#rachel has mail!

[rlbbackup]

Hi Rach!

I'd like to ask something for the fic writer game:

😊 The fic that you’re the most proud of?

🪡 The scene you worked the hardest on in any fic?

🪜 Tell us a random fact about any fic!

Pretty please and thank you 😊

Whateversawesome! Thank you for the ask, dear 🥺♥️

😊

The fic I'm the most proud of... By a very close margin is probably Out of Routine. The fic came together really wonderfully and I still go back to read it from time to time. It was a joy to write and I felt such peace when I finally posted it (in a good way)!

A close second/third would be White Roses (because it's about my dear favorite assassin dad Matthew McMahon 🥺) and Beyond Sun and Moon (which was the start of my Myth Au anthology and was so much fun!)

🪡

A scene I've worked on the hardest in a fic... Would probably be the "He's fading 😭" scene from Fading Ink.

“Yor?” a voice called from the door, causing her to jump and clutched her wrist to her chest. Loid stood in the doorway, his blonde hair falling into his worried eyes as he watched her, one hand reaching towards her while the other hovered over his hip. It was an odd pose, but she didn’t really consider the implications. “What’s wrong? Are you alright?” She knew she should stay silent, claim that maybe she had a bad dream or that she had forgotten something important. Anything but the truth. He shouldn’t be burdened with this, not after he had lost his soulmate. But her emotions were running too high, her heart pounding in her chest so harshly it was practically screaming “No! NO! NO!” She needed someone to tell her she was seeing things. That Roland wasn’t disappearing. That he wasn’t leaving her. In the end, she broke down.

While it came together smoothly, I polished this scene quite a bit because of the emotion punch. I think it turned out pretty well!

🪜

Random fact about a fic:

The Fighting the Heart Series (Snake with Blue Eyes, We Never Knew, and Sleeping with the Telephone) all started because I had a deeply painful emotional realization last year. I mentioned in the Author note for We Never Knew that I had a bad day and wrote it to process and that's partially true. It was more of a bad week and I'm thankful that I wrote it and it's prequel/sequel. I love this series and am forever grateful for that horrible week and the joy that came from it.

[scoobydoodean]

"cas's only crime in season 6 was acting like a protagonist which is why he's punished for it bc dean controls the narrative of early seasons" is a take i've seen and im like. you mean chuck right. like. chuck is the guy who punished castiel constantly. chuck put the leviathans in purgatory. like i know dean is the pov character but like. he doesnt have that much narrative control

What if I said I think that take is insufferable hair brained nonsense that’s transparently motivated by a desire to ascribe a level of power and control to Dean that he simply has never and will never possess in order to villainize him for Cas’s mistakes because Cas simply making a choice that he knew was dangerous and could easily backfire on him and subsequently did is so distressing to deancrit casgirls that they can’t cope with it and have to do 5 rounds of olympic gymnastics inventing entire new worlds of Things That Did Not Happen to find a way to make it Dean’s fault that Cas got teen pregnant

[trans-axolotl]

US Harm Reduction Resources

continually updating, not a complete list. feel free to add on any resources you find helpful.

Free Safer Supplies:

Each organization will have different supplies, but generally, harm reduction orgs provide things like syringes, safer snorting + smoking kits, Narcan, condoms, lube, and wound care supplies. Each org has different policies for how to get supplies--some do deliveries, some have drop in centers, some only do one to one needle exchange, some are more flexible.

Next Distro: mail based syringe provider for certain states. Also mails free Narcan.

NASEN: national map of syringe providers

a lot of harm reduction collectives aren't going to have their information listed on big national websites--it's always worth searching "harm reduction in my area" and seeing what's around you. Even if you don't live in a big city, there might be a harm reduction organization in your state that can help you find someone closer to you. there's a lot of rad people doing underground work who want to be there to help you who aren't as easy to find online. If there's street medic collectives, mutual aid groups or groups like Food not Bombs in your area, you can ask people in them who might know where to find harm reduction services in your area!

Drug Users Unions:

Drug users unions are activist groups made for people who use drugs, by people who use drugs! Drug users unions do advocacy work to end criminalization, as well as providing vital community support. Many drug users unions are also inclusive of sex workers and work to decriminalize sex work as well. You can search for "drug users union" in your state.

Urban Survivors Union: National, has resources for creating drug users union

Chosen Few: Drug users union for Black drug users in DC

San Francisco Drug users union

Sex Work Advocacy Groups:

Organizations that do decrim advocacy and provide support for sex workers.

Sex Worker Outreach Project USA- National, has chapters in many states.

Black Sex Worker Collective

Sex Workers Project

How to Use Safely:

Guides, videos, toolkits for safer use!

Harm Reduction Coalition Resource Library

Getting Off Right: A Safety Manual for Injection Drug Users

Safer Crack Smoking

Safer Snorting

Safer Hormone Injection

Levels of Risk: Veins

Wound Care video w/ ASL

How to Use Fentanyl Test Strips

DanceSafe-testing kits, including reagent testing kits!

Erowid-shares experiences people have with different drugs, dosages, what things to expect

Bluelight- another forum for discussing experiences with drugs.

Drug Interactions Checker

Sex Work Resources:

Tricks of the Trade by L. Synn Stern: tips for street based sex work

A Quick and Dirty Sex Worker Safety Toolkit

Girls Do What they Have to Do To Survive by YWEP

Dis/Organizing: How We Build Collectives Beyond Institutions by Rachel Kuo & Lorelei Lee

Tryst Blog

Hotlines:

Never Use Alone: 877-696-1996. Overdose Prevention Hotline--Volunteers stay on the phone with you while you use and call emergency services if you overdose.

