#nothing groundbreaking

[jonathanbyersphd]

Something about El watching Frankenstein

[lheartmagicians-archived]

i have non selfshippers following me, hi i hope you know i self ship i hope you didn’t follow me for one thing

[petite-ursus]

Ok, so now I am of course relistening to the Protector of the Small series. Alanna thoughts.

Thinking about Alanna's fingers "itching to heal" even Wyldon's arm.

It's who she is.

Thinking about how badly she wanted to help Kel, just as a regular mentor. She probably pictured they'd have a game of chess in the evening like she did with Sir Myles, discussing life and what Kel was going through... with the addition of a wave of her hand, easing away the odd black eye. Of course she would know how rough and tumble being a page is, and healing Kel after a rough day would have been a matter of course for her. Seamlessly fitted into this image of mentoring the next girl page. She could heal Kel, and so she would and she wouldn't even think about it. (If Sir Myles had been gifted, he'd have done the same for Alanna.)

So there's Alanna's frustration at not being able to help as a mentor. Understanding what it is like to bear the isolation of being the only girl (even if her friends didn't know it.) And then there's not being able to help as a healer. Which is a huge part of her character and how she "repays." Especially as a woman who knows what it's like to be a beaten on page., and how it feels to believe you just have to "take it" and figure it out on your own.

And despite that mentality and the thing that set her apart, she had friends (plural) as a page, right from the start. Because only she knew she was different. Yes she had a bully, but he was singular, not systemic. Even without her peers and Sir Myles, she had Coram. She had people constantly offering help. Her journey was learning to accept the help that was always there.

In contrast, she knows Kel is very much alone (with few exceptions.) More bullies than friends. Even the teachers target her. It takes weeks for anyone besides Neal to even speak to Kel. She's alone. It's Page!Alanna's biggest fear: everyone knows how Kel is different, and YEAH they actually don't like her for it. Alanna didn't want Kel to be alone, on any level. She wanted it to be better for her not (in so many ways) worse.

So there's all of that and she knows Kel is in extra unnecessary pain every day.

Despite being blocked from helping directly, we know she has So Many Eyes on that girl. General consensus from the servants and Sir Myles must have been "she's plucky for sure; she doesn't show how much it hurts, but the boys are essentially beating on her every day. If it's not from being rough in training, or making her slip on oil/literal urine, she's being literally hit in fights. She's bruised somewhere different every day."

She knows how it is, to be afraid that showing that any of it is getting to you will mean everyone loses all respect for you. She knows how lonely that is, even with friends.

So. Her fingers itching to heal. To help. The bruise balm. Absolutely packed with magical strength. As much power as she could possible force into the concoction. So much frustrated Care that it makes Neal yelp. Her first something to say "someone cares; I know what you're dealing with, and it doesn't need to hurt this bad. I don't want it to hurt this bad."

Edit: and I know she gave a knife first but that's Different to me. More broad "good luck" and less specific care.

[hostess-of-horror]

I cannot wait for the day when it has been revealed that Monty did not, in fact, decommission Bonnie inside his own attraction and, as a result, all of the Monty Haters are losing their shit over it.

[virtchandmoir]

Tallinnas käinud OM-kuld jätkab treeneriametis: see on suurim väljakutse

Iluuisutamise nelja kontinendi meistrivõistlused tõid Tallinnasse palju nimekaid külalisi, nende seas jäätantsu kahekordse olümpiavõitja Scott Moiri.

[tarhalindur]

TFW you notice the incredibly obvious surface-level take that never comes up in the fandom and you’re pretty sure it’s because it’s so obvious that everybody just notes it’s there and then moves on to the more interesting analyses.  (Either that or it got buried under all the other surface-level takes.)

[shimmershae]

"We're going to freeze to death."  (100 ficlet, Kabby).

So.  This was supposed to be a Caryl ficlet.  That was my intention when this particular prompt caught my attention, and I'm probably still going to attempt a Walking Dead version of this eventually.  But...

 I really don't know what the hell happened, lol, and I'm a little hesitant to post this (considering I've never written anything Kabby-related ever), but eh. I figured why not?  The worst that could happen is nobody sees it or likes it, and that wouldn't even be all that unusual or unexpected, so.   

 Here.  Have some melodrama, hahaha.  I'm not really sure when to set this.  Obviously.  Being as vague as absolutely possible, I'll say an indeterminate time in Season 2.  If that doesn't work, let's just pretend this is an alternate reality (it already is, but you know what I mean). 

“We’re going to freeze to death.” 

      Abby and Marcus

    Weather was something they hadn’t had to worry about on the Ark. 

  Thousands and thousands of miles removed from Earth’s surface, Abby had found it fascinating.  Captivating.  Beautiful, even.  Up close and personal?  Well.  She’s definitely had a change of opinion. 

  “Abby, please.” 

  Barely sparing Marcus a glance, she continues to pace.  She doesn’t go that far (the cave isn’t big enough for that).  It’s just…she’s cold, on a cellular level.  Wet and miserable, even her bones feel like they’re quaking.  And besides.  If she stops, what then?  It’s been hours (hours!), and it’s not like she can ignore him forever.  It’s not like she even wants to.  Being alone in the man’s presence has been different since they fell from the sky, burned through the atmosphere and crash landed into a whole new life.  For the first time in her life, there’s solid ground beneath her feet, but her emotions are another story altogether, and really.  She can’t stop.  She shouldn’t.  And yet. 

  Marcus musters a smile for her when she crouches before him.  His eyes warm and full of undisguised regard, he covers the hand she cups around his cheek with his own and dares to find her skin with his trembling mouth.  “Abby.” 

  Shaking her head, shivering herself, Abby lifts her other hand to his hair, wet and curling around his pale face and watches as his eyes drift shut, his lashes fluttering against his cheeks.  Outside, the rain continues to fall in endless, icy gray sheets; the wind wails and threatens to send them into utter darkness, and still.  She can focus on nothing more than his sluggish breaths, the tremors that seem to travel all the way from his toes, and she calls out his name, won’t let him give in to the weakness that is trying to overtake him.  “Marcus.” 

  His eyes open.  His mouth curves ruefully as he glances over her shoulder at the pitiful little fire they’d managed from damp leaves and brush, barely more than dormant embers now.  “Guess I should have paid more attention in Earth Skills.” 

  Affection swells within Abby.  Affection she’s long fought against for reasons that seem so silly now, and her lips quirk with humor, with something else entirely, and she murmurs an agreement.  “You’re not the only one.”  She touches her forehead to his, can’t help the shaky sigh that escapes.  Long minutes pass.  Her hands find his hair, her mouth his cheek.  They linger there.

  “We’re going to freeze to death.” 

  Her lips trailing absently over his brow, she shakes her head again, her denial immediate if not strong.  “No.  The kids will come.  Clarke and Bellamy…you know they will.  They’ll come, and we’ll…” 

  “They’ll come too late.  We’re going to…” 

  She pushes back from him then, her denial tearful and defiant.  “No.”  Her numb fingers fall to fumble with the buttons of her sodden shirt, and Marcus mouth twists into a disbelieving frown as she shrugs it from her shoulders, reaches for his.  

  “Abby?” 

  “We’re not.  You’re not,” she vows as her frigid hands slide over his chest, stutter to a stop over his thudding heart.  “You called me stubborn.  Remember?” 

  “The most stubborn woman I’ve ever met.” 

  It falls from his lips like an endearment, and Abby laughs, surges forward and presses her smile to his lips in a kiss that is brief but full of feeling, an unspoken promise.  “The kids will come.  I know my daughter.  She’ll come, Marcus.” 

  Her hope, her determination renews Marcus’s earlier optimism, and he nods, accepts her claim as truth.  “She’ll come.” 

  “We’re not dying.  Not today.” 

[starlingkick]

🌻

thank you! some things I did for the first time in April of 2026, briefly reviewed:

Ate/drank new things, such as: gooseberries (delicious!), tkemali sauce (delicious!), coke zero (a source of caffeine)

Took a barre class (fun! hard! I'll go back)

Knitting in the round (not a huge departure from knitting flat tbh)

Went to the National Gallery (highly recommend)

Went to a variety show (a very silly evening (complimentary))