually—well, she would learn that soon enough.

And she wouldn’t be doing anyone any good if she lost her head. She took a few deep breaths and focused on calming down.

Okay. She could do this.

First off: find any material she could manipulate with her powers. They had strip-searched her when she was first captured, and taken all of her little jewelry pieces and trinkets that doubled as tools she could use with her powers, so she had to find new sources. Unfortunately, Corporation had planned this cell to be able to hold a geokinetic. Nothing here was rock or stone; it was all metal or plastic. As much as she would like to emulate the great Toph Beifong and suddenly be able to metalbend, she knew it wasn’t going to happen. She was even on a high floor, far enough away from the ground that she couldn’t sense it.

Why couldn’t they have been idiots and put me in an underground cell instead?

Okay. That was a bust for now. She would keep trying; maybe someone would be dumb enough to bring something she could use into the isolation zone around her cell. Implausible, but not impossible.

In the meantime, she would keep herself busy with whatever physical activity she could manage in such a small space. Push-ups, sit-ups, flexibility training, and anything else she could think of.

Lastly: figure out how well this place was monitored. It wouldn’t do to get her hands on material she could manipulate, just for it to be noticed on a camera and immediately confiscated.

This was going to be a challenge.

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

By the time Marcus had come to pay her a visit, Lynnura had been subjected to sleep deprivation due to lights, sound, and temperature fluctuations, as well as a variety of stress positions. Nothing that would permanently harm her, but definitely enough to make her life even more miserable.

She had gotten lucky once on materials; a small piece of… something… had been brought into the very edge of her power’s radius. She had managed to get it halfway to her before it was caught. It turned out that one of the female lab techs had come to work wearing earrings with ceramic decorations; she had ripped them directly from the woman’s head, causing a good deal of damage. She heard the guards talking about it after they escorted her to one of her not-considered-torture-under-the-Geneva-Convention sessions.

She had to be smarter about how she did things. And as much as she hated that she injured someone, she needed to make peace with the fact that getting out of there might mean hurting more people.

Okay. So. Ceramics were new. Those meditation sessions were paying off after all. She had begun spending time each day meditating on her powers, on their reach and control, as a sort of practice without materials. Lyn had learned young that her powers were easier to control with daily practice, and had experimented with the upper limits of her powers for quite a while: how much she could manipulate at once, what all she could do with it, stuff like that. This was a different type of limit: how small of something could she control, how far away she could grasp it.

She had been experimenting with her fine control before, such as Avery’s ring; it took a good bit of concentration to be able to not only make a ring that was the perfect size, but also specific types of quartz. So she was familiar with the concept that “earth powers” could include more things than just throwing rocks around, but she hadn’t expected to be able to control ceramics.

That led her to an idea. A terrible, terrible idea that she wished she had never had; one that, in any other circumstance, she would have passed off as an intrusive thought and never considered again.

Here though, locked in this aggressively sterile and modern cell, she didn’t have the luxury of being squeamish.

Her idea was this: would bones be considered close enough to “earth” for her to control?

It was awful. She didn’t want to be able to do such things. Bloodbending was horrifying enough; she didn’t need to invent bonebending!

I am not turning myself into a kids show villain. I will not lose my morals over this. Even if this is possible, I will find a way to do it without hurting anyone with my powers.

Without any other sources, she experimented with herself. By now she knew all the cameras in her cell, and knew that she was being constantly monitored. She refused to give her captors any clue that she had come up with an idea for escape, so she kept with her same routines. She did all of her physical exercises, talked and sang out loud for her enjoyment and their annoyment, and finally came to her daily meditation session.

This is just a test, she reminded herself. She could figure out what bones she would be willing to sacrifice to the cause after she learned if this would even work. It might not.

But it just might.

She started as always with slowing her breathing and calming her mind. From there, she turned her focus inwards, tapping into the source of her powers, whatever that might be. Her room came into its usual focus, all dull colors to her inner eye: nothing for her powers to latch on to. She ignored it, ignored her usual practice of testing the range of her control, and turned her powers towards herself.

Could she do it?

It’s just another type of rock, she told herself. You taught yourself how to manipulate those. It’s just another type of rock, one that you have to focus on slightly differently.

Her body came into the strange focus of her powers. She could feel the matrix that made up her bones, see it glow dully to her inner eye.

Fuck.

It wouldn’t work.

Yes, there were compounds similar to rocks in human bones, but she had forgotten a little anatomy fact. Bones aren’t solid. They’re mostly fucking hollow. They’re filled with all sorts of lovely things like bone marrow, with barely enough minerals there for her powers to even sense, let alone control.

The only bones that she might be able to pull from would be big ones: femurs, humeruses, scapulae, sternum, pelvis. None of those were exactly something she could afford to fuck around with! She had been hoping she could maybe sacrifice a pinky to the cause, and get out of here with 9 fingers and her freedom. If she messed with those bones, she would likely cripple herself! She needed to be able to get out after using the material to pick the lock on her door. That wasn’t an option.

There… was something else, though.

Teeth.

She hadn’t even considered the fucking teeth. It made sense though; they were primarily a calcium compound, if she remembered correctly. That was pretty close to limestone, which was easy enough to work with.

32 escape options, right in her mouth.

She had to think about this.

Lyn was honest enough with herself to admit that it occurred to her to use other people for this. The guards came by twice a day with food; that was plenty close enough to use her powers. The deciding factor in her internal debate wasn’t whether or not it was morally acceptable, but rather that pulling teeth from other people would be extremely noticeable. It would get her escape attempt stopped before she even started. It was an uncomfortable realization that if she could have gotten away with it, she would have been willing to do it.

Once she got out, Lyn was going to need so much therapy.

Have to get out first, though.

It took her a few days to get enough courage to even test the theory. She started by just feeling around; nothing drastic, just trying to see if it would even work. It wasn’t any more force than she could generate by poking at them with her tongue.

And it worked.

That was one part of a plan down. Now, she just had to figure out the rest.

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

The door on her cell locked with a techno-mechanical monstrosity of a lock. It seemed to read something from the key, maybe an RFID, and check that it had the correct whatever-it-was before allowing the key to turn and open her cell. She wouldn’t be able to do anything with that.

The actual locking mechanism, though, was a deadbolt. That, she could work with. If she had enough material, she could shear through the deadbolt, and the door would swing freely.

The problem after that, though, was getting out of the building. She turned the problem over in her head for a while before coming to a solution.

Corporation had built her a nice, solid cell in one of their buildings. The surrounding areas were cleared of anything she could use her powers on. But fundamentally, this building wasn’t a prison—it was an office building. There were no safeguards against escape outside of the one little wing she was kept in. If she managed to get out of that section, she could get to a fire escape route and just walk right out.

This was all assuming she didn’t get caught while she was still inside the building. This escape wouldn’t be stealthy; she wasn’t a mimic, and there were cameras everywhere. But if she timed it right, she could maybe steal a lab coat or something to disguise the fact that she didn’t belong there. It might buy her enough time to get out of the building and at least partially out of the city before they realized just where she had gone.

She had the pieces in place. She had a plan, as flimsy as it might be.

Now she just… had to get her materials.

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

Pulling teeth was a classic torture move.

And Lynnura was going to do it to herself.

More than that—she had to do it while making it seem like everything was fine, because she had no privacy. She planned to do it during her meditation, then do some sleight-of-hand to get the tooth out of her mouth and into her pillowcase, where she would be able to hide it as she practiced with the new material. But for it to work, she had to keep from showing any signs that she was in pain.

She wished she could pull this off without needing to pull the whole tooth. But in the long run, it would be better to pull the tooth entirely than mess with the enamel composition, especially as she didn’t have any practice with the material yet.

There was nothing for it. She knew what she had to do, now she just… needed to do it.

She started her meditation as always, then turned her attention to her mouth. It couldn’t be any of the front teeth, their absence would be too noticeable. So she would have to go for the hardest teeth to pull: the molars.

She examined the tooth with her powers, taking in just how it sat in her gums, the four roots that extended deep into her jawbone. She surrounded it with her power—and pulled.

If she had to pick the worst part, Lyn would say it was the sound. The crack as her jawbone finally gave up its hold on the roots of the tooth was impossibly loud in her ears, and she had to work to keep her face blank. It hurt, of course; she had expected it, but it still managed to catch her off guard with its intensity. The crack was accompanied by a bloom of pain that radiated through her entire cheek, making her bones ache with it. The tooth fell onto her tongue, and she pushed it to the bottom of her mouth before she could accidentally swallow it along with the surge of blood that was coming from the wound.

She took a slow, deep breath in through her nose, ignoring her frantic desire to pant from the pain and exertion. She had done it. She finally had something to use for her powers.

With any luck, she’d only need the one to get out of there.

--

She needed three.

--

After far too long of hiding her experimentation and pain, Lynnura was finally ready to make a break for it. She had spent the last few days steadily working through the thick metal of the deadbolt, and today she got through the last of it.

The door was unlocked.

She took a deep breath—

And pushed it open.

@heathenville @nonbinary-disaster @kim-poce @whump-world @dolls-circus @pickleking8

[evienyx]

if toph can bend minerals in the ground, is it not a stretch to assume she can bend calcium? and if so, can she then bend teeth? like some sort of freak tooth bender?

Well, I mean, we know that earthbenders can bend crystals. Bumi does it in Season 1, Episode 5, obviously, and then there’s the whole thing with the Dai Li in the Crystal Catacombs. Crystals are minerals, just like calcium, and since earthbenders can bend crystal just fine, technically there is no reason that calcium would be too much.

(I cannot express to you how much it pains me to say that.)

Bones are made mostly of calcium phosphate (also a mineral) and a protein (collagen). Considering earthbenders can also bend things such as mud and metal, which are only part earth, I believe we can say rather confidently that the presence of the protein isn’t going to stop an earthbender from bending the bone, though they would probably need to be more fine-tuned to the earth, like metalbenders, in order to bend it. 

I would say bones would be between earth and metal for ease of bending, not as simple as bending regular earth, but not at all as difficult as bending metal.

So, yeah, I would say a subset of earthbending being, like, Bonebending would not be much of a stretch, though I feel it would definitely be put up with bloodbending in terms of, like, how bad it is (at least when used against someone else), since bones take forever to heal and broken ones are awful. On the other hand, could be used for healing broken bones? That could be very useful, especially since bones take so long to heal.

The answer to your question, then, is yes. 

Toph, of all people, would be able to bend bones, and therefore teeth, most likely with relative ease, and therefore would be “some sort of freak toothbender.”

This might be one of the worst asks I’ve ever gotten.

Thank you, Reina.

[paleobird]

Ava giggled; she always appreciated a good silly joke. "Heh, yeah, I guess that's a good point. It's like, uh... Bloodebending! But with bones? Bonebending?"

"Is that how they let ye fly in a museum?" He's a real riot. "Dont worry, I know its kinda shiet. Only good fe haunted houses and terrorizing colonizers, honestly. And protecting maself when some against feckers who think I'mma easy target.

Hard ta strongarm someone when yer humerus aint obeying yous no more."

[rolandtowen]

I would like to posit the idea that earthbenders can practice bone-bending, not by bending the calcium of the bones, but by manipulating the iron in bone marrow.

[brucekee135711]

When a tooth is lost, an immediate implant is always the best solution regardless of the bone defect.

Oral surgeons and periodontists doing implants must be careful, but they must be also competent. Ultimately, you must be yourself. I am myself when I give my patients the best possible treatment, in safety. I am myself when I don’t follow the mainstream. I am myself if my treatment is in line with my patient’s expectations and it is also as fast and minimally invasive as possible. It is my…

[wolfeyedwitch]

AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

I LOVE THIS SO MUCH

Also I must get back to our crossover. Lyn may not be able to bonebend (like bloodbending but for earthbenders and bones? Does that make sense? I hope so), but she can work with teeth and abbie and the rest of the team has plenty of them for her to yoink

Beaten

Immortal Cannon Fodder masterlist

Taglist: @extrabitterbrain @wolfeyedwitch

Phoenix finally transfers. But things aren't as simple as just walking out of there...

5.2k

CWs: immortal whumpee, abuse, beating, mentions of being (possibly unintentionally) denied food, broken bones, concussion, plushie whump, belongings whump (for want of a better term), choking

Phoenix packs the tube of capsaicin cream and the box of scrawled reminders into the bottom of their rucksack carefully, then pauses.

They’re transferring to Kai’s team tomorrow, so they need to pack. And they should pack some of the food from the large box under their bed. It’s unlikely they’ll need it, Kai never lets them miss meals if he can help it, but if something happens... if his team does something and he’s not there and doesn’t know... if it gets too much to leave their room... just in case, they should have something.

They rummage around in the bottom of their wardrobe until they find a fairly small plastic box and set about filling it with cereal bars and packets of crisps, a small bottle of ginger beer stuffed down the side. There. That should do until they have more space.

At least, if Kai or Aaron find it, they won’t get angry. But they pack it at the bottom of their rucksack anyway.

Then they stand up, glancing at the door nervously. They really need the toilet now, they’ve been in here for as long as they can, hoping, praying, that they could hold on, that they wouldn’t have to see their teammates before they leave in the morning, but they can’t wait any longer. Maybe they won’t bump into anyone.

It’s not like Abbie can’t come in here whenever she chooses, anyway. If she wants to punish them before they leave, she can. And besides, she wouldn’t want to do anything to them that Kai’s team would see.

Right?

Right.

They’ll be fine. It’s less than 24 hours before they leave, anything Abbie can do to them now Kai would see, and people who don’t already know would see how they’re trained. And Abbie, for some reason, doesn’t like that.

They head to the nearest toilet as fast as they can without running. Okay. Okay. Now to finish, and make it back.

That turns out be more of a problem.

They’re halfway back down the corridor, nearly there, nearly there, when they fall, barely catching themself before they fall on their face.

They try to rise, but they can’t, feeling a boot pressing into the small of their back. It’s a large, solid, leather boot, heavy too.

“Indigo?” they croak as soon as they get their breath back, then add hurriedly, “sir?”

“Yes. It’s me. And Segun.” Phoenix shivers at the malice in her voice. “I want you to listen to me very carefully. You’re not going to tell anyone how you were trained. That’s our secret, and ours alone. And if anyone finds out in some way that’s not through you, you’re not to act all pitiful about it. Because you deserved it, you understand? That was the best way to train you, and it worked.” She presses her boot further into their back. “Do you understand?”

“Yes– yes, sir,” chokes out Phoenix. They know it was for their own good, why are they being beaten up over it?

Segun scoffs. “You’re pathetic. I don’t understand why the agency even took on someone so feeble and worthless in the first place. I think we need to make the lesson sink.”

There’s a sound of agreement and Phoenix is kicked over onto their back. They try to curl up but Segun presses the tip of his trainer under their chin, forcing it back up.

“No. Don’t. Don’t do that, how are we supposed to give you a lesson if you’re hiding?”

“Sorry, sir.”

“Hmm.”

There’s time for Phoenix to take a break and then it starts. Phoenix can feel kicks, and fists maybe too they’re not sure, hitting their chest and arms and legs. They bite their lip and close their eyes against the pained whimpers threatening to emerge. It hurts so much and they don’t even understand what they’ve done wrong this time. There are other ways to remind them not to tell.

The kicks stop for a moment, enough for them to take in a painful, shallow breath, and then a boot comes down hard on their face. They feel a sharp agony in their nose and something warm and wet trickles down their face. Their eyes water, and they can’t stop a pitiful cry of pain, especially when the foot comes down again, on their forehead this time, hard enough to smash their head into the thin carpet. They see stars, eyes streaming now.

There’s laughter and possibly a burst of light (although that could just be their head) and then finally, finally, the footsteps fade away. After a while they’re left with only the pounding in their ears, and the aches and agony everywhere.

As soon as the throbbing in their head’s died down slightly they force themself to stand, holding the wall for balance. They scrub their eyes angrily to get rid of the tears and pull down their sleeves, brushing off the worst of the dirt carefully. Their camouflage will cover the bruises forming on their skin.

They touch the back of their head gingerly. It’s not bleeding. Good.

Kai’s not here but Aaron should be, in the medbay, and Phoenix pushes themself through the corridors, taking the long way round to avoid the possibility of bumping into Segun or Indigo again. Or Abbie, but they don’t think she’s around. They can’t stay in this flat any longer, they know that much. At least... not until they desperately need to pack. They can take a break at least.

When they reach the medbay they lean against the wall, ignoring the pain, looking around for Aaron. It’s not very busy in this section today, most of the nurses are standing around chatting or organising things. Must not be any missions coming back.

“Phoenix?” Phoenix jumps and looks round, wincing as their head pounds at the sudden movement. “I was going to ask if you’re just here for a social call but clearly not. Come and sit down.” They stumble over to the bed and Aaron draws the curtains. “Let me fetch you some painkillers. I’ll be right back.” He starts to walk away but Phoenix grabs their wrist weakly before they can stop themself.

“Don’t go... please.”

“You’re in pain. And don’t tell me that’s not a bootprint on your hoodie.”

“I know but... ’s only bruises... I just need someone. Please.” Their voice breaks on the last word and Aaron sits down, pulling them into a careful hug.

“Okay. Okay, Phoenix, I’m not going anywhere.”

Every sob, every shudder that racks Phoenix’s body hurts, but they can’t stop it. It’s only one more night, they thought they were safe for one night, but they weren’t and it’s too much. It’s not like they would ever tell anyone anyway.

Eventually they calm down enough to pull away, swiping at their eyes and hiccuping. “I– I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to disturb you. Were you busy?”

“Not at all. Just doing some organising while I’ve got the time. But you’re more important than that.” Their mouth twitches. “Want to show me what happened?”

Phoenix nods and pulls off their hoodie, and then their t-shirt too, because that’s where the worst bruises will be. That’s where it hurts the most, aside from their nose of course, they can still feel Indigo’s boot pressing into their back. Then they close their eyes against Aaron’s reaction and let their camouflage go in an icy rush.

“Oh, Phoenix.” There’s no pity in Aaron’s voice and they look up at a soft touch to their back. Their eyes are a mix of concerned and angry – not at them, though, they’ve learned that by now. “They’ve really done a number on you, huh?” Phoenix nods. “Right. Here’s what’s going to happen. You’re gonna stay here tonight. I’ll fetch you some painkillers and something to clean yourself up with, and then collect your stuff, so you don’t have to go back to your team’s quarters. That okay? You be alright for a few minutes on your own? You’re safe here.”

“If– if you’re going,” asks Phoenix tentatively, feeling like a small child and hating it, “will you call Kai? Please? I don’t– I don’t want to be alone for long.”

“Yeah. Yeah, of course.” He squeezes their hand. “I’ll do all that now and be back as soon as I can.” Phoenix nods and Aaron leaves.

Leaves them alone.

They grasp the metal bars of the headboard tightly, taking deep breaths, jumping at every sound. It’s fine, it’s fine, Indigo and Segun can’t get to them here, the staff won’t let them near, it’s fine.

They can’t stop imagining it though. The nurses won’t notice and Indigo and Segun will get them and hurt them again and–

Phoenix yelps as footsteps approach and the curtains open, ducking and bringing their hands up to shield their head.

“Hey, hey, easy. It’s just me. I brought your painkillers.” Phoenix peers up to see Kai, who takes one look at their tear-stained, bloody face and bruised body and pulls them into a careful hug.