HIPS Hotline-​​​1 (800) 676-4477. Emotional support for drug users and sex workers. Does not work with cops.

feel free to add on more resources. love + lube <3

[mzannthropy]

The better question would be what is NOT a bad take I've read/heard.

I think it will always be that one line in Guardian that said Sam Claflin's performance was dull and it was hard to believe he was the big rock star. Bc while there are many, many bad takes here on Tumblr, most of these are from kids who have no idea what a relationship even entails, they think two characters looking at each other and kemmystri means they are soulmates or whatever (when Sam jointed tiktok he made a video with Riley standing next to him where she said, welcome to tiktok and Sam said "toktik" and that was it, a user here giffed it and someone rb the gifs tagging with "spouse goals", that says everything), DJATS has, for some reason, acquired a very young fanbase and gen z is developmentally behind already bc of the pandemic, not their fault but so it is, so takes like "Camila and Billy divorce!" and "Eddie has the biggest 90s stepdad energy" are maddening, but understandable considering the circumstances. Forgive them for they do not know what they do, etc. It was worse seeing shit from official channels. But that review from Guardian really HURT. And mind you, this was after he received his Golden Globe nomination. I admit I've not felt the same about the paper, event though I still use it as my source for news, bc I don't know where else to go. So yeah, that would be it.

Daisy Jones and The Six fans, worst take you've read/heard?

Mine is: Eddie would be a good dad to Julia.

@mzannthropy @andreabaideas @jesstasticvoyage @emdure

[princesssmars]

hazel falling in love with her childhood family friend is rotting my brain actually.

wc : 1383

sfw and slight nsfw? fem reader. thanking emma and rachel for making hazel rich because i love writing rich people stuff. i’d say maybe a good mix of cocky!hazel and loser!hazel because i love both so bad.

so for the first six years of her life she spends her winter holidays at a beautiful chalet in aspen with her parents, spending the days having snowball fights with her dad and falling asleep by the fireplace with her mom.

just like. she's rich, and her mom seems like one of thos wealthy women who loves to go on vacation to show off her perfect life and her perfect friends, so she or her husband definitely had a vacation house they'd visit every year.

when she turns seven they finally let her start skiing on the bunny slope, figuring it’s better than the little evil genius thing she does with the pots and the tiny snowmen. for a little kid she's pretty good at the sport already, if not taking the pizza and french fry tip a little too seriously.

about an hour in though, she's taking her umpteenth trip down the hill when a four foot mass slams into her right side, going at way above whatever speed limit was allowed in this area. she's lying flat on the ground, her right arm aching and her hound pounding and she's about ten seconds from crying when she looks over to see you, face planted in the snow and your shoulders shaking as you laugh like you're insane.

both sets of your parents rush over to make sure that the both of you are ok, and after you manage to calm down a bit and give hazel a very formal sounding apology that your mom whispered in your ear, you ask hazel if she can help you learn to control your speed on the slopes.

so after an hour of driving her crazy as she tries to teach you how to control your speed, your moms sit at a table watching over the both of you while sipping on their drinks and becoming fast friends.

ever since then, each winter was spent together. whether it was spending time in the snow, (hazel continued to excel at skiing, eventually giving up on trying to teach you), sharing stories of your normal lives over cups of cocoa at the cafe in the ski lodge, and helping each other decorate your christmas trees that you both had to beg your parents to buy.

whenever she went back home the days following new years, she’d count the days until she could see you again. to compensate for the time apart your parents let you send a horde of letters and e-mails to each other, letting the two of you share long phone calls on their phones when you were still to young to have your own.

hazels secret favorite hobby became photography. you couldn’t go twenty minutes without her shoving her polaroid camera in your face. she’ll tell you it’s because she’s using the vacation time to explore and try new things, and not that she constantly looks back over the photos of you with a big smile and a flush to her face.

(she also won’t mention that she’s addicted to the feeling she gets when pj and josie come over to her house and pj goes ona ten minute rant about how impossible it is that a girl that pretty could spend time with hazel without being insane. she ignores the insult because she’s hung up on the fact oh called you pretty.)

now i think hazel was pretty much always aware of the fact that she liked girls, if not because she realized that being obsessed with a certain scene from cruel intentions and always volunteering to play the husband when one of her friends wanted to play house on the playground was, in fact, not straight.

but at this point she’s maybe fifteen, she’s starting to grow into her looks and she’s definitely not ready to admit she might has a crush on you. at this point you both have had your own phones for a while, and she couldn’t even count the amount of times she had fallen asleep with you over facetime.

over the course of that year she often found herself wondering what your sexuality was. dumb ass stereotypes had her believing there was no way you, pretty and popular and preppy you could possibly be gay. and if you were a lesbian there was no chance that you'd like her back.

it was just made all the more confusing when once she had complained about how she hadn't had a girlfriend, let alone a first kiss yet and she was nearly halfway through high school with no experience for the hundredth time that you told her you had a solution for her on your next shared trip.

so you can imagine her shock when three days after landing in aspen you pull her into your room in your lodge and sit her on your bed before telling her you knew the perfect way to get more experience was to experiment with you.

