#i have no details only that this makes sense in my head

[ash-pile]

I have pots and faint regularly so if it helps here’s some of my experiences in no particular order:

- You can faint multiple times in quick succession, it sucks and is really disorienting. Especially if you haven’t recovered/are still disoriented from the previous one.

-Often when you come back to consciousness you only process that there’s things happening. It’s not a logical thing or detailed at all, just ‘are my senses sensing?’ But on an instinctual level rather than any higher level functioning (think gut feelings).

-On that same theme, usually I get senses back one by one, for me it’s usually hearing, touch, sight and then anything else. Though if you bite your tongue/cheek in the fall you’re likely to taste that pretty fast

-Sometimes your body can go tense or shake and it looks like a seizure. For bystanders it’s super scary to watch someone go down and suddenly look like they’re having a seizure.

-I often will try to warn someone if I feel it coming and barely make a sound/think I’m saying to when really I’m already out. Usually it’s something like: “I’m gonna-“ they tried to say, the words dying off before any proper sound could form, eyes fluttering shut as they dropped.’

-A note about how you move when it happens: if you’re sitting in something that rolls, it *will* move, if you’re standing, your torso falls first and takes everything with it (usually the head rolls backwards at the same time) and it’s super easy to land in a way that strains muscles/joints

-Sometimes I have warning, sometimes I don’t, if I do have warning it’s usually just a few seconds that I have to use to sit down, if I don’t then I’m out before I can actually presses what’s happening. Only able to understand once I’m back to consciousness and someone explains what happened and I can piece it together.

-Different surfaces to fall onto can either make it better or worse. Concrete and gravel are by far the worst I’ve fainted onto, tile is super cold and cold can be a shock to wake up to making it even more disorienting.

-Also depending how long you’ve been there/how bad of a shock it was you could be drooling/having wet yourself or landed in a puddle or you were carrying a drink/food it probably spilled too and got all over you. All of which are mortifying to wake up to, especially if you aren’t around anyone you trust well.

-People are surprisingly heavy. If someone tries to catch you and is not prepared, they could fall over too. Or if you fall onto something that’s not meant to hold your weight it could break and potentially injure you.

The Anatomy of Passing Out: When, Why, and How to Write It

Passing out, or syncope, is a loss of consciousness that can play a pivotal role in storytelling, adding drama, suspense, or emotional weight to a scene. Whether it’s due to injury, fear, or exhaustion, the act of fainting can instantly shift the stakes in your story.

But how do you write it convincingly? How do you ensure it’s not overly dramatic or medically inaccurate? In this guide, I’ll walk you through the causes, stages, and aftermath of passing out. By the end, you’ll be able to craft a vivid, realistic fainting scene that enhances your narrative without feeling clichéd or contrived.

2. Common Causes of Passing Out

Characters faint for a variety of reasons, and understanding the common causes can help you decide when and why your character might lose consciousness. Below are the major categories that can lead to fainting, each with their own narrative implications.

Physical Causes

Blood Loss: A sudden drop in blood volume from a wound can cause fainting as the body struggles to maintain circulation and oxygen delivery to the brain.

Dehydration: When the body doesn’t have enough fluids, blood pressure can plummet, leading to dizziness and fainting.

Low Blood Pressure (Hypotension): Characters with chronic low blood pressure may faint after standing up too quickly, due to insufficient blood reaching the brain.

Intense Pain: The body can shut down in response to severe pain, leading to fainting as a protective mechanism.

Heatstroke: Extreme heat can cause the body to overheat, resulting in dehydration and loss of consciousness.

Psychological Causes

Emotional Trauma or Shock: Intense fear, grief, or surprise can trigger a fainting episode, as the brain becomes overwhelmed.

Panic Attacks: The hyperventilation and increased heart rate associated with anxiety attacks can deprive the brain of oxygen, causing a character to faint.

Fear-Induced Fainting (Vasovagal Syncope): This occurs when a character is so afraid that their body’s fight-or-flight response leads to fainting.

Environmental Causes

Lack of Oxygen: Situations like suffocation, high altitudes, or enclosed spaces with poor ventilation can deprive the brain of oxygen and cause fainting.

Poisoning or Toxins: Certain chemicals or gasses (e.g., carbon monoxide) can interfere with the body’s ability to transport oxygen, leading to unconsciousness.

3. The Stages of Passing Out

To write a realistic fainting scene, it’s important to understand the stages of syncope. Fainting is usually a process, and characters will likely experience several key warning signs before they fully lose consciousness.

Pre-Syncope (The Warning Signs)

Before losing consciousness, a character will typically go through a pre-syncope phase. This period can last anywhere from a few seconds to a couple of minutes, and it’s full of physical indicators that something is wrong.

Light-Headedness and Dizziness: A feeling that the world is spinning, which can be exacerbated by movement.

Blurred or Tunnel Vision: The character may notice their vision narrowing or going dark at the edges.

Ringing in the Ears: Often accompanied by a feeling of pressure or muffled hearing.

