#but it feels good seeing all the details and stuff over the last like 10+ years in one place that isn't just my head rofl

[cosmosarcana]

i recently learned about obsidian and decided to download it to give it a try and holy shit i had not realized how much worldbuilding/storyline i already had worked out over the years

[lymtw]

Feels

You've always done your best to drill into Toji's head that if he ever needs to have a heart to heart with you, you're there. He pushes his more vulnerable emotions down for you because he fears that if you ever see him break down, you'll be scared. Scared of possibly not being able to console him, scared that he'll break things, just scared in the worst ways possible.

Toji keeping it in works out for him anyway, because the man lives to protect your feelings. Your feelings are more than enough for him, even if he teases you for how emotional you are sometimes. He knows you're delicate, and you crumble at things that would be brushed off so easily by him, but that's not to say that he is asking you to modify yourself to make things easier on him. He's a big boy, he can handle hurricanes.

Toji invited you to spend the night at his apartment, bribing you with words that jumped out at you in his messages.

Movie night? My place?

You read the message over and over again for a good minute or so. Your heart started its usual routine of overworking itself, and you cursed yourself mentally for being such a lovesick fool for Toji. You loved the feeling that came with receiving a text from him first. He was looking for you, he was thinking about you, and from what you understood, he wanted to see you.

What's in it for me?

He chuckles behind his screen. You're an unintentional flirt, and it's amusing to him because it's the recurring reason for why you often find yourself wondering how you ended up with just his sheets wrapped around your body. You lack awareness in terms of how you phrase things, and Toji eats it up like a five course meal.

Time with your man. What else could you want?

Snacks, blankets, cuddles, xyz.

You bringing all that stuff with you?

Joking babe. I'll have that all here for you. Just come already.

Fine i'll be there in 10 <3

—

Toji could hear your car as you pulled up outside. He had everything set up on his coffee table. He would never tell you that he paid attention to the minor details of this setup. Maybe it would turn you off to hear that he unwrinkled a corner on a bag of chips, or that he squished the pillows so that they had more shape to them.

You knock, not having enough time to look around the area before the door opens. You're greeted by those devestatingly green eyes, a soft grin on his face when you smile at him. You throw your arms around his neck, causing him to stumble back at the force of your body in your momentum. He chuckles, sneaking a hand behind you to shut the door as you bombard him with kisses all over his face.

"Doll... do-..." you cut him off with your intoxicatingly sweet kisses. He can't help but smile at the feeling. "Doll," he calls, finally snapping you out of your romantic assault.

"Whoops." You laugh, a bright hue forming on your cheeks. "Just... happy to be here, I guess."

"I can tell. You almost ran us into the coffee table."

You take a step back to look at what he laid out for your movie night. It's precious, absolutely treasurable. He remembered your favorite chip brand and flavor, he remembered that you like juice more than soda. Up until now, you didn't know if behind those hunter eyes he actually made an effort to remember you.

"I'm choosing the movie," you say, putting your hand on his bicep.

"Ha, you thought I was gonna fight you on that?"

A smile creeps onto your lips again. "Your house, your rules, no?"

He sighs, remembering the time he said that to you when you proposed that he should get a dog. You insisted and insisted but he didn't want a dog, so as a last resort, he said it. You deflated towards him for a little, but eventually he made you laugh and the hard feelings were blown away.

"Just choose the movie, brat." He flicks your forehead before settling on the couch. Your brows furrow as you rub the stinging area, your expression quickly lifting again when you go to join him.

The snacks were opened before you even decided on a movie. They were looking irresistible, and they are your favorites for a reason.

"Mm... does this one look good?" You turn over to Toji, chewing on a mouthful of crunchy chips.

"Swallow your damn food before you speak." He cracks when you stick your tongue out, chunky and pureed chips sticking to it. "You're so gross."

"We've established that, already," you say, giggling. You turn back to the TV, leaving Toji to ponder your response.

"I'm just gonna scroll through all of these for three seconds and whatever it lands on, we watch. Cool?"

"Whatever you want, babe."

You nod, and do a countdown.

3... scroll... 2... scroll... 1... scroll

"This is it. Get comfortable," you say as if he's not in his own home. "Do you have to pee?"

"Nah, princess." He grins at your question.

"Alriiight," you say, excitedly, before playing the movie.

—

It was a pretty good movie. It was funny, there was romance, and it had a really good cast. You got to a good part in the movie, where the main characters, who are in love, reach dramatic turmoil. The conflict was a choice that the woman had to make. It was between the woman leaving the country for the next three years to make a life for herself, or staying behind with the love of her life, unable to give him everything he wants and more. She was fiercely independent, which was heavily weighing her decision.