"your first few times kissing and stuff can be pretty awkward, so why not just do it with me? i can show you the ropes and stuff.”

now on the outside she seemed normal, agreeing with an easy smile on her face, but on the inside her brain was playing the loudest tornado siren known to man.

it starts tame, the first few days consisting of you just telling her about your past experiences with girls and how to take it slow and everything. she knows its important but it honestly feels like torture. every time you talk to her she's wondering about what you'll do to start the physical lesson, if you'll set her down on her plush bed and softly touch her, or if you'll finally get fed up with the waiting like she is and press her and take her against a wall.

if you had known you would have prepared, but hazel was a freak in disguise and had decided that she was ready to take things into her own hands. you had invited her to sleep over at yours and drink hot cocoa while watching christmas movies and she had accepted in a heartbeat. what she didn't expect was for you to be wearing really cute pajamas, your legs covered in little hello kitty's and christmas trees with a plain red top and geez she could see you weren't wearing a bra.

hazel was a ticking time bomb, and when the two of you were sitting on the couch and she watched the reds and whites and golds dance across your face and you looked ovver at her with a 'what's wrong, hazie?' she exploded, smushing her lips onto yours in a mess of limbs and teeth.

she can feel your giggles in her mouth as she presses you down into the plush of the couch, her excited hands gripping your cheeks before brushing over your chest and gripping your waist, grinding her hips into yours and groaning when your giggle turned into high pitched moans.

it feels like she kisses you for hours before you reluctantly stop, your hands going to press into her shoulders when her head follows yours to resume making out. "hazel, as much as i'm enjoying this we were supposed to be taking this slowly. since when did you know how to...do that?"

"i dont know i just," she sighs as she tries to catch her breath, starting to get embarrassed about what a virginal mess she must look and be acting like. but you seem to like it, so she starts to not care all that much. "i just really want you. i wanna do everything with you."

you smile and hold her cheek in your hand, her eyes fluttering shut at your touch. you look at the gentle expression on her face, the slowing of her breath, and how her hips still occasionally stutter downward looking for yours, and you cant find it in your heart to deny her. you never really could.

"ok, hazie. we can do whatever you want-"

you're cut off before you can finish, the girl quickly rejoining your lips together and groping at your body once again.

when she gets back from vacation, hazel is less single, less unexperienced, and more than ready to throw this in pj's face.

i kinda lost inspo for this can you tell :,(((( but i thought the idea was cute so take this thing. bye.

[invisibleicewands]

Bringing revolution to Port Talbot - by Michael Sheen

On a recent February morning, I woke up to find I was wrong. Not a particularly uncommon experience in itself, but unusual to discover that on this occasion I was being publicly accused of it by the Secretary of State for Business and Trade. “Michael Sheen has said that ‘the people of Port Talbot have been let down’,” Kemi Badenoch wrote in the Daily Mail. “But he is wrong.”

It was a big day. I spent all of last year directing a three-part drama series for the BBC called The Way, which was to air that night. It begins in my hometown of Port Talbot, where a strike at the local steelworks becomes the spark that ignites a violent descent into national chaos. Clearly, Ms Badenoch had been given a sneak peek of the series before forming quite a strong opinion on it. But no: reading her article, Ms Badenoch admits that she hadn’t watched it at all. Why let a total lack of information prevent a full-throated denouncement, eh? Presumably, she also assumes that we managed to write, film and edit the entire series after Tata Steel announced the imminent loss of some 2,500 jobs at the steelworks mere weeks ago.

While the winds of change have only been blowing in one direction for many years, the events in our story were dreamed up some years ago and act as a fictional catalyst for all that follows. Surely even Tory ministers understand there is no VIP fast lane for making a TV series. This isn’t a PPE contract, after all…

Nothing to see here

After that episode aired, it occurred to me that such shenanigans in the right-wing press could have been about a couple of things. Since the ITV drama about the Post Office scandal, Mr Bates vs The Post Office, caused public outrage, I imagine the government has a new fear of the impact a TV show can have. A pre-emptive strike against a series it perceives to be criticising its actions around the steel industry must have seemed a useful tactic. And, having seen Breathtaking – based on Rachel Clarke’s memoir of how the Covid crisis unfolded in the NHS, which aired on ITV the same night as The Way – I wonder if her piece was an attempt to distract attention away from more dangerous territory.

It gave Ms Badenoch a chance to trot out her line about how the people of Port Talbot should be grateful for all that the government is doing to save the steel industry, not moaning about the impact job losses will have on their community. But the people of Port Talbot have been let down, no matter what Ms Badenoch wants us to think. Not by any single entity, but by years of neglect. That she immediately assumed my comments referred to her and her government tells its own story. In the words of a much older drama than mine: the lady doth protest too much, methinks.

Then and Nye

“This crisis is a privateering racket with your friends lining their pockets!” No, not an accusation against Boris Johnson, but something I currently say to Winston Churchill every night. We opened a new play called Nye at the National Theatre this week. I play Aneurin (“Nye”) Bevan, who attacks the prime minister for turning a wartime crisis into a money-making scheme for him and his cronies. It’s one of many moments in the play that seem to speak to past and present at the same time.

The entanglement of “now” and “then” is heightened by the fact that I am wearing pyjamas. Nye is lying unconscious in his hospital bed at the end of his life, and we follow him through a dream of his past. He wanders from childhood memories of overcoming his stutter in Tredegar library to his meteoric rise through local politics, to becoming the youngest member of Clement Attlee’s pioneering postwar cabinet. And, of course, as minister for health, his tumultuous birthing of the NHS on 5 July 1948. It’s an extraordinary, surprising and moving experience telling this story on stage each night. That shared space between actors and audience, where all is felt but unseen, crackles with electricity.

Once more, with feeling

It seems that exploring the motives of politicians, the uses and abuses of political power, and the quest for justice that saw the creation of the NHS taps into deep wells of emotion. Like the pockets of gas that miners feared within the coal seam, their release brings risk and reward. At a recent show, we had three instances of people needing to be helped out of the theatre, the final one forcing us to pause the show moments from its end. Thankfully, it was nothing more serious than someone fainting. But emotions are running high.

I’m more than happy to invite Ms Badenoch to a performance. But I realise, of course, there’s no guarantee she would make it to the end.