Weakness in Limbs: The character may feel unsteady, like their legs can’t support them.

Sweating and Nausea: A sudden onset of cold sweats, clamminess, and nausea is common.

Rapid Heartbeat (Tachycardia): The heart races as it tries to maintain blood flow to the brain.

Syncope (The Loss of Consciousness)

When the character faints, the actual loss of consciousness happens quickly, often within seconds of the pre-syncope signs.

The Body Going Limp: The character will crumple to the ground, usually without the ability to break their fall.

Breathing: Breathing continues, but it may be shallow and rapid.

Pulse: While fainting, the heart rate can either slow down dramatically or remain rapid, depending on the cause.

Duration: Most fainting episodes last from a few seconds to a minute or two. Prolonged unconsciousness may indicate a more serious issue.

Post-Syncope (The Recovery)

After a character regains consciousness, they’ll typically feel groggy and disoriented. This phase can last several minutes.

Disorientation: The character may not immediately remember where they are or what happened.

Lingering Dizziness: Standing up too quickly after fainting can trigger another fainting spell.

Nausea and Headache: After waking up, the character might feel sick or develop a headache.

Weakness: Even after regaining consciousness, the body might feel weak or shaky for several hours.

4. The Physical Effects of Fainting

Fainting isn’t just about losing consciousness—there are physical consequences too. Depending on the circumstances, your character may suffer additional injuries from falling, especially if they hit something on the way down.

Impact on the Body

Falling Injuries: When someone faints, they usually drop straight to the ground, often hitting their head or body in the process. Characters may suffer cuts, bruises, or even broken bones.

Head Injuries: Falling and hitting their head on the floor or a nearby object can lead to concussions or more severe trauma.

Scrapes and Bruises: If your character faints on a rough surface or near furniture, they may sustain scrapes, bruises, or other minor injuries.

Physical Vulnerability

Uncontrolled Fall: The character’s body crumples or falls in a heap. Without the ability to brace themselves, they are at risk for further injuries.

Exposed While Unconscious: While fainted, the character is vulnerable to their surroundings. This could lead to danger in the form of attackers, environmental hazards, or secondary injuries from their immediate environment.

Signs to Look For While Unconscious

Shallow Breathing: The character's breathing will typically become shallow or irregular while they’re unconscious.

Pale or Flushed Skin: Depending on the cause of fainting, a character’s skin may become very pale or flushed.

Twitching or Muscle Spasms: In some cases, fainting can be accompanied by brief muscle spasms or jerking movements.

5. Writing Different Types of Fainting

There are different types of fainting, and each can serve a distinct narrative purpose. The way a character faints can help enhance the scene's tension or emotion.

Sudden Collapse

In this case, the character blacks out without any warning. This type of fainting is often caused by sudden physical trauma or exhaustion.

No Warning: The character simply drops, startling both themselves and those around them.

Used in High-Tension Scenes: For example, a character fighting in a battle may suddenly collapse from blood loss, raising the stakes instantly.

Slow and Gradual Fainting

This happens when a character feels themselves fading, usually due to emotional stress or exhaustion.

Internal Monologue: The character might have time to realize something is wrong and reflect on what’s happening before they lose consciousness.

Adds Suspense: The reader is aware that the character is fading but may not know when they’ll drop.

Dramatic Fainting

Some stories call for a more theatrical faint, especially in genres like historical fiction or period dramas.

Exaggerated Swooning: A character might faint from shock or fear, clutching their chest or forehead before collapsing.

Evokes a Specific Tone: This type of fainting works well for dramatic, soap-opera-like scenes where the fainting is part of the tension.

6. Aftermath: How Characters Feel After Waking Up

When your character wakes up from fainting, they’re not going to bounce back immediately. There are often lingering effects that last for minutes—or even hours.

Physical Recovery

Dizziness and Nausea: Characters might feel off-balance or sick to their stomach when they first come around.

Headaches: A headache is a common symptom post-fainting, especially if the character hits their head.

Body Aches: Muscle weakness or stiffness may persist, especially if the character fainted for a long period or in an awkward position.

Emotional and Mental Impact

Confusion: The character may not remember why they fainted or what happened leading up to the event.

Embarrassment: Depending on the situation, fainting can be humiliating, especially if it happened in front of others.

Fear: Characters who faint from emotional shock might be afraid of fainting again or of the situation that caused it.

7. Writing Tips: Making It Believable

Writing a fainting scene can be tricky. If not handled properly, it can come across as melodramatic or unrealistic. Here are some key tips to ensure your fainting scenes are both believable and impactful.

Understand the Cause

First and foremost, ensure that the cause of fainting makes sense in the context of your story. Characters shouldn’t pass out randomly—there should always be a logical reason for it.

Foreshadow the Fainting: If your character is losing blood, suffering from dehydration, or undergoing extreme emotional stress, give subtle clues that they might pass out. Show their discomfort building before they collapse.

Avoid Overuse: Fainting should be reserved for moments of high stakes or significant plot shifts. Using it too often diminishes its impact.