“What the hell did those bastards do to you this time?”

_

Aaron’s fuming as he makes his way up to Phoenix’s team’s quarters.

They jumped them. They fucking jumped them. Phoenix hasn’t said as much, but between the jumpiness and not wanting to be left alone and the goddamn bootprint-shaped bruise on the small of their back it’s obvious.

All those bruises, all over Phoenix’s body. Aaron doesn’t understand why they’d do it, not the day before Phoenix is due to leave. One last bit of fun?

Shaking his head, they push open the door to Phoenix’s room. It’s a mess. And not a Phoenix-mess, he’d recognise that anywhere after the amount they’ve made at his place, this is someone else’s. They pick their way carefully through the scattered belongings, some of them dirty and torn, until they reach the wardrobe and pulls out a partially-packed black camping rucksack. At least that’s not damaged. The photo album of Phoenix and their sister is thankfully perfectly safe as well, and Aaron tucks it securely into the bottom of the rucksack, above whatever’s already there. They pull out all the clothes remaining in the wardrobe and stuff them into the bag, then turn to survey the rest of the room.

There’s no point trying to save the fairy lights, which have been ripped down and crushed. He picks up the books he thinks he can save, most of which have missing pages or covers, but some are torn completely. There’s no saving them.

Then they change their mind and pack those in anyway. Maybe Phoenix can fix them. Or they might want them anyway, even if they can’t.

He strips the bed and covers, piling the colourful bedspread that was a gift from Kai into the bag as well as the massive weighted blanket. The polaroids of the three of them they slip into a secure pocket.

Then they turn to the last remaining item, arm and foot torn off, eye missing, stuffing pooling onto the mattress underneath. Mr Frosty.

The only thing Phoenix has from when they were little, already repaired several times in his long life.

It’s Aaron’s turn to repair him this time.

He picks up the large plushie snowman and packs him away carefully, then gathers as much stuffing and loose plushie fabric as he can find, tucking it into another pocket.

That’s everything then. There’s a few pieces of clothing that would be impossible to repair, and the fairy lights of course, but other than that... Phoenix’s life, packed into one not-quite-full rucksack. He shoulders it and turns to leave.

Abbie’s standing in the doorway, arms folded, a smirk on her face.

“What the hell are you doing here?”

“Such a temper, and I haven’t even done anything.”

“You and your team jumped Phoenix and trashed their room. That’s not nothing.”

She shrugs. “I meant to you. As for that bitch, they shouldn’t have betrayed us.”

“Betrayed you? Betrayed you? You abused them for over five years. Don’t blame them for taking the first exit they could find.”

“That was training. Not abuse. We’re the best performing team in the League, thanks to that. In fact, I’m surprised management let you take our best asset.”

Aaron narrows his eyes, clenches his fists. “Phoenix isn’t an asset, they’re a goddamned person. And you’re very full of yourself. The only reason you lot have the best performance is because on every single mission you send Phoenix to die so the rest of you barely get hurt. You take on far more missions than anyone else because you don’t give Phoenix any recovery time. The three of you are complete and utter bastards. Now get the hell out of my way and let me go back to my friend.”

“Didn’t know they were capable of making any. But then I suppose they’re probably a sucker for anyone who looks at them twice. Pathetic.”

Aaron feels a surge of anger and lashes out, slamming Abbie into the wall. “I said get out of my way.”

“I could report that, you know,” rasps Abbie, massaging her throat. Aaron shrugs.

“You could. But then I’d tell them to look at the last five years of security footage. Phoenix was sixteen when they started here. Only sixteen. So I’d back off, and pray that they never report you. Unless you want child abuse charges brought against you. Understand?” Abbie nods once and they stride off, back towards the medical bay.

_

Kai holds Phoenix as tightly as he dares. He’s not sure what happened, but he can guess who did it. Aaron had had a face like thunder as he’d handed over the painkillers, and Phoenix’s natural skin colour is barely peeking out under the bruises and blood. They’re shaking in Kai’s arms, and not just from the tears soaking his t-shirt.

“You’re safe now, Phoenix. You’re okay. You’re going to be okay.”

Eventually Phoenix pulls away slightly, wiping their eyes. Their voice is horribly stuffy. “I– I’m fine. Were you busy?”

“Nah. Just tidying up ready for you to arrive tomorrow, but the rest of the team can manage that without me.”

“Oh. You don’t have to clean up especially for me.”

“I know. But we want to.” He hands Phoenix some paracetamol and a glass of water. “Here. Want me to clean you up a bit?” They nod, wincing, and he picks up a cloth, wiping their face gently. “I think your nose is broken.”

“Guessed that,” says Phoenix thickly. “Hurts.”

“I know, I’m sorry. So sorry.” He brushes their fringe out of the way to wipe their forehead. “How are your fringe and forehead so dirty?”

“Indigo’s boots are dirty.”

Kai feels a surge of fury, hand tightening on the cloth. “She kicked you in the head?”

Phoenix flinches. “Stamped on it.”