[ofmdrecaps]

12/01-02/2024 Daily OFMD Recap

TLDR; Rhys Darby; Taika Waititi; Vico Ortiz; Kristian Nairn; Samba Schutte; Rachel House; Dominic Burgess; Adopt Our Crew; Letting Writing Campaign for OFMD S3!; Fan Spotlight: Our Flag Means Fanfiction; Citizen Dame Pod; 2024 Podfuckery; OFMD Big Bang; Love Notes;

Hey crew, as you can see I'm slowly catching up. I've been sick and my dads back at the hospital so things are a bit cray cray at the moment. Thank you for all your patience <3

= Rhys Darby =

Rhys was out in Atlanta doing comedy with Steve Wriggles, and lots of our crewmates got to get out and see him!

Source: Rhys and Steves Instagram Stories

- More Darby Daily Doodles -

Source: Rhys' Free Substack

= Taika Waititi =

Lots of BTS is coming out with Taika on Interior Chinatown!

Source: Instagram

There's also been more BTS for the KokoFoundation event that he and Minnie did a few weeks back!

Source: Letters Live Instagram

This article features Taika AND Anapela! Thank you to Jess aka @summerlinenss.bsky.social‬ for the share!

Source: Summerlinens Bsky

= Vico Ortiz =

Vico recently received  the “Courage Award” during the 29 Palms Film Festival! Check out their acceptance speech below!

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Vico Ortiz (@puertoricaninja)

Source: Vico's Instagram

= Kristian Nairn =

Kristian was out with friends doing some winter celebrations!

Source: Ryzymackay Instagram

And he had a wee update for everyone before heading off to Columbus OH!

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Kristian Nairn (@kristiannairn)

Source: Kristian's Instagram

= Samba Schutte =

Fantastic news! Best Life, staring Samba was nominated for a third award! This time New York Shorts Award!

Source: Samba's Instagram

And yet another trailer for Parallel! (It sounds like its working on amazon prime again incase you ran into trouble).

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Seasick Studios (@seasickstudios_)

Source: Instagram

- Advanced Chemistry BTS -

Our friend Alec Moore, writer of Advanced Chemistry and big OFMD advocate was kind enough to give us some BTS for the movie with Samba! Check some of it out below-- if you've seen the movie and have yet to review it on amazon, please take a moment to send them some love! Amazon Reviews

Source: Alec Moore's Bsky

A lot of the background pictures of samba's character Allen show Samba doing Air Guitar! Here are some closer looks!

Source: Alec moore

= Rachel House =

Rachel attended the @asiapacificscreenawards_ celebration and her film Te Maunga was nominated for "Best Youth film”. She sends out her "Massive congrats to the beautiful film Boong @lp_devi who deservedly won."!

Source: Rachel's Instagram

= Dominic Burgess =

Dominic always knows how to bring a smile to our face with cat content <3

Source: Dominic's Bsky

In addition, in case you haven't already checked it out-- Skeleton Crew is out on Disney Plus, and our favorite Jeffrey Fettering is in the show! Congrats Dominic!

Source: Dominic's Bsky

== Adopt Our Crew ==

Thank you @adoptourcrew for sharing this article on OFMD from Screenrant! Check it out here.

Source: Adopt Our Crew's Instagram

== Letter Writing Campaign! ==

Our friend Molly aka @aproperpirate.bsky.social has started up a letter writing campaign to try and convince Netflix to adopt #OurFlagMeansdeath!  Check out more info below! (If you don't have bluesky, Molly has agreed to let me post the instructions on the repo as well.)

What?

Letters and/or postcards explaining why you want Netflix to adopt OFMD. Highlight its accolades, reviews, representation, or simply what it means to you. Be honest and authentic! Send as many as you want!

Where?

Mail to:

Netflix Corporate Headquarters

121 Albright Way

Los Gatos, California 95032

When?

Plan for your letter(s) to arrive anywhere during the week of January 5-12, 2025 to coincide with the one year anniversary of cancelation on January 9.

Source: AProperPirate Bsky

== Fan Spotlight ==

= Our Flag Means Fanfiction =

New episode of Our Flag Means Fanfiction is out! Check them out on spotify! "Today we’re talking with Molly, Dahlia and Tessa about crime, criminals and outsiders; and how nefarious law-breakers actually have a positive impact on society — especially when they’re sabotaging authoritarian regimes"

Source: Our Flag Means Fanfiction Spotify

= Citizen Dame =

For those of you subscribed to the citizen dame podcast, the last two episode of OFMD S2 are up! This OFMD Series is for subscribers and it's a been a blast to go over all the wonderful things in the last couple episodes. Wanna learn more? Check them out on Patreon!

Source: Citizen Dame Patreon

= OFMD Podfuckery =

Some fun news! There's a new ofmd podfuckery going on! Several of the resident podficcers of the OFMD community are recording fics in their own style! Wanna follow along with the fun? Check out their bluesky!

First on the list is The Hunt - by our dear @petrichorca and read by @kninjaknitter.bsky.social! Are you a podficcer and wanna get in on the fun? Jump on in and keep an eye out for the #podfuckery tag on bsky!

Source: OFMDPodFuckery Bsky

= 2024 OFMD Big Bang =

The 2024 OFMD Big Bang, hosted by @ofmdbigbang is officially over! You can check out the completed works list here. If you haven't already checked out their tumblr, they've posted all the amazing works people have put together for it! Check them out over on @ofmdbigbang!