Balance Realism with Drama

While you want your fainting scene to be dramatic, don’t overdo it. Excessively long or theatrical collapses can feel unrealistic.

Keep It Short: Fainting typically happens fast. Avoid dragging the loss of consciousness out for too long, as it can slow down the pacing of your story.

Don’t Always Save the Character in Time: In some cases, let the character hit the ground. This adds realism, especially if they’re fainting due to an injury or traumatic event.

Consider the Aftermath

Make sure to give attention to what happens after the character faints. This part is often overlooked, but it’s important for maintaining realism and continuity.

Lingering Effects: Mention the character’s disorientation, dizziness, or confusion upon waking up. It’s rare for someone to bounce back immediately after fainting.

Reactions of Others: If other characters are present, how do they react? Are they alarmed? Do they rush to help, or are they unsure how to respond?

Avoid Overly Romanticized Fainting

In some genres, fainting is used as a dramatic or romantic plot device, but this can feel outdated and unrealistic. Try to focus on the genuine physical or emotional toll fainting takes on a character.

Stay Away from Clichés: Avoid having your character faint simply to be saved by a love interest. If there’s a romantic element, make sure it’s woven naturally into the plot rather than feeling forced.

8. Common Misconceptions About Fainting

Fainting is often misrepresented in fiction, with exaggerated symptoms or unrealistic recoveries. Here are some common myths about fainting, and the truth behind them.

Myth 1: Fainting Always Comes Without Warning

While some fainting episodes are sudden, most people experience warning signs (lightheadedness, blurred vision) before passing out. This gives the character a chance to notice something is wrong before losing consciousness.

Myth 2: Fainting Is Dramatic and Slow

In reality, fainting happens quickly—usually within a few seconds of the first warning signs. Characters won’t have time for long speeches or dramatic gestures before collapsing.

Myth 3: Characters Instantly Bounce Back

Many stories show characters waking up and being perfectly fine after fainting, but this is rarely the case. Fainting usually leaves people disoriented, weak, or even nauseous for several minutes afterward.

Myth 4: Fainting Is Harmless

In some cases, fainting can indicate a serious medical issue, like heart problems or severe dehydration. If your character is fainting frequently, it should be addressed in the story as a sign of something more severe.

Looking For More Writing Tips And Tricks? 

Are you an author looking for writing tips and tricks to better your manuscript? Or do you want to learn about how to get a literary agent, get published and properly market your book? Consider checking out the rest of Quillology with Haya Sameer; a blog dedicated to writing and publishing tips for authors! While you’re at it, don’t forget to head over to my TikTok and Instagram profiles @hayatheauthor to learn more about my WIP and writing journey! 

[would-this-pokemon-be-a-friend]

could you do jirachi if you haven’t? one of my faves! happy new year!

Jirachi is, unfortunately, a flat “no,” but for a very specific reason and just that reason, hence the asterisk on the scorecard. By all means, Jirachi would make a great friend and perhaps even pet, if it were possible to adopt them as one at all.

Before I get ahead of myself, let’s look at the plus-es. For one, Jirachi is a pretty small pokémon, fitting in perfectly in any sized home. They have an adorable and friendly demeanor, and are known to get along well with humans. And, while Jirachi is certainly no pushover, they aren’t a particularly lethal threat. Powerful Psychic-Type moves like Psychic and Future Sight are counterbalanced in the score by self-healing moves like Life Dew, Healing Wish, and Rest. This pokémon has a keen sense of danger, and will protect themselves if threatened (Ruby), but so long as you don’t pose a threat to them you should be safe from an attack.

Now, I could go into more detail about risk of misinterpretation of threats, as I have in the past for other species, but really everything in the prior paragraph is rendered moot by one key detail: this pokémon is said to only be conscious for seven days out of every thousand years (Sapphire, FireRed/LeafGreen)! Now, unless you are an immortal being, this is going to pet the whole pet conversation to rest immediately. While asleep, Jirachi surrounds themself with a “tough, crystalline shell” (Emerald), so forming any sort of long-term bond with them just isn’t happening. I suppose you could take custody of their sleeping form and protect it, but that would be a multi-generational commitment that, quite frankly, isn’t very responsible.

If you do happen to be around when Jirachi wakes, that’s great! If you have left a wish written on a note and attached it to their head while they slept, its said that they will use their mysterious powers to make any of these wishes come true (Ruby, Sapphire). That sounds pretty awesome! Unfortunately, though, this blog isn’t about whether pokémon are awesome, it’s about whether they would make a good pet. Adopting Jirachi as a pet just isn’t worth the multi-generational headache.

[anemicjellyfish]

Random theorizing and/or speculation post idk.

So I've said it before and I'll say it again. Helluva Boss is pretty damn good at "Show, Don't Tell."

While it isn't entirely devoid of expositional dialogue, it really doesn't seem like they rely on it heavily. Even with a few heart-to-heart moments between characters like Blitzø & Fizzarolli in Oops and Loona & Octavia in Seeing Stars, big dialogue exchanges are kept to a minimum. Character development happens over time and through on-screen events rather than sitting down and talking it all out.