“Do you have concussion? Is anything broken?”

“Yeah, but it won’t last long. And I think my rib’s cracked, but you can’t bind that anyway, so.”

“I’ll just have to be gentle with you then.”

“You already are.” And Phoenix’s eyes say plainly that they still don’t understand why. It breaks Kai’s heart to see.

“Course I am.” He runs the cloth through their fringe, wiping a few strands at a time. “What happened?”

“I was in the corridor and they, um, they jumped me. Segun and Indigo. I don’t know where Abbie was. They said they were giving me a reminder not to tell anyone else.” They frown. “Which means you’re not just weirdly nice. It must be wrong, if everyone would disagree with it.”

“Starting to get it now?” asks Kai gently. He doesn’t have high hopes though. They bounce between their treatment being wrong and Kai and Aaron being weird every few days. He thinks he’ll know when they finally realise for good.

“Mmm.”

The curtain rustles and Phoenix jumps, raising an arm to shield their head.

“Easy, Phoenix,” soothes Kai, running a hand down their other arm, “it’s just Aaron.”

“Oh.”

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to frighten you. I’ve brought your things. Or what I could salvage, at least.”

“What you could salvage? What happened?”

“Why do you have a needle and thread? Phoenix doesn’t need stitches.”

“It’s not for them, it’s for Mr Frosty.” He sits down on a chair and sets the large rucksack at his feet. “And as for what happened... Phoenix, someone trashed your room. I managed to save most of it, but the fairy lights and a few of your clothes are beyond repair. And possibly some books, I brought them all anyway in case you can fix them but I don’t know.”

“Guess we know where Abbie was then.”

“And Mr Frosty?” asks Phoenix urgently, ignoring Kai. “What happened to him?”

Aaron sighs. "He’s a bit torn up. I’ll fix him, don’t worry too much, but…” He pulls the biggest part of Mr Frosty out of Phoenix’s bag and hands it to them. They stifle a sob and clutch the plushie tightly.

“Mr Frosty…”

“I’ll fix him, it’s okay. Might be a bit messy but he’ll be whole again. Alright?”

Phoenix nods, wiping their eyes. “Can I– can I see the rest of my things?”

“Of course. Be careful though, some of it’s pretty fragile now.” Before Aaron can lift the rucksack onto the bed Phoenix hands them Mr Frosty and slides down onto the floor with a wince, undoing the straps stiffly. They peer inside.

“Oh.” Phoenix pulls out half of a dirt-spotted book. “Are they all like this?”

“No. No, some are intact. Some are worse though. I picked up as many pages as I could find, I’m not sure if you’ll be able to fix them?”

“There’s got to be tutorials online somewhere,” murmurs Phoenix, “I can try. Thank you.”

Aaron smiles weakly. “It wasn’t a problem. Really. If it helps, your photo album hasn’t been touched. Nor have the polaroids of the three of us. Here.” He kneels down beside Phoenix and takes the photos out of their pocket, handing them over. Phoenix looks through them, smiling through their tears.

“They really didn’t touch them.”

“No. And most of your clothes need a wash but they’ll be fine as well. Your suit’s clean. It’ll be okay, Phoenix.”

Phoenix nods. “I– I know. I know.” But their eyes say that they really don’t, not right now.

“I can get these in the wash now, if you like,” offers Kai, “that way they’ll be ready for you when you come to mine in the morning.”

Phoenix shakes their head. “I don’t want them to be somewhere I can’t see them. I mean– if it was just you, but it’s not just you, and I know they’re your team but I don’t know them, and it’s just– I can’t.”

“That’s okay, I don’t mind,” reassures Kai. “C’mere and have another hug.”

Phoenix packs away the photos carefully before scrambling stiffly onto the bed and into Kai’s arms, a small, soft weight in them.

“I’ll give you some privacy to finish washing up and fetch some clean clothes, alright?” asks Aaron. Phoenix nods, and Aaron strokes their hair once before leaving, pulling the blue curtain tightly closed again behind them. Phoenix melts at the touch.

“You really do like that, don’t you?” Kai murmurs. They nod into his damp t-shirt. “Want me to help you finish cleaning up?”

_

Not too long later, Phoenix is clean, dressed and asleep in an old hoodie and pyjama trousers of Aaron’s. The clothes dwarf them, and they look tiny, the blanket hanging partially off them because they can’t manage it all right now, holding onto Kai tightly as they snuffle. Aaron sits on the edge of the bed on their other side, concentrating mostly on the needle piercing Mr Frosty’s fur repeatedly, glancing at Phoenix worriedly every so often.

“I’m going to kill them,” says Kai, running a hand through Phoenix’s hair. “I’ll bloody well kill them.”

“No you won’t. Phoenix needs you.”

“Later, then. Once they’re safe.” He pauses as Phoenix snuggles closer. “How did we not realise they’d do something like this? It was their last chance, we should’ve known.”

Aaron shakes his head. “We always miss it. Every damn time, we miss it. But we won’t help them by drowning ourselves in regret.”