Source: OFMDBigBang Tumblr

== Love Notes ==

Hey lovelies. It's almost 2025! Holy moly! I can't even believe it honestly, where has this year gone? I have been so blessed to be able to spent a lot of it with so many of you, and getting to share in your laughter and your tears, and I am so very grateful for that. Tonight I just wanted to send you a quick reminder that if you need to get something off your chest -- please ,oh please, do. I know a lot of us worry about whether or not there are "worse things" going on for other people, and you know what, something is going bonkers for every person everywhere, and if we all just didn't talk to one another every time someone else was struggling with their own issues, no one would ever talk. Of course, be sure to ask if people have spoons, or find a group you know is cool with chatting (and obviously if they're laying in a hospital bed, maybe dont bug that person unless they say its okay)-- but please find someone to talk to. It's easy to fall into the pattern of "I don't want to bother people" or "My problems seem like so much less". You'd be surprised how much of your crew really cares and wants to help. I myself, when things get really tough, feel better when I get to talk to other people about their own issues, because I can put some love out into the world that I'm not feeling as strongly at the moment from elsewhere.

You never know until you ask, so please ask <3 Love you crew, take care of yourselves, ya hear?

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Women Who Run With The Moon (@womenwhorunwiththemoon)

Img Source: WomenWhoRunWithTheMoon Instagram

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Rachel Leingang at The Guardian:

Donald Trump, campaigning in the border swing state of Arizona on Thursday, called the country a “garbage can” because of immigration policies under the Biden administration.

“We’re like a garbage can, you know, it’s the first time I’ve ever said that,” Trump said in Tempe, Arizona, the home of Arizona State University. “And every time I come up and talk about what they’ve done to our country, I get angry. First time I’ve ever said garbage can, but you know what, it’s a very accurate description.” Candidates and their surrogates for both presidential campaigns are blitzing swing states like Arizona in the final two weeks before election day. The Republican vice-presidential candidate JD Vance held two campaign rallies in Arizona earlier this week. Joe Biden and the former president Barack Obama are set to visit this week, as is Tim Walz, the Democratic vice-presidential pick. A banner behind the stage said, “Vote early!” – a change in strategy for Republicans and Trump, who have cast doubt on early and mail-in voting by falsely claiming it is an avenue for widespread fraud. He said of Arizona voting: “They got a problem. Gotta make it too big to rig.” An image of Trump, raised fist and bloodied ear after his assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania, showed before he came out. Early on, he displayed on screens behind him the chart of migration that he has attributed with saving his life.

Donald Trump, an anti-American shitstain on humanity, calls the US a “garbage can” due to immigration.

See Also:

HuffPost: Trump Escalates Dehumanizing Immigrant Rhetoric: ‘We’re Like A Garbage Can’

[covid-safer-hotties]

Also Preserved on our archive

By Meike Leonard

Long Covid clinics across the country are closing their doors, leaving desperate patients without vital treatment and feeling ‘abandoned’, they have claimed.

Dedicated clinics set up to support long Covid patients in Surrey, Croydon, Hertfordshire and Lanarkshire have been shuttered, The Mail on Sunday has learned.

A service in Devon will close in the New Year, patients have told this newspaper, and we have learned that clinics in Frimley may also be facing the axe.

Now, campaigners and doctors speaking to this newspaper say this winding down of long Covid provisions will have a devastating impact on the millions suffering from the condition.

‘It shows that the NHS and Government are not interested in long Covid,’ said Kent-based GP Dr Stephanie De Giorgio.

‘They genuinely don’t consider this a priority despite the vast amount of people who currently need treatment – and the many more who may need treatment in the future. This isn’t a niche service – the NHS needs to accept long Covid as a real and far-reaching problem.’

While most people recover from Covid within days or weeks and make a full recovery within three months, for some the symptoms last longer. An estimated 1.9 million people in the UK were suffering with persisting issues after Covid, as of March 2023.

Patients report fatigue, shortness of breath, problems with memory and concentration – so-called ‘brain fog’ – muscle aches and joint pain, dizziness and palpitations among other things.

For some, these can be so severe it prevent them working, going to school or carrying out even basic daily tasks.

This was the case for 36-year-old Rachel Hext, who was forced to give up work as a nurse two years ago after catching Covid and never recovering.

The mother-of-two first became ill while working on a Covid ward in her hospital, just after returning from maternity leave. Later on, Rachel regularly had treatment at her closest long Covid clinic in Torbay, Devon – having been referred by her GP.

These services, launched in November 2020 with a special £10million ring-fenced fund, were designed to be a one-stop-shop staffed by a range of specialists who could help tackle the variety of complaints that hit long Covid patients.

But Rachel says her local clinic is soon to close. ‘In spring, my doctor called to tell me that the clinic would be closing in the summer,’ she said.

‘He said that I would still be able to get treatment by specialists for whatever conditions had already been diagnosed with.

But he couldn’t answer what would happen with new referrals, or how I would get help for any new problems that might crop up.’ Rachel said she was later informed that the facility had been granted an extension but would be closing in the New Year.

When contacted by The Mail on Sunday, NHS Devon denied there were plans to decommission their long Covid service, although e-mails from clinicians working at the clinic contradict this.

‘There are some people who have a huge number of issues and they won’t be able to get proper treatment without dedicated long Covid clinics,’ she said.

Long Covid campaigners say the closures are due to funding issues and the fact that fewer people are seeking care from them.

Originally run by NHS England, responsibility for the clinics was handed to integrated care boards (ICBs) – the 42 bodies in England which allocate funding to local health services – earlier this year.

In Scotland, 14 NHS Boards have a similar role. Support groups say that since this shift, patients and staff have reported closures and a scaling back of services. They say that key personnel are being redeployed or leaving the NHS altogether.

‘NHS England de-prioritised long Covid by not mandating that ICBs keep running the clinics,’ said Manchester-based lung expert Dr Binita Kane.

‘They may claim that fewer people are using the services, but I suspect what’s actually happening is that fewer people are testing for Covid now, making it harder to get a long Covid diagnosis further down the line.

‘Long Covid patients who have had it for a while may have improved or are ironically considered too severe for treatment. This may make it seem like the clinics are less necessary – but there are many more long Covid patients still in need of help.’