This, combined with the show's tendency to both 1, let events come full-circle and 2, show generational trauma as a way to let characters break free of the molds set for them, is why I think Octavia might get the "Stolas Experience" soon.

Now, I love Octavia. If I could pick a character to make sure the writing team doesn't traumatize, it's her. (This is a No Hate Zone for Octavia and Stolas btw.)

What I mean is that Octavia seems to have been kept from the same expectations that were put upon Stolas his whole life. She appears to make her own choices and express herself in ways that Stolas wasn't allowed. I have a feeling that, now that she is with her mother and uncle, she will be held to a similar standard as her father (at least until she's of age, which is likely 18).

I feel like minimal expositional dialogue will come in to bridge the gaps in her knowledge. Octavia getting told she's "just like her father" as an insult when she's not adhering to new standards.

To bring it to a head, I also like to speculate that Stella will try to arrange Octavia a marriage of her own. When Via pushes back on this, the "just like your father" line may come back. I also think Stella will deliver the final nail in the coffin of Octavia's opinion of her parent's marriage here.

My personal headcanon of the line is something like: "oh, for fuck's sake, Via. All Goetia marriages are arranged. It's not like Stolas and I ever loved each other. *laughter* Andrealphus, could you imagine? Stolas and I in love?! How ridiculous..." (mocking fades into the background as Via processes what she just heard) But this is just fanfic-level stuff that plays in the background of my brain.

Now, to skip ahead just a little. There are very few characters for Octavia to turn to. The most likely candidate for a lot of us is Loona. It makes sense, as they've already shared some screentime & Octavia got some solid advice then. And I don't disagree at all. It's a good choice.

But I like to think Octavia has something in common with someone she despises, but who could never hold hate in his heart for her.

Blitzø and Octavia have some unlikely common ground in severing connections with those they care about most through an emotional response to feeling unloved.

Octavia's song "I Will Be Okay" uses fire imagery to burn photographs to symbolize her readiness to cut off contact with her father after she came to the conclusion that he never loved her.

Blitzø set a literal fire unintentionally when his own father valued Fizzarolli over him, and likely felt that Fizz would never love Blitzø in return.

While the parallel between them isn't completely perfect, Blitzø is uniquely suited to understand a teenager who is scared, alone, and feels unloved.

We know a good deal about the circus fire, but Blitzø really hasn't spoken about it to anyone. It's unclear if he ever went into detail about it to Fizz, and he only vaguely referred to it being "traumatic" when Stolas brought up Blitzø's love of horses.

I personally like to think that Octavia will be the one Blitzø tells about it all. I think he'll obscure the details of a teenage crush to stay on-topic. But the loss of a loving parent (Blitzø's mom/Stolas) and being left with a horrible one (Blitzø's dad/Stella) is something that connects them in ways that both of them don't realize yet.

This doesn't have to fix things. Confronting traumatic events doesn't mean those events no longer happened. Blitzø carries the physical scars of his past with him everywhere he goes, and the emotional pain doesn't always heal without leaving scars of its own.

Octavia could slowly rebuild her relationship with her dad over time. It's not impossible yet. But she is slowly gaining an understanding of how things work in Goetic society; she will likely know soon that she was only born to be an heir out of precaution. So a part of her is always going to be the teenage girl who needs reassurance that she's loved, that she isn't the obligation that she thinks she is.

Sorry for another incomplete post. My thumb is hurting at the knuckle because I over-extended it the other day and it's hard to type on my phone with just one thumb.

[notomys-mordax-blog]

I've let my thoughts marinate for a while after finishing up Dragon Age Veilguard. In the spirit of contributing to a fandom that I love, I'm going to be shouting my general thoughts about the game into the void instead of having the decency to keep them in my head.

TLDR: it's complicated. Better than expected, but still pretty flawed.

Things I liked:

I was initially pretty meh on the toonier direction they took the character art in. It felt like ... knock-off overwatch. However the style really grew on me as I played the game and I found that the character models were really expressive in a fun way.

The environment design was really colorful and fun! One of my biggest critiques of DA:O was how ... brown and ugly the game was. While I think it was probably the right artistic choice to remove the hilariously over the top post-combat blood splatter effects, I do miss it. This game had some really interesting visual design.

Watching Solas's worst memories like episodes of Real Housewives with the crew.

The combat was also more fun than expected. I definitely prefer tactical combat in games, and don't generally enjoy action games, but I had fun with it and felt like it struck (for me) the right balance between difficulty and frustration.

There were some really interesting and subtle things in some of the writing (especially when combined with character expressions). There were little characterization details that I thought were really well done (for example: the fact that Lucanis was obviously the most rattled at weisshaupt) . The prison of regret was a high point in the series.

I really liked a lot of the big lore reveals.

It was fun seeing some of the environments that we've only heard about. in the previous games.