Kai quirks his mouth slightly. “Sounds familiar.”

“It should. You’re the one who told me it.”

“Mm.” It’s true. Kai was the one to say it first, months ago. It came from his mentor originally, although where she got it from he has no idea. “Didn’t expect you to remember it.”

“It’s memorable.” Aaron curses as the thread drops out of the needle and rethreads it carefully. “Did Phoenix tell you? I’m keeping their weekly check-ups for the foreseeable future.”

“They said. I’m glad, but I’m still not convinced you won’t burn out, taking on another team.”

“Your medic’s retiring, you need one. And it’s the only way I can keep Phoenix under my care without letting on that something’s wrong. I really need to keep an eye on them.”

“My team won’t–” he starts, indignant.

“I trust you, Kai. I trust your team. But I don’t trust Phoenix with themself.” Kai looks at them quizzically and they sigh. “Right now, they still believe that the pain their team put them through helped them learn ‘properly’. And if they believe they need to keep learning that way... well. I don’t want anything to happen.”

Kai swallows, fear rising. “You’re saying they might... hurt themself?”

“It’s a possibility. I want to keep an eye on them.”

“That’s a good idea. Don’t burn yourself out though.”

“Sophia won’t let me.”

“Good.”

Aaron squints at Mr Frosty as he sews on an eye, then he sets down the needle and holds the snowman out at arm’s length.

“Hmm. He’s a bit lopsided. Do you think Phoenix will mind?”

“Nah, they’ll just be pleased you fixed him.”

Aaron leans over and squishes Mr Frosty in between Phoenix and Kai, and Phoenix tightens their grip, pulling the snowman towards them as they sleep.

“At least tomorrow, they’ll be out of here.”

_

Phoenix wakes in the morning feeling stiff and surprisingly rested. They’re slightly boxed in by warmth and they open their eyes, confused.

Oh. That must be why they slept so well. They’re tucked into Kai’s side, Aaron lying on the other, an arm around their shoulders. Both their friends are asleep. And they’re lying on something. They sit up carefully, wriggling out of Kai’s hold, and pull whatever it is out from underneath them.

It’s Mr Frosty.

He has thick black lines of stitching down him and his eye is a little wonky, but he’s back in one piece and Phoenix hugs him tightly.

“Is he okay?” asks a groggy voice. Aaron’s woken up, and Phoenix beams at him.

“He’s perfect! Thank you.”

“You sure? He’s a bit wonky. And the stitching’s really prominent, but black’s the only colour we have.”

“He’s a frankensnowman,” murmurs Phoenix. “Thank you.”

From Phoenix’s other side, Kai yawns. “Oh. You’ve found Mr Frosty then?” They nod. “Good. Told you they’d be happy with him, Aaron.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

“Right. I’m going to head downstairs, make sure the team’s ready for your arrival, if that’s okay?”

Phoenix nods. It’s weird. They’ve never had anyone actually prepare for their arrival in a nice way before (at least, they hope it’s nice).

“Alright. Do you want me to come back and show you the way?”

“I– um, I think I’ll be okay. Thank you.” They need to make a good impression and turning up clinging to Kai like a lost child won’t do that.

“Noted. I’ll see you soon then.” He gives Phoenix a quick hug and then exits the medbay.

“You sure you know the way?” asks Aaron.

“I might need you to remind me.”

“Now or...”

“Before I leave would be best, I think.”

“Right. Will do. Can I give you a hug?”

Phoenix nods and Aaron wraps an arm around their shoulders. Their friend doesn’t hug much, but Phoenix loves it when they do.

The blue curtains open and Phoenix jumps, raising their arms instinctively.

“It’s just me,” says Sophia brightly, and they lower their arms, heart racing. Still not over yesterday then. “I heard you were awake. When was the last time you ate, you must be starving?”

“Dunno,” they murmur. Now she mentions it, they do feel hungry. They’ve been hungrier, though, so the ache doesn’t register much. “You don’t usually deliver food.”

“I’m off shift now. So, jam on toast and a couple of jaffa cakes.” She grins and waits for them to sit up properly before depositing the tray in their lap. “Enjoy. I think we have a pair of your trousers around here somewhere still, let me go find them.” She hurries off, and Phoenix nibbles on their toast.

Aaron pinches a jaffa cake and takes a bite.

“Hey!”

“Should’ve eaten it first if you didn’t want me to get it,” retorts Aaron teasingly.

“You’re eating it wrong! If you’re going to steal my food, at least eat it properly! You have to eat the chocolate first, and then the dry cake bit, and then the orange jam. Like this.” And they demonstrate. “See? You don’t just eat all the parts together!”

Aaron’s watching them with a fond smile.

“What?”

“There you are. I haven’t heard you ramble properly since the church.”

Phoenix frowns. “But– that was a month ago. Have I really not...”

They trail off as they realise why they haven’t been themself, even less than normal, and Aaron answers, “No. I can guess why, but I’m glad you’re back.”