The challenge if clinics all close down, Dr Kane added, is that these patients will now have to be absorbed into existing services that aren’t set up to deal with their complex symptoms.

NHS England and the Scottish government have been approached for comment.

[rlbbackup]

Hi Rach! Here comes a train with two questions for you…

🥚 Any easter eggs you put in a fic that you hoped people would notice?

😮 Anything you included in your fic that you didn’t expect people to like?

Hi mint! Thank you for the questions! 🥰

🥚- currently I have no intentional Easter eggs in my fics 😅 the only ones that have something close to that are in series which just makes them continuation of plot 🤣

😮 - honestly! I'm really surprised at how well people take my use of the Japanese honorifics/names in my fics. I understand it can take people out of the immersion but there's this...depth - I think is the right term? - that I feel adds to the language of the fic. Yeah I could just use the English translations, but it hits differently in my opinion and I'm really glad people have rolled with that with me!

[brf-rumortrackinganon]

RTA what is your opinion about the rumors that Daily Mail has a heavy dossier on Rachel but stopped short of publishing it thanks to the love shield released by her current husband?

The latest threat is so unconvincing, she looked uncomfortable as hell. I feel like she answered it in an impulse rather than answering with a plot in mind, the crazy blinking is proof that she was nervous and caught off guard. All these while she was using Harold to push the buttons but she wouldn't dare to do it on her own because once she does it, the BRF will give the green light to release all her dirty skeletons in that big ass cupboard.

Harold looks like he's ready to open his mouth too coz he's not willing to be Just Harry anymore and if that means throwing Rachel under the bus, he'll be okay with it. Looks like Rachel is truly desperate but helpless.

It wasn't the love shield that stopped the dossiers from coming out. It was the BRF clamping down sometime mid-2017 (I feel like it was around Pippa's wedding, but others differ) - probably when Harry started talking about wanting to get The Queen's approval to marry and Meghan started leaking they were already engaged.*

No one thought the relationship had any kind of seriousness until the love shield came out. They thought she was just another girl Harry was spending time with and that she'd be gone in a few weeks like every other girl. But then came the love shield and everything changed. Reporters started digging into her because she was worth the time, attention, and ink now since she was just heartbeats away from being in the family.

*Here's my theory about their engagement. I think Harry proposed as soon he had felt he had a connection with Meghan, probably after their third date in Africa, and it wasn't a very instagrammable kind of proposal. It was a dirty greasy sweaty post-coital proposal. Meghan said yes (because of course she would), it's how Harry fast-tracked a lot of approvals - especially letting her stay at KP as "just" a girlfriend, which we know she did because of the 2016 Remembrance Day papwalk and Harry's recollection in Spare - but when they get actually finally get the approvals to announce their engagement (which I suspect the BRF made them delay until Meghan was done with Suits), Meghan realized it wasn't a cute, romantic proposal story (it didn't even have a ring!) so she planned a redo that Harry "surprised" her with when she moved to the UK. And that's why there's three different stories about how they got engaged. (And how Jess knew to answer the phone when Meghan called mid-proposal.)

[allwormdiet]

Buzz 7.1

Oh boy, some calm, thank goodness, I hope there's no storm that might interrupt this somehow

Oh, Taylor. You've gotta find a better way to score physical intimacy with people than this, you are not going to get what you're looking for

I was already a bit reserved about whether I thought these two would work out and that was before reading the rest of this arc, so...

Does Lisa know that this is going to end the way it does? I can't imagine she would, she wants her team happy and the way things are about to go between these two is not going to be super happy. Maybe she's reading Brian wrong, if what he said is true about not being so good with girls, and her power is misinterpreting the data

Taylor, you both fucked that up last night, don't pin it all on Danny. You could have told him and given him the opportunity to prove you wrong, to give you something better than the worst-case scenario, but you overruled that and left your home out of. Pride? Shame? C'mon girl.

Fucking finally we get the Alec backstory

Fucking creepy power, though I guess the real creep factor is that he's willing to use it and has used it to make a fucking slave army out of brainwashed women

On the one hand, I get pressing Alec for information, because all of a sudden that's something that the rest of them may have to worry about, but I'm not sure threatening him into talking is the way...

I think that's the youngest age we have for a trigger event so far. And it was deliberately induced by Alec's father. Utterly horrifying.

So... Alec doesn't seem to think he has any kind of moral core, and I'm not sure that's true? Lisa is still the only one out of the group who carries a gun, and Taylor is out here with a knife that she's used to take eyes and toes at this point; Alec's got a comparatively nonlethal loadout, so even if he doesn't feel bad about killing, he doesn't put himself in a situation where it's easy to do.

Taylor, hon, I don't think it's on you to judge him, much as you would love to

Like. Was Alec even treated as a person before he got his power? Was he treated as a person after that? None of the adults in his life ever made an effort to raise him, because they were either his monster father or his father's brainwashed slaves who only cared about him, so any "parenting" would've come from older siblings probably about as fucked as him.

You know what? I'm laying it out here now. The fact that Alec is lazy, selfish, and kind of an asshole, who's not great at reading people and prioritizes personal pleasure over most other things? Actually no joke a huge mark in his favor, because that's who he's figured out how to be after spending 12-13 years of his 15-16 years of life in Hell (which, as I've long suspected, is contained within Montreal) and then three years on the run as a career criminal. The worst thing that I can say about him is that he acts like a shitty teenager, and people act like shitty teenagers while coming from normal homes. Congratulations, Alec, you will be getting a trophy for good behavior (given the circumstances) delivered in the mail

This is sweet. Even with this unpleasant surprise, Brian is still reluctant to act like they'd leave Alec to deal with Heartbreaker alone

This is the most obvious downside of the arrangement, setting aside the matter of "can we trust Coil" (hahahaha)

Rachel, fucking bless you for being the voice of reason here

Yes! Bonding time with Rachel! Friendship rank up with Rachel! Upgrade your Social Link with Rachel in order to strength Personas of the Chariot Arcana!