I actually really enjoyed how direct Taash's gender adventure was. There was no room for "well actually, they aren't non-binary, they are this unique fantasy term that isn't actually queer". I also enjoyed how it acted as a vehicle for the other gnc characters in the story to have their moments. Bonus points for also having non-binary characters doing something other than gender with their lives.

The game was functional, complete and ran well on launch! I had to put down BG3 for like two months because it was unplayably buggy when I picked it up, and the ending of DA:I really doesn't have any impact without Tresspasser, which came out much later.

Things I didn't like:

The writing was very uneven and pretty awkward at times. The number of times the phrases "Gods, Rituals and Artifacts" were uttered by different characters, often without any further explanation, really made me itchy. It was really weird to me why the characters kept calling the Evanuris Gods (especially with a non-elven Rook). I also wanted to grab Neve by the shoulders and shake her whenever she talked about the venatori doing a ritual. WHAT KIND OF RITUAL? GIVE ME SOME JUICY LORE TIDBITS BEFORE I CHEW MY ARM OFF.

The venatori and the antaam were straight out of Saturday cartoon villains. Their motivation also made absolutely no sense from a world-building point of view (maybe if they leaned more into the fact that the elven gods were also the Tevinter old gods ...?). This whole conflict really felt ... underbaked.

I can respect the game design choice to want the player to be completely heroic, and frankly -- given that most people don't pick the "evil" path, it makes sense to devote more effort in creating permutations of the good path ... but I do feel like they really could have pushed the themes of "as a leader, sometimes you won't have any good choices" a little bit harder (idk -- I think it would have been interesting if instead of the blight dragon, you would have to chose whether or not you'd ally yourself with the venatori and leave Treviso to the Antaam or vice versa).

DA:I does a good job convincing me that Inky is creating complicated alliances between different powerful factions. DA:V falls flat in this regard. I think they were aiming for the different factions to feel small and scrappy, but with the exception of the Shadow Dragons (and maybe the Lords) ... the Wardens, the Mourn Watch, and the Crows are major political forces ... which feel weirdly small.

All of the companions were pretty ... unobjectionable and straightforward heroes. As someone who personally loved the dynamic between Anders and Fenris in DA:2, I was pretty disappointed by the lack of inter-party conflict. Serious cultural conflicts between characters such as Emmrich and Tassh were resolved .... without much fuss. I didn't feel like any of the conversations about the fact that Lucanis kills people for money had any teeth.

In that vein, I felt like the worldbuilding was also pretty defanged. Topics of racism and religious oppression were very prominent in earlier games. I think it's pretty obvious why having an oppressed racial minorities gods being the main villain would be a bad look. Heck, I can also understand and respect these themes being less fun for the writers to explore in the hellhole that is 2025, but I think this could have been handled in a more elegant way. Instead it felt weird and hand-wavy.

The crows really must've hired a PR team after that whole incident with Zev. My headcanons really had to do some heavy lifting.

We finally get to see Minrathous, the biggest magical city in Thedas ... and the area we explore is just a generic fantasy fishing town? We see the cool floating canons in the intro sequence! Give us more of those.

The game was inconsistent about incorporating bits of Rook's origins into the dialog. For example, the seer in Rivain explaining their relationship with spirits felt really weird with a Lord of Fortune Rook. Another (minor) example, Mourn Watch Rook eats the fish, it would have been neat to have the option for him to be vegetarian (given that this is common in Nevarra).

Romance is my favorite part of dragon age, and I felt like all of the romances were very ... paint by numbers.

Dreadwolf would have been a much better name.

Some of the comments from people involved in the game (specifically the AMA -- but also the whole "this is the most romantic dragon age game ever") had a weird vibe.

Where are Solas's agents? What happened to them?!

We were not betrayed by any of our apostate companions, 0/10 this is an important aspect of any dragon age game.

Rook felt like the boss that nobody wanted to invite to do anything fun. The companions seemed like they had a lot of dynamic with each other, but they never really directly spoke with Rook. It was weird how you couldn't talk to them. You had to awkwardly listen in on their conversations. Pretty much all of the companions have more chemistry with each other than Rook.

I have more thoughts about specific characters and plot points that I may share later, but I needed to expunge this from my mind like an exorcism.

[sqrkyclean]

ok heres the first quarter of it

Dissociative amnesia.

That’s what his therapist had said. Dissociative amnesia. Something about complex ptsd and adaptive survival methods.

It had taken years for Timmy Turner to eventually agree to seeing a therapist at all. There had been a lot more stigma around the idea back in the day— that it was something only crazy people needed to do. And he wasn’t crazy, he just…

Dissociative amnesia. 

Derealization. 

Complex PTSD.

There were all these new buzzwords in his head. They were supposed to mean something, supposed to mean that there was hope for him to get better, to feel… different from the way the last twenty years had felt. 

“And how have the last twenty years felt, Tim?”

His therapist, a younger-than-him blonde woman, fresh out of college. She always liked using his name, and she always had this… oddly casual way about her. She was the fifth therapist he had tried talking to, and honestly, it was going better than it had gone with any of the quacks he had seen before her. 

“Like… It’s… y’know the feeling when you’re watching a movie, and you recognize an actor, but you can't remember his name? Like, you know you’ve seen the guy before, but you can’t put… words to it. And no matter how hard you try to focus, it feels like it keeps getting further away?”

He made illustrative hand gestures, unable to look her in the eye as he rambled. 

“I’m… familiar,” she nodded. “Yeah, definitely.”

“It’s kinda like that, but— but that’s what it feels like whenever I try to think about where my life is supposed to be going. What I’m supposed to be doing,” Tim gestured vaguely. “Like there’s this big piece of everything that I can’t quite…”

He sighed, leaning back on the sofa. As much as he liked her as a therapist, her office layout was awkward. She would sit at her desk with her back to the laptop placed on top of it, facing towards the sofa. It made everything feel… lopsided.

“That makes sense,” she nodded, resting her elbows on her knees as she leaned forward. “You went through a lot of traumatic stuff as a kid. A lot of the time, when we spend so long in survival mode, once we get out of those situations it feels like you either need to keep being in fight-or-flight, or you end up kind of… listless.”

“Listless,” Timmy nodded. “That’s one way to put it, yeah.”

“Do you ever feel like… the opposite of that?” She tilted her head at him. “Like you know exactly what you want, and exactly how to get it.”

Timmy opened his mouth like he was about to say something, but then it just… fizzled out. “I—... I don’t… know.”

“What did you do as a kid that made you feel better when you felt out of place? I know your parents weren’t really an option.”

He tried to remember. He really, honestly did. There was that almost-memory sensation again, and then it was like it was swallowed up into the darkest corner of his mind.

Whenever he thought about this stuff, his head always went kind of… echoey. 

The synapses just wouldn’t connect, like a cord had been severed. Like he was going to sneeze but his body wouldn’t let him. Like his vision wouldn’t adjust. 

The silence was deafening. The absence of the memories that should have been there felt larger than anything real that he had left. 

“I’d… hang out with my friends? But then something… happened. I don’t know. I stopped seeing them, stopped hanging out with them. I guess it happened around the time I started 5th grade… A couple new kids joined my class halfway through the semester and…”

No, that wasn’t right. Was it? 

“You don’t have to remember all the details,” his therapist assured him, giving him a genuinely sympathetic smile. “What about now? Do you have any friends you can hang out with that might be able to give you some ideas?”

—

Remy Buxaplenty was doing pretty well, all things considered. His parents passed away and left him… everything. And he hadn’t run the family name into the ground yet, so that was nice.

does anybody wanna read my work in progress fairly oddparents fanfiction. its G rated and gen and about timmy coping with his lost memory as a 35 year old in therapy.

[puppppppppy]

OWWWWWW

[meepmeep19]

Suegiku fic that’s just Tetchou helping Jouno open up and accept his own emotions, since Jouno has kinda perfected the whole ‘bury your emotions so deep that you can’t even feel them anymore’ thing due to his time in the mafia. Ofc we all know Jouno has no problem expressing stuff like anger, bitterness, disgust… basically all those negative ones used mostly in a comical manner for his character. It’s rly just his sadness that he’s tries to disown as he’s already deemed it as a ‘weak’ emotion that doesn’t do anything except make ppl pity and underestimate him, which needless to say, he HATES more than anything. So yeah, Tetchou would help him realize that feelings of sadness are completely valid and that he deserves to express those emotions instead of bottling them up. (Ngl Tetchou would honestly still be kinda learning this alongside Jouno because he’s probably so used to his stoicism-like mindset.)

‘Your Tears are Priceless’ would be a good title, i think; in reference to his ‘Priceless Tears’ ability.

[patchwork-passions]

albatross soup more like griffin soup amiright

[byanyan]

ㅤbeen thinking today about how byan's anger can be really scary to witness... it's very... raw. anger is the emotion they feel the most intensely, and the one they filter the least. it's raw, it's heated, and it's very instinct-driven — they have very little control over it, and they're certainly not thinking before they do or say anything. impulses are followed, whether it's to lash out and cause harm to whatever has hurt them, or to throw or break whatever is within arm's reach just to release even a little bit of the energy that's overwhelming them. they don't know what else to do with it. literally no thoughts, all that their mind can focus on is the emotion; they just want to get it out and stop feeling this way (and/or ensure the person who's pissed them off gets what they deserve) and they'll do whatever it takes to ensure that. i think that lack of control really shows too, like it's palpable in the air and adds an extra layer of discomfort and uncertainty if you're in the same room as them. concern for one's own safety is valid in such a scenario too tbh, because they have hurt people in the past who they never would have caused harm to normally (both directly and indirectly; sometimes by their own hand, other times as an unintended consequence of them throwing/breaking something). it's not something they're proud of, but they also just... don't know what to do about it. ...they're honestly afraid of their own anger, at times. afraid of what they're capable of and what they might one day do.