“So’m I.”

“So, how are you feeling?”

“My nose hurts, and my ribs. But I’m mostly just stiff. I’ll be okay. The bones are definitely healing.”

“Your nose certainly is, I can hear that. Painkillers?”

“Please.”

Aaron hands over a couple of pills and Phoenix swallows them. “Thanks.”

“No problem. Want me to help you put your cream on your back?”

Phoenix nods. “It’s, um, in the bottom of my bag. I wasn’t going to bother this morning, I just wanted to get out of there, but if you’re going to help then–”

Aaron climbs off the bed and unpacks the rucksack carefully, pulling out a tube of cream before re-packing the rest. Phoenix flushes. He’ll have seen the box of food, they know it, and they’re not sure why they’re embarrassed but they are.

They turn away quickly to hide the redness and shrug off their hoodie and t-shirt.

“I won’t take long. Hold the blanket over your chest if you’re cold.”

Phoenix nods. They know that, but sometimes it’s good to be reminded.

It’s a good thing they have the blanket, too, because halfway through Aaron spreading the cold, soothing cream over the worst of the scars on their back and upper arms (they can do the rest relatively easily themself), Sophia appears with a pair of tracksuit bottoms. Phoenix squeaks and holds the blanket tight to themself as she pops in and out, carefully not looking at them.

It’s not long before they’re dressed and re-packed, Mr Frosty sitting carefully in the top of their rucksack. They swallow and with a thought, envelope themself in camouflage, covering up the still quite nasty-looking bruises.

It’s time to go.

When they push aside the curtains around the bed, rucksack over their shoulders and hoodie sleeves tugged down nervously over their hands, both Aaron and Sophia are waiting for them. Sophia gives them a box of homemade biscuits and pulls them into a quick hug.

“Housewarming present. Sort of. For you and your new team.”

“Thank you.”

“Except they’re not allowed to eat them if they’re mean to you,” adds Aaron, clasping them gently on the shoulder when Sophia lets go. “And I’m serious about that.”

“I won’t let them. I promise.”

“Good. Now. Go out of the medbay that way, straight to the end of the corridor, two floors down, and it’s the flat with the very glittery sign.” Phoenix looks at him quizzically. “The team did some babysitting once. There was glitter all over the tower for weeks.”

Phoenix can’t help a smile. Glitter gets everywhere. “Got it.”

“I’ll see you for your check-up on Friday then.”

And something heavy loosens inside Phoenix. Not everything’s going to change. If something happens with Kai’s team, Aaron will be here.

They didn’t even realise the weight was there until it was gone.

“Yep. I’ll see you soon.”

Phoenix grips the straps of their rucksack tightly as they head towards Kai’s flat. It’ll be okay. It’s Kai, it’ll be okay. They slow down subconsciously as they descend the last flight of stairs, heart pounding. Maybe… maybe it would’ve been a good idea to ask Kai to come back. Then they wouldn’t be able to dawdle.

They force themself to take the last few steps until they’re stood in front of the door (they think distantly that the cardboard door number really is glittery). Nearly there now. All they have to do is knock.

As it turns out, that’s harder than it should be, and they pace until someone walks past, looking at them curiously. They can’t wait any longer.

Phoenix knocks.

There’s a clamour of noise from inside and they wipe their sweaty palm on their trousers. It’s fine. It’s fine. It’s going to be fine.

The door opens and Kai’s standing there. He pulls them into a hug immediately.

“Phoenix! You’re here!”

“You sound surprised,” murmurs Phoenix thickly. Kai doesn’t just sound surprised – he sounds delighted, and they can’t understand it.

“I thought you might take longer. Is that Aaron and Sophia’s baking?”

“Yep. And Aaron says your team aren’t allowed any if they’re mean.” They flush and Kai hugs them tighter.

“Well, of course not. Come and meet the rest of the team.”

Phoenix follows Kai down the hallway and into the living room, where the rest of the team are waiting, broad grins on their faces. Santhiya’s wearing a colourful striped party hat, and there’s a shiny banner hanging from the ceiling reading WELCOME PHOENIX.

“Well?” asks Lian impatiently. “Do you like it?”

“Where, um, did you find one saying Phoenix?” is all they can think of to say, stunned by the effort.

“Morfydd ordered it specially.”

Morfydd shrugs and says softly, with a lilting Welsh accent, “You’re new. You should have a banner. I hope it’s not too much.”

“I tried to make you a cake too,” adds Santhiya, almost bouncing with excitement, “although it didn’t go too well.”

Lian snorts. “Understatement of the year. You almost set the oven on fire, Santh. It took us a whole day to clear the smell and I’m sure the smoke’s still clinging to my clothes.”

“Hey! I tried, alright? It was a lemon cake, Kai said they liked lemon cakes. You do like them, right, Phoenix?” But Phoenix’s throat is too choked up to speak, and she frowns in concern. “Phoenix, are you okay?”

And Phoenix–

Phoenix bursts into tears.