Actually has someone made a read of the Worm cast as Persona S.Links because I feel like you could make some interesting choices there, obviously Taylor fulfills the Fool/Wild Card role

This is smart as fuck actually. She's basically cutting Brian off before he can interject as the head of the team and establishing her own stance within the hierarchy

An explicit bargain, made with rules for Taylor to follow and consequences if Taylor breaks those rules, all slanted in Rachel's favor.

One day you're gonna call her Rachel in your own head, Taylor, and I can't wait for that

Current Thoughts

Main thing with this chapter is that we've gotten all but one Undersider backstory filled in with Alec's ties to Heartbreaker laid out. Lisa's the last holdout, and I suspect she'll remain mum on the subject as long as she can get away with it

I'm still of the position that Alec reads a lot more shallow on the surface than he actually is, but all we have to go off of is what he says and what he does, with the trick that it's filtered through Taylor's own fairly biased perspective (she thinks he's a coldblooded murderer because his father ordered him to kill an enemy gang member, and that's certainly a read of the situation but she's just as likely jumping to conclusions). He's also taken care to not do much when he can help it, save for the Bakuda fight where he worked his ass off keeping them all alive. It's a waiting game to get to the meat of his character, I suspect, same as basically every other Undersider except Rachel.

Speaking of which, really enjoy the next chapters with Rachel. By far the Undersider I'd spend the most time with. We'd hang out with dogs and not talk to each other for hours, it'd be great.

Anyway, after a brief little scare with my entire account getting temporarily dropped from existence, I'm going to start using the alt I made @wormstreetsback as a backup for this one, on the off chance something goes horribly awry again. It's just going to be reblogs of my own stuff so don't follow it yet, unless you're fine with doubled posts.

[the-empress-7]

"Oh Empress don't you know that Daily Mail tracked Rachel's ancestors to Ghana? You're giving her new ideas now.'

Let's see, so far Meghan's DNA supposedly traces back to Ireland, England/UK, Germany, Ukraine, Malta, Spain, Italy, Nigeria (43%, did you hear?), and now Ghana, as well. That has to equal, in total, over 100% of her genome already. Pretty soon it will reach 200%. AHmazing! What a woman! In other words, all of those "haters" and surrogacy nuts who question whether A&L's DNA is Harry's, Meghan's, both, half, or neither...can just &*%?!! off! Because it will be revealed that Meghan contributed ALL of A&L's DNA - she has so much to "spare" - and didn't even need any of H's. She's the bestest royal to ever royal!

[willowser]

okay i've never really watched friends but the other day a clip came up on tiktok and it was like. ross listening to a voice-mail and finding out that rachel had/has a "thing" for him, and they just like. stare at each other 🥺 and i can't stop thinking about it aifbriskakal

i think confessing to bakugou could be a lot like that 🥺 either you tell him or he finds out someway and he just 🥺 looks at you, trying to keep a hold on his expression 🥺 and he doesn't even know what to say 🥺

[tangent101]

Imagine if Max's Rewind vanished...

One of the huge assumptions for Sacrifice Chloe is that by seeing Chloe die, Max gained the Rewind. Thus by going back in time to the Butterfly photo and not saving Chloe, that fixes everything. If you just pick at one or two threads the whole things falls apart and becomes what it truly is: a selfish divinity wanting a human sacrifice. But what if this was in fact the truth... that by not seeing Chloe die, Max doesn't gain the Rewind.

So then... there is one point in which Max would not have the Rewind and that would be when Max tries to save William. She would not have the Rewind. She would have no way of stopping William. He walks out the door and she knows he's going to die... and she doesn't go forward in time. She's stuck there. She is 18 years old and trapped as her 13 year old self.

However, Max has a far greater understanding of the world as a result and can fix the mistakes she made the first time around. And that would be that she refuses to stop talking to Chloe this time. She does everything to stay in touch. She goes to the library and e-mails Chloe. She works on her own mental health, knowing what she herself went through that first time, she goes to the school counselor perhaps, she mourns with Chloe (if from afar)... and something new happens this time around.

Max is there to witness the start of the problems with David.

Naturally Max is going to tell her to go to the authorities. Report David for abuse. But much as likely happened the first time, Joyce handwaves it away, the police ignore it, Blackwell ignores it. Max would be horrified by the fact Chloe is being abused by this asshole and no one will do anything.

But there's a huge difference this time. Because Max is in her life. Perhaps she talks to her own school counselor about this abuse and how no one is doing anything. Maybe she talks to her parents. In fact, I think she would do the latter... and I think that Ryan and Vanessa would listen to their daughter. More, they might even listen to how the police won't do anything and they know how worried Max is... so they contact Joyce. They offer an alternative.

Let Chloe come up to Seattle for the summer. It will give Joyce and David a break from the conflicts with Chloe, Chloe can settle down and be with her best friend... and I think Joyce would jump at that possibility. She may claim she wants a "family" in LiS but what she really wants is for the fighting to stop. She wants security. And I think that with time away from Chloe... Joyce might realize that she's happier with her daughter living away from her.

Perhaps Joyce is the one who suggests that Chloe start attending classes in Seattle. If the Caulfields don't mind. Nor do I think Ryan and Vanessa would mind. They see how much their daughter has just... brightened and become more alive with Chloe in her life. Chloe would likely have to start a year back because her grades did suffer after William's death, and having someone she knows attending the same year would help Chloe settle in.