[ratfreecog]

Becoming very interested in the differences between how the non Brooklyn newsies view Brooklyn and what they think it’s like vs what it’s actually like. Like Spot definitely really cares about his kids, would do anything for them and always makes sure every single one of them is taken care of. Outside of Brooklyn everyone thinks something like it’s this big scary thing and all the newsies there are to be feared, especially Spot. But anyone who actually lives there feels incredibly safe and protected, not because of the violent reputation they have, but because they all work as a team and take care of each other like an actual family.

[maingh0st]

A question did you plot your Taryn X ghost fic aka outline it or just wrote it and let the story come to you?

I'm a methodological pantser (thanks ellen brock for helping me realize my writing process is not crazy ✨) so I started with a very loose idea of: (1) where I wanted the characters to start, (2) where I wanted them to end, and (3) big developments that needed to happen along the way. all the little details came together in the process of writing, revising, re-outlining, restructuring, then rewriting. that might sound wild haha but it's just how my brain works—so yes I had a plan, but my outline was very bare bones to begin with & became more fleshed out as I wrote!

[walking-loather]

Oh great. We're at the embarrassing have dreams about your ex stage.

[cosmik-homo]

Honestly i really do know im being annoying with this but the logistics of swapping out Avon and Raistlin and watching what theh do is the greatest form of Playing With Dolls I've ever ever had. Its a serotonin treadmill. You've heard of watching a brilliant, dark tortured genius asshole slowly create his own downfall what about landing in the middle of such a slipperyslope and starting to turn it into an entirely different one. AND THERE'S PVP ALLOWED, one of my main options rn is Avon-as-Raistlin starts planning how to re-open the connection and either undo this or pass some more things between the worlds- and Raistlin-as-Avon is like FINDERS KEEPERS BITCH. Paying It (The Lichdom Curse) Forewards, im staying in your life and im winning at it, fuck off. And Avon's like, ex-fucking-scuse me?

[look-better-in-gold]

one thing i think one piece fans forget is that for most of the characters in it having the d initial doesn’t mean anything. we don’t find out it’s anything to think about until skypiea while robin is talking to gan fall (who met roger) and he says “d.? i see. one letter of his name… that can’t just be a coincidence!!!” and laughs. we only know what we do bc luffy’s the main character. i guess you could argue kureha saying roger’s name is gol d. roger at the end of drum counts but it’s brushed off and you’re not like. encouraged to think about why it’s different. she only knows this bc she’s a REALLY old lady who was around when roger first set out. and gan fall met roger. law knows about it from cora, Who Used To Be A Celestial Dragon. nobody who knows about it is a normal citizen. the world government wants it to be a secret. they successfully wiped out 100 years of history. “the will of d.” or those “eat like a d.” jokes are NOT something everyone is making!!! GUYS. WE ONLY KNOW BECAUSE WE’RE THE VIEWERS. WE’RE WATCHING THE MOST POWERFUL PEOPLE IN THE WORLD RIGHT NOW. NOT EVERYONE WILL KNOW WHAT THEY DO!!!!

[mechahero]

Additional information post to go with a prior post about the Babel Bracelet because I forgot to include this detail. Whoops.

While the Babel Bracelet allows the user to speak and understand whatever language they want, it only translates spoken words. It does not translate written words. Signs and books? Try to read any of them with a Babel Bracelet on and you're not going to understand it, the same way you would if you weren't wearing one or never had one to begin with.

This is intentional, of course. A hinderance that's purposefully built into it to pressure the user into learning the language of their choice because again, it's meant to be used temporarily. It's not supposed to be a crutch, just a quick band-aid solution until the user learns enough to not need it anymore.

[majorshatterandhare]

[ID: Two images of drawings of characters from Alice by the Mechanisms. The first shows the Knave of Hearts, the Queen of Hearts, and the Caterpillar general. The second shows Alice Liddel, and Majors Hatter and Hare. The background of both is light grey. Each are labeled with their names, in all caps: "The Knave of Hearts" is in a black hand-written style font; "The Queen of Hearts" is in a red serif font, where the thick parts of the letters are open space; "Caterpillar" is in a simple, thick, blue font, which has been distorted to be wavy; "Scout Captain Alice Liddel" is in a blue typeface with reduced serifs, and which most of the letters are the same width and all are the same height; "Majors Hatter and Hare" is in another hand-written style font, this time in red.

Image One: The Queen of Hearts stands close to the middle of the frame. She is pulling the Knave of Hearts into frame from the left, by a chain attached to a bright red collar around his neck. The Queen has tan skin and long wavy red hair that is pulled up in a messy bun. She has bright blue eyes and a smirk on her face. Her head is nearly in profile, facing toward the right of the frame, but her body is mostly facing the viewer. She wears a uniform coat and trousers which are very dark in color, the coat being redder while the trousers are cooler brown. Both are splattered with black. Her coat has tails and the shoulders of it are decorated with roses. Her combat boots are the same color as her coat. She is wearing gloves colored the same as her trousers. Her coat has gold buttons and the coat, gloves, and trousers have gold piping. She is looking at the Knave.

The Knave has light skin and chin length black hair. He has cat ears atop his head which are flattened to the sides. His eyes are a very light chartreuse green color. He has a very worried look on his face and tears are streaming from his eyes. His uniform is also a dark red/black color. His coat is longer and comes down over his hips and has a wide collar. The Knave's boots are barely seen off the edge of the frame, but they are knee high. His coat is also decorated with gold piping and has flat horizontal buttons. His hands are chained together in front of him and he has light brown claws. Out from under his coat a black tail wraps around his leg. There are red lines indicating his falling into the frame and the Queen's fist tightening on his leash.

The Caterpillar general sits on the right side of the image. It is sitting backwards in a wooden chair. It has its arms resting on the back of the chair and its head in its right hand. In its left hand it holds the hose of a hookah. The hookah that the hose attaches to is sitting on the seat of the chair, in between the Caterpillar's legs. The stem of the hookah features a heart shape and all glass parts of it glow blue. It is wearing a denim blue uniform made up of a coat and trousers. The coat has a wide collar and is double breasted. The trousers are rolled up to the calves, where it can be seen that the Caterpillar's has two below-the-knee prosthetics which are blue and col grey. It wears navy combat boots. Around the chair, on the floor, are five glowing blue bottles, in various shades, and an additional hookah. The each of the hookahs have two hose ports, with only one hose attached. The Caterpillar is smiling with half-lidded, yellow eyes. It has long wavy blue hair and two antenna protruding up from its forehead and splitting its bangs. it has light blue skin with medium blue stripe-like markings.

Image Two: On the left side of the frame, Alice stands facing full on to the camera and taking a step forward. She is holding a futuristic black long gun, which is filled with a glowing pink liquid, across her body. Her uniform is blue, which consists of a V neck, with a lighter single breasted panel over it and long sleeves, under a short sleeve, high collar bolero. She has what appears to be a name tag on her right upper chest. Her trousers are nondescript, but the same mid blue color and tucked into her knee-high boots. Her uniform has coat-tails which reach her calves. Her uniform is accented with silver, in the form of piping, buttons, belts, and the high collar. She has light skin and blonde hair, which is pulled back into a low bun, and she has bangs which are V shaped in the middle and long on the outsides. Her eyes are red and she is splattered with blood, mainly concentrated on the top of her head, he right shoulder, her left ribs, her right leg, and so much on her boots that it is hard to see that they were actually blue as well. Two speech bubble style notifications come from Alice's body, between her and the Majors. They are the same black and pink as her gun. In a seven-segment display style typeface, they read "E> [heart] Access denied <3 [heart]" under a small picture of a cat head with an army cap on that has the outline of a cat head in the center. The cat's mouth is open and three excitement marks are on either side of his face.

Hatter stands in the middle of the three characters, but he is close to Hare and has his weight n the leg closer to him. Hatter has his left hand on his hip and his right one up by his chin, with his index finger and thumb stuck out in an L shape. His eyes are closed and he appears to be biting his lower lip. He has medium brown skin and long brown hair that is pulled back in a low bun. His uniform includes of a royal blue coat with gold buttons and piping. It has a high collar and on his upper sleeve is an upside down cat hat shape in light purple. He has a red sash tied around his waist and wears light beige riding breeches with black paddock boots and light brown half-chaps. A little yellow star comes out of Hatter's face between him and Hare. Hatter wears a blue cap which matches his coat and has two bunny ears sticking out from the back; it's visor is shiny and black.

Hare is mostly side to the viewer, with his body facing towards Hatter and his head turned toward the viewer. He also has his weight on the leg which is closer to Hatter. He wears and olive green siren suit with a dingy undershirt beneath it. The sleeves are long enough that they cover his hands, which are held together in front of him. He wears dark brown combat boots and his suit has a warm white rabbit tail on the back. The upper sleeve of his suit has a light pink, right side up bunny head shape on it. He has tan skin and pink eye and he is smiling with his lips closed. His hair is short and green and nearly the same color as his uniform. He wears a hat much like Hatter's except that Hare's is the same green as his suit. There are three short, pink lines denoting excitement radiating on either side of his face.

End ID

Note: In the image description and this note, the names of the characters have been color coded, such that every time "Queen of Hearts," "Queen," or "Queen's" is appears it is in red; "Knave of Hearts," "Knave" and "Knave's" are in pink; "Caterpillar," "Caterpillar general," and "Caterpillar's" are in blue; "Scout Captain Alice Liddel," "Alice Liddel," "Alice," and "Alice's" are in purple; "Majors Hatter and Hare" is split so that "Majors Hatter" yellow, the "and" is the same as the rest of the text (dependent on what mode you have tumblr in) and "Hare" is green, while the instance of just "Majors" is split so the first three letters are yellow and the last three are green; "Hatter" and "Hatter's" is yellow; and "Hare" and "Hare's" is green. Similarly, "Image One" and "Image Two" are bold and in orange. End Note]

✨mechanisms character designs!!✨

i know i posted alice and the majors™️ before but i wanted the whole Alice Squad to be together,,

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