You teared up at the dialogue. Both characters were reaching for each other, waiting for the other to say 'I can't be without you' or 'i'll follow you wherever you go'. The result was heartbreaking. The woman left the country, not even stopping by the man's house to say goodbye. She blocked his number and cut off all contact with him, leaving him a total mess.

"What the fuck..." you hear from beside you. You turn to Toji, and when you notice his sparkling eyes, you pause the movie.

"Oh, baby," you coo. His eyes mirror yours, glossy and full of emotional damage. He doesn't give you this rare sight for long. He uses his knuckles to dry his eyes before looking at you again. "You okay?" You brush his cheek.

He takes your hand and puts it to his lips, before using it to pull you closer to him. "Tell me you would never consider pulling something like that," he murmurs between you and him. His face is nose distance away from yours, so you try to pull back. He keeps a firm grip on your hand, holding you there with him.

You use your other hand to hold his face. "I'm not her. I wouldn't do that, Toji. I'm always within your reach." You give him a soft smile, pressing your forehead to his. "Just call and text me all day, or you know, when you miss me. You know, I'll be waiting for it, anyway." You chuckle, gently kissing his face all over again.

He catches your lips with his and pushes you down onto the couch. You don't mind that he's crushing you. Nothing is more important than making him believe that you're not going anywhere, and if that means he has to hold you down with his weight, so be it.

You realized that that movie scene must have resonated somewhere deep within Toji if it managed to bring tears to his eyes. And for that to be followed by a question that didn't sound like him at all... it just made your heart even softer for him.

His hands touch the warm skin beneath your shirt, while keeping the slow steady synchronization of his lips with yours. His hands don't wander to your erogenous zones. Instead, he keeps them on your stomach where he can feel the rise and fall of your breathing. He breaks the kiss, looking at you for a mere two seconds before burying his face into your chest, another area where he can feel you breathing. If he focuses hard enough, your heartbeat will reach his ears, inevitably forcing his to sync with it.

You decide not to say anything else. There's nothing else you could say to the man finding comfort in just being attached to you. You play with his hair, and focus on how fast your heart is beating in your ears, and he sighs because deep down he's hoping you'll stay true to your word. He can't see this happening with anyone else after you.

[bluecherrypawn]

Devils May be Cats? Ao3Ver.

Domestic Instincts [MasterList]

Chapter 2 ✧₊‧˚⁀➷ Chapter 3

“Sounds like those cats could keep you company,” Your Father said, his voice warm and calm over the phone. You leaned against the counter, cradling the phone between your shoulder and ear while reaching for a glass of water. “Yeah, they’re weirdly coordinated. One was super quiet and well-behaved. The other mowed on three pizza slices, survived and looked satisfied. I don’t even know how he snatched one, let alone three, right under my nose. I think I’m keeping them.”

A chuckle came from the other end. “That’s a wise decision. You’ve been feeling lonely in such a big house for a while.” You smiled with a grimace, unable to deny the truth. “Anyway, I got the package. Finally. But only one out of five boxes were sent.” Your Father seemed to light up at the mention of its arrival. “Do you like what I sent you? I’ve had those for a while now. I thought maybe you’d find more use with them than I do.”

You glanced toward the living room where you’d left the open box. Bubble wrap was scattered everywhere—probably the scruffy one’s doing—and the two small figurines stood upright on the table, barely, as if under feline surveillance. “I… yeah. Lots of stuff. It’s cool. The figurines are very detailed.” your fingers tapped the ceramic mug absently. “I don’t really know anything about the franchise, though.”

Your Father hummed. “You mentioned needing something to entertain yourself with other than work. I thought sending something unique like this might help. Besides, that franchise’s got flair. And good-looking characters. I remember when you were little, you would stare at Leon whenever I played Resident Evil. Didn’t you have a crush on him?” You chuckled softly. “Guilty.” In the background, there was a loud THUNK followed by a long, offended meow.

You peeked into the hallway and lowered your voice a little. “Seriously though… these cats. They’re weird. They act like they understand everything I say. Like... more than usual. The one with slicked-back fur was staring at the figurine earlier like really intensely.” A thoughtful pause. “Maybe they’re just settling in. Animals pick up on a lot.” Huh, you didn’t really consider that. “Yeah. Maybe. Still, feels like I adopted two little weirdos with tragic backstories.” You turned to the sink and gazed out the window absently. “Anyway. Thanks for the box. Even if it’s just one so far, it’s nice to get something from you again.”

“I’m sure the others will arrive soon enough,” Your Father said, voice soft. “There’s more in there than you think.” You raised an eyebrow at his reply. “That sounds cryptic.”

“Good stories always are.”

After that call ended, you walked back into the living room. Slick-back is gone, but scruffy is lying on the couch like it was his throne. You decided to unpack the box correctