#( mostly work just fully draining my life-force )

[stillcominback]

💕

[lena-in-a-red-dress]

I'm actually really surprised that the supergirl writers didn't steal from a Charmed episode and have an episode where there was someone killing people in their dreams. Or maybe instead of killing people, he somehow traps their minds in their own nightmares and uses their bodies to do bad things.

Of course Nia would be the only one who could stop the bad guy, obvs, but I also had an intense desire to set this idea in the Sister, Sister verse, so maybe when the guy sets his sights on the superfriends, they're just like, okay we won't sleep then.

And everyone thinks Lena is most equipped to deal with the lack of sleep, so they don't really worry about her, until one evening Nia goes to Lena's apartment passed out on the floor, having hit her head on the way down.

They bring Lena back to the Tower medbay, but because she's fallen asleep, Lena's now compromised, so they have to restrain her. Except when she wakes up she seems totally herself, if a little panicked to be strapped down. Most people who are targeted by the bad guy are zombies from the moment they wake up, so Lena is so normal that they're kind of taken aback, and ultimately determine that maybe her magic protected her, question mark?

So they release her, and Lena gets back to work. Until Nia makes a discovery on a potential strategy and turns to find Lena behind her with a knife.

They fight, and once Lena is subdued, Nia dives into her friend's nightmare that she's trapped in, where Lex has her strapped to an operating table and is ready to pick her apart like a specimen. Nia is horrified, but understands that it's a manifestation of Lena's old fears, and tries to get through to her. Because maybe it'll be like the Black Mercy-- if Lena can reject the nightmare, maybe it will end.

It takes some effort. At first Lena can't even see her, and Lena's raw and palpable fear makes Nia's heart pound in her chest like the fear is her own. But little by little she gets through to Lena, and when Lena believes Nia, the straps release her and Nia can help Lena slide off the table. But they're still in a lab, with no visible doors.

How do they get out?

Then they hear Lex start clapping, and as they watch Lex's face melts away to reveal their true villain. Lena grips Nia's hand tight, and Nia can taste her friend's renewed fear. Lena can feel how her mind has been violated, her body made not her own. But Nia can also feel that old Luthor fight in her.

The bad guy monologues about how he couldn't tip his hand with Lena too early, before he fully had his claws in her, not when Lena had such power at her disposal. With Lena, he gloats, he could do anything he wanted.

"I don't think so," Nia says, lashing out with a bolt of dream energy. But the guy deflects with a magical field.

Nia looks to Lena. "Was that his power of yours?"

Lena swallows thickly. "Mine. I-- I'm sorry, I can't--"

"It's okay," Nia promises. "I got this."

And she does. But as she fights the villain, it becomes apparent that the magic he siphons from Lena is finite-- Lena visibly weakens as the fight progresses, and Nia falters.

"The more we fight," he taunts, "the more I drain from her. Kill me, and she goes with me."

But before Nia has the chance to face an impossible decision to choose one or the many, Lena grabs a scalpel from one of the trays amd slits his throat.

"Fuck you," she grunts, before she staggers.

Nia catches her, tearfully asking why she did that.

"Spite, mostly," Lena rasps, prompting a tearful laugh from Nia. She squeezes Nia's hand. "And because I couldn't bear it if he used my power to hurt you."

"Lena..."

"I'm sorry I blamed you for keeping Kara's secret. It should never have been your burden to carry..."

"Lena, stop--"

By now Lena is visibly fading, her life force bleeding away as Nia cradles her close.

"Thank you, Nia," she whispers. "For-- for everything."

It's the last thing she says as her eyes flutter shut. In growing panic, Nia shakes her head in defiance. "No," she declares. "Not like this."

She reaches out to where the villain is similarly starting to dissipate, and uses her dream energy to corral the sense of Lena that's bleeding from him. She gathers all she can, then compresses it into a ball of glowing light, an energy that's warm, and gentle, and familiar.

Using her power, she returns the energy to Lena, directing it to settle squarely in Lena's fading chest. It takes a moment, but then the orb of energy pulses, and the light spreads through Lena, bringing her back to opacity.

Lena's eyes open once more, her chest rising with a deep, full breath. Nia gasps in relief, and hugs Lena to her chest.

"Don't you ever do that again."

When they return to the waking world, everything seems to return to normal. Except for one thing that doesn't make the trip back with them.

Lena no longer has her magic.

[lbright90]

From the start

So the last few days I've tried to reflect on where my relationship began with Jesus and God. As I was reflecting I realized that despite me knowing WHO God and Jesus were from a very early age I didn't have a personal relationship with God until 2018. So I'm gonna recap on why this is. When I was little my family was always going to church. My grandparents and mom went to church and I was there with them. Now when I was little we went to mostly Pentecostal churches and I'm not here to put down any denomination for we are not to be divided but come together to form one and worship as one. However, when I was little I would sit there and listen and watch, and there are a few times I could feel the spirit talk to me, but much like I was immature that I couldn't understand fully what the Spirit wanted. Like much today when we take our children to church, we teach them how to behave and act in churc. When I got to my teenage years and joined a local church's choir I enjoyed singing and praising God. I could feel the spirit tugging at my heart but I still couldn't understand what it wanted. It wasn't until 2018 that I found myself in a world where I felt trapped raising a child (he will always be my baby) by myself with a little help of my mother and the father of my son not being as reliable. It was then that a woman I barely knew asked me, "Are you okay?" At that moment I realized that no matter what I did, no matter how much I tried, I wasn't okay because I was pulling the old fake it to you make it. I was physically, mentally, and spiritually drained. That day was when I realized that I can't get no where in this life without asking help from a higher power because everyone else is only human, they make errors, and are not going to be 100% reliable when I need them. So that's when I started going to church. The lady was nice enough to invite me to her church and that's where I met some of the most wonderful amazing people ever who will do anything and everything to help you. Even if it's just praying for you, sometimes prayers do more for you then what money or items every could. After a few weeks it was during a sermon about resentment and holding onto grudges that the Lord worked on me and showed me where I had erred all my life. That I was so quick to hold onto grudges from something that someone did over 20+ years ago and until I let go of that hatred I would never find peace or happiness. That day I left everything to God, I prayed for a resolution to an issue with my father that I had been facing for many years and guess what! God answered. I was able to make peace with my father and let go of some of the hatred I had been holding onto. Now I want to recap on why my faith and relationship with God and Jesus didn't start until 2018, despite me feeling him knocking on my heart multiple times before. When I was growing up, you were expected to act a certain way at church, but there wasn't a lot of explaining. Like we were told you raise your hands to praise but nobody could point it out to me in the bible exactly where it said this. Fast forward to 2018 when one of my coworkers who was studying the bible could point it out to me in less than a 5 minute conversation. Now I'm not putting all the blame on the church from my childhood, or my mom, or my grandparents. It wasn't for them to them force me to have a relationship with God. Now that I'm older and more understanding, if I wanted to really know the answer I should have opened my Bible and really tried to read it and let God's word speak to me. So in the end it was because I wasn't ready to accept God and that I couldn't perceive his will. Anyways I just wanted to share this story with you all and I hope everyone has a good day. John 14:6-7

Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.

[bogcreacher]

(I am sorry for all the questions and how cluttered this is)

Can I ask how exactly Thawnflank's removal as deputy went?

Was it him trying to juggle everything to the point that it was becoming really unhealthy and he was doing a poor job if it (seems like something he would do for some reason) so Ouzelstar basically had to force him to drop being the deputy

Or was it more like

Thawnflank: "That sure was a nice vacation I took off from being deputy, so whe-"

Ouzelstar: "Oh you liked the vacation, well good news, it's getting extended! Indefinitely! :)"

(side note, Thawnflank of all characters got lodged in my brain, he seems like salary man for some reason? Eyebags, tired, kind of a dick, got demoted, trying to suck up to his boss, probably not great mental health, single father. Idk, can just imagine him working a corporate job for an unhealthy amount of hours a day and being an asshole to his co-workers)

Don’t apologise! I love fielding questions about my ocs lol

It was sort of a combo of the two!

Thawflank really tried to make it work; becoming clan leader one day is the ambition he’s carried with him all his life, and it’s fundamentally shaped him as a person.

But Tumblestone’s death drained him significantly, and he realised that after his duties he had very little space for his son, who was also coming to terms with the loss (and it didn’t help that the only other cat who could’ve looked after Moonpaw at the time was Martenfur, a cat Thawflank despises) so he stepped down, quite possibly the most selfless thing he’s ever done in his life. His decision didn’t come without encouragement, though - mostly from Berrystem.

He was fully expecting to get his position back once his son was apprenticed, but whenever he tried to broach the subject with Ouzelstar he was brushed off, never getting his role back but never being told he WASN’T getting his role back. As such, the gratuitous brown-nosing on Thawflank’s part began.

Thawflank and Ouzelstar have been best friends and rivals for a very long time; both of them dreamt of being leader, and competed heavily as apprentices and warriors, both promising the other that if they did become leader the other would be deputy.

When Ouzelstar became leader things were good between them - then after years of Thawflank’s stubbornness and Ouzelstar’s jealousy, their friendship soured. Nowadays, a part of Ouzelstar enjoys the fact that he pretty much has Thawflank under his thumb, and a part of Thawflank’s thrills whenever Ouzelstar’s fucks up as a leader. They have a relationship based on waiting for the other’s downfall, more or less.

And Thawflank ABSOLUTELY is a salaryman. If he were to examine any of his friendships with his clanmates beyond “work together” and “enjoy shitting on other people” he’d realise he’s incredibly, incredibly lonely, even more so since he’s been speedrunning the “get my son to hate me” achievement - putting his ambitions above any meaningful relationship he’s ever had has turned his life into a bit of a corporate hellscape. Who’da guessed!

[impishtubist]

okay this can go very wrong but jegulus (and i'm throwing in a trope just because) raising harry and #5✨

hoooooooooooooooo boy.

I cannot apologize enough for this.

The fifth song on my Spotify Wrapped playlist is “Teo Torriatte”, and that is no excuse for this, holy shit.

CWs: Illness, terminal illness, imminent death of a parent, imminent death of a spouse, grief, no one actually dies in this but it’s still sad. 

Regulus is already awake when Juliette starts fussing, so he gets out of bed and pads across the hall to Sirius and Remus’s room. Both men are stirring, but Regulus lifts the newborn from her bassinet and whispers, “I’ve got her.” 

Sirius only gives a half-hearted protest, while Remus merely rolls over and goes back to sleep. He’s earned it, Regulus thinks, having brought this baby into the world a week ago with only Regulus and Sirius for help. James had shouted encouragement from across the hall, while Harry Flooed to St. Mungo’s for a Healer who didn’t arrive in time. 

The baby’s hungry, so Regulus heats a bottle in the kitchen downstairs, and then carries her back up to their room. 

James has managed to work himself into a sitting position, and he holds out his arms for the baby. Regulus transfers her to his husband, and then hands him the bottle before settling on the bed. James’s arms are skeletal these days, but right now, they’re strong and steady as he cradles his goddaughter.

“She’s beautiful,” he murmurs, which is what he says every time he holds her. It’s true, though.

“Remus’s genes,” Regulus says, and James laughs. Merlin, Regulus is going to miss that laugh. 

James gazes down at their niece and goddaughter, a bit of color returning to his face as a smile touches his lips, his eyes full of adoration. For a moment, and only for a moment, Regulus can look at him and forget that he’s dying.

The spell damage that killed Lily in a matter of days has taken almost sixteen years for James. Though they’ve always known this is how it would end, his rapid deterioration has taken them all off-guard. James went from relatively healthy to bed-bound in a matter of months. Sirius and Remus moved into Potter Manor when Remus was five months along, unwilling to be very far from James during this final chapter of his life. Harry pulled out of Hogwarts, and they’ve all taken turns tutoring him. Mostly, though, they’re focused on spending time together.

All of them are circling the drain, waiting and waiting and waiting for it to end.

Regulus hates it. 

“You’ll get her her first broomstick,” James murmurs. 

“‘Course I will,” Regulus says, forcing the words past the stone in his chest. 

“And you’ll teach her how to fly, because Merlin knows her dads won’t,” James goes on. Juliette stares up at him with big grey eyes as she suckles at the bottle, eyes she got from Sirius. “And she’ll be the best Chaser on the Gryffindor team, won’t you, darling?”

“She’s obviously going to be a Seeker for Slytherin,” Regulus retorts. 

“You’ll spoil her rotten at every Christmas and Hanukkah and birthday, like Sirius did when Harry was a baby.”

“Yes. Obviously.”

“You’ll tell her about me.” The smile slips from James’s emaciated face. “When I’m gone, you’ll tell her everything about her Uncle James.”

Regulus gives a choked laugh. “I won’t shut up about you.”

“About how much I love her, and how much I wanted to see her grow up.”

“Yes, and about how she was so eager to meet you, she arrived almost a month early.” 

Juliette finishes the bottle, and James doesn’t have the strength to lift her to his shoulder. Regulus takes her and burps her, and then returns her to James’s arms so he can rock her to sleep. Once she’s fully under, Regulus takes her back across the hall and tucks her in, and then resets the baby monitor charms that will go off in both their rooms if she wakes up again. 

James and Regulus are settling back into bed when their door creaks open.

“Dads?” Harry ventures tentatively into the room. 

“Come here, love,” James says, and Harry comes over to the bed, bending to hug him gently. “Join us.” 