Chloe meanwhile is flourishing. She is exploring the city with Max. She misses her dad something fierce but Max is by her side. Max is there to hold her when she cries, Max cries with her, Max doesn't tell her she has to toughen up, she says it's okay to cry. And I think Chloe would heal. She wouldn't be quite the punk she is in the timeline where she remained in Arcadia Bay to be abused and ignored, though I think she's embrace some elements of it. (Max would likely encourage her to dye her hair blue.)

Max would be surprised, but only a tiny bit, when Chloe dares her to kiss her. She'd jump at the opportunity.

There'd be no return to Blackwell. Max would be more interested in staying with Chloe, and let's be honest, Mark Jefferson was only ever an excuse to return to Arcadia Bay. And Max would be surprised to learn that Rachel Amber went missing one day. Perhaps she might even send an anonymous letter recommending the authorities investigate Nathan Prescott.

The death of Kate Marsh shocks Max. She wasn't there to save her. She doesn't remember her face. It's been five years for her. She forgot that she was on the roof, that she was the one to talk her down. But there is one thing that happens... and that's the arrest of Nathan Prescott for questioning a couple days later... and then Mark Jefferson going on the run as he sees the noose closing around his own throat.

Fortunately, Max now has Chloe there. I don't know if Max would ever tell Chloe the truth about the time travel. I mean... she might. She wouldn't be able to prove a thing, but I think Chloe would believe her because... Max changed that day. She stopped being the meek girl she was... and she remained in touch. Max was the one who reached out and helped Chloe find a new home when she was being abused. And Max would have to admit how the first time around, she just didn't stay in touch and she refused to make that mistake this time around. Maybe she couldn't save Chloe's dad but... she saved Chloe.

Would there still be a Storm? Would Arcadia Bay be destroyed three days after the death of Kate Marsh? Or would things go differently this time around? Without Chloe to be there for Rachel, would the spirit of Rachel seek to destroy Arcadia Bay? Or would she and Kate watch as Jefferson fled, a fugitive, as justice was served?

Ultimately it doesn't matter. Max and Chloe have a different destiny now. They are together in Seattle, falling in love all over again, slower perhaps, but more deeply. And they'd move on and live the life that was denied to them in another time.

[wisebeth]

LISTEN. im not a big fan of love triangles, mostly because they're usually pointless or there to stir up unnecessary drama but i will admit i genuinely liked the rachel-percy-annabeth love triangle.

but i personally think the rachel-annabeth represented something deeper than just two girls who like the main character. rachel and annabeth both symbolised two different aspects of percy's life. while annabeth represented his demigod life and godly heritage, rachel represented his mortal upbringing. percy is a bridge between these two worlds, while he is a demigod and it'll forever be a part of him, he also grew up as a mortal child and being a mortal gives him a sense of normalcy, and choosing one over the other is percy choosing which life he chose to identity himself with.

annabeth chase links him to his godly heritage

percy met annabeth and the whole chb when he was struggling as a mortal kid, he felt like an outcast in school, his stepdad was a shitty man, and then ultimately he lost his mom. his experience in the mortal world was not good at all. in fact the only thing which happened to him that time was becoming grover's friend, who once again, was a part of the demigod life.

finding chb was a blessing to him. he met kids who are just like him. he made friends who genuinely care for him. he found the love of his life there. he found a way to get rid of smelly gabe and get his mother back. he met his dad. the start of percy and sally's better life started after percy learned his demigod heritage. it gave him a second place to call home.

and annabeth was a part of all of it. annabeth was a demigod. she associates herself with the demigod world. she is proud of it. she was one of percy's first friends. she was also one of the major reasons why chb felt home to percy. she was an important of his whole demigod journey. she fought by his side. they risked their life for each other. they understood and felt home to each other. they were for each other at their lowest points and even happiest points.

“See, Annabeth wants to be an architect when she grows up, so she’s always visiting famous monuments and stuff. She’s weird that way. She’d e-mailed me the picture after spring break, and every once in a while I’d look at it just to remind myself she was real and Camp Half-Blood hadn’t just been my imagination.”

– percy jackson and the sea of monsters

rachel dare reminds him of his mortal upbringing

while chb gave him another home and true friends, being a demigod also had its cons, such as he constantly has to be on guard and watch out for monster attacks. his life is far from normal and stress-free, he rarely gets time to act like a teenager. on top of that, he has to watch his friends die, get betrayed by someone he looked upto and now there's a war coming up. no child deserves to go through that.

percy needed a break and a sense of normalcy, and that normalcy in this case was the life he could lead as a mortal. no monster attacks. no war. which means no stress and no further trauma. he can be a teenager for once. living his life as a normal highschool student is far better than this.

rachel was a mortal, and like percy she grew up as a mortal. she wasn't connected or involved to any of the demigod stuff. she was just percy's mortal friend who helped him when he needed. percy spent his entire summer right before the war with her. away from chb. because she provided him that normalcy at a time of war. she provided him the temporary break he needed.

“We'd spent a lot of time together this summer. I hadn't exactly planned it that way, but the more serious things got at camp, the more I found myself needing to call up Rachel and get away, just for some breathing room. I needed to remind myself that the mortal world was still out there, away from all the monsters using me as their personal punching bag.”

– percy jackson and the last olympian

It's not a coincidence rick used similar words to describe how annabeth and rachel made him feel

percy ending up with annabeth also signifies how he ultimately chose his demigod life.

while rachel provided him a break from all this stress, and he enjoyed her company, his feelings and connection with annabeth was too deep for him to suddenly go out with rachel just because he and annabeth had a fight. even if he tried to go out with rachel instead, he wouldn't have been happy with her.

just like how the mortal world could give him a temporary normalcy, he could never truly escape from his demigod life. it will forever be a part of him. even with all its flaws and cons, camp half blood was his home and the only place he feels understood. he can never turn his back on it, even if he tried, he would fail.