...my phone lays silent by the couch...

There is nothing I hate more than being told "No, you can't." It doesn't matter the context or who is doing the telling or how they are softening the blow. Do. Not. Tell. Me. I. Can't.

My sister got me to start exercising (although not in getting me to continue very well) by telling me that she didn't think I'd be able to do a plank. I know full well that I can't do a plank (or couldn't because I can now do a 15 second plank, thank you very much) but I was going to try or kill myself. I tried kale because someone told me I wouldn't like it. I've been known to get in my car and drive off, intent on some random destination, because my mother told me she didn't want me going off by myself. Enough random people (complete strangers do love to chime in, don't they?) told me that I would look ridiculous without hair that it fuels my fire every year to participate in St. Baldricks.

Conversely, if you want to kill my actions dead, give me a halfhearted pat on the back and a almost mocking, "You can do it" and I'm all about dropping whatever I'm doing and running the other way.

Strange. I've known this about my character but it seems to be something that is getting WORSE and not better as I age. It's not something that I've grown out of, much to the chagrin of my family. I'm trying to figure out if it's an actual flaw in my character and if there's something I can do.

Different verse, same as the first

Prompt: Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, "I want to erase every nasty thought that bugs me every day of every week" (link)
Story: "I don't know about this. It seems rather drastic." Ron stepped into her line of sight just as the spell took hold and Hermione's eyes went blank.

Prompt: With Honors, any, I can see your face/ In our secret place/ You're not just a memory (link)
Story: They say that time marches on but Monty doesn't know if he's ready to face all the changes he's encountering at his old alma mater, Harvard. As he wandered the library stacks, a place that always felt more like home than any of the more conventional places one might use the word for, he tried to decide if Simon would be proud of where he'd ended up. No, he decided, he'd just mock him for his maudlin journey through the past.

Prompt: The Avengers (MCU), Bruce/Tony, tomfoolery (link)
Story: "Pepper's going to kill you," Bruce muttered as he surveyed the wreck of a living room, "and you better not blame me for any of it because she's not going to fall for it this time."

Tony gave him a smile that was supposed to be flirtatious but always made him look like an adorable little boy. "It was your idea even if I'm the one who did the majority of the damage this time around."

Fic: A Present Freely Given (SItD verse)

I thought I'd work out the Sleeping Beauty ideas for writerverse prompt challenges.

Title: A Present Freely Given
Prompt: “Dangerous gifts are such mine to come” (Bjork) from writerverse
Word Count: 362
Rating: PG
Original/Fandom: Original - Stuck in the Dream 'verse
Pairings (if any) none
Warnings (Non-Con/Dub-Con etc): none
Summary: Princess Tavia celebrates her coming-of-age and is rewarded with the one thing that could make her the happiest - a chance at freedom.

( Princess Tavbia surveyed the heap of presents weighing down the table... )