Harry crawls into bed and settles between them like he’s six, not sixteen. “Something wrong?”

“No. The baby wanted a bottle, and your uncles are exhausted.” Regulus runs his fingers through Harry’s hair, as unruly as his father’s. “Why don’t you stay with us tonight?”

“Okay,” Harry agrees, burrowing under the blankets. Regulus knows he’s going to wake up with an elbow in his face and a knee in his stomach, also like when Harry was six. Harry’s probably going to steal all the blankets, too. He rolls over and kisses James’s cheek, then rests his head on James’s shoulder. “Love you, Dad.” 

“Love you, too, baby.” James reaches across Harry to clasp Regulus’s hand. “Love you both so much.”

----

[hiddenbeks]

ocs as types of suffering + tragic love archetypes

tagged by @hibernationsuit to do a couple quizzes for some ocs, thank u red!!

tagging @narrayya @grimhygge @famewolf @abetterbeginning to do one or both of the quizzes if u want to, no pressure! suffering quiz here, tragic love quiz here <3

did the first quiz for my da girls:

ANDRALE MAHARIEL - yearning

"the pain in your chest bubbles knowing that what you want may never be yours. You're lost in a fantasy world, or consumed by what you wish you were or had as opposed to what you do. it's hard to appreciate what's around you when you're appreciating the hope of what could be instead."

yknow i often consider andrale my most well adjusted oc. she had a relatively stable childhood with friends and loving family. and despite developing a resentment of the world that hates her people as she grows older and desiring a world where things are different she's still mostly satisfied with her life? but this all changes after she becomes a warden. the first months are especially difficult as she's still in denial about her fate and the fact that she's never going back to her old life and indeed yearns for all that she has lost. she eventually learns to live again and enjoy her new life as best she can but she will always carry that sadness and regret and longing with her i think. you may see her happy and content one moment and the next she's staring blankly at nothing, lost in her memories of simpler days.

FRIDA HAWKE - self inadequacy

"you crack under the weight of your own perceived inability. how can you be enough for anyone else when you're just barely enough for yourself? insecurity causes you to have little backbone, and so you fail to reach your full potential when it comes to what you're best at. you sabotage opportunities with fear you'll fail before you've begun. it hurts to never feel like your best is enough, but setting your standards too high or too low ensures it."

i was fully expecting to get 'the giver' as a result for frida but this is accurate too! she never believes she is enough as a daughter or big sister or stand-in parent to the twins or champion or. anything. poor gal believes it's her job to carry the weight of the world and blames herself for not being or doing enough when she inevitably fails. oof

CELYN SURANA - loneliness

"your heart feels full of the connection you feel you lack. no matter how many people are around, strangers or not... someone is missing. you don't know who, what, or if you'll ever find them. you're unsure if there's a person out there who'll really satisfy your life, so really what's the point of continuing to look?"

hmm! celyn was indeed lonely at the circle save for jowan but i have to wonder if it was her own doing. though to be fair i doubt the circle fosters an environment supportive of making friends and forming genuine connections. and obviously the fact that it's partly her own doing doesn't make it any less painful. anyway. celyn put friendships aside in favor of studying and being The Very Best, hoping that advancement in the circle would bring her at least a tiny bit of autonomy and respect. this all leads to a hopeless loop of "i'm lonely and want friends" "don't know how to make friends so i won't even try". she slowly gets better after leaving the circle when andrale and friends coax/force her out of her shell because they need to work togetheeerrr. there's no team-building exercise quite like the blight and the impending end of the world am i right haha

anyway next up some tragic love:

ISABEAU MONET - caníbales; devourer

"love's a knife to skin to you, a vein to woven muscle, blood puddle before you. you listened to all the promises of a stranger's relief and feel the drain of a shower head running it all down again. you committed another murder; kissed and bruised skin with a clench to a quivering wrist and went home in the deafening quiet of a taxi. there's mold covered rage within you. if to take a heart home with you, you'd bite your way through muscle and ribcage first. pleasure comes, but there will be no devouring past it. there is fear in settling down and being seen. there is a glass screen between these bodies and you. relax your tight jaw and feel the real canine fear beneath that scabbed up cavity. the sacrifice of opening up is needed if to be loved as you deeply wish inside. desire doesn't discriminate between hands and spoken word. why should you?"

wowie!! i rarely get serious about isabeau because she's mostly a fun and sexy menace and has convinced even me that that's all there is to her but like. i shouldn't forget that she too is damaged underneath it all 😔 what twenty years of emotional neglect and lack of support from parents does to a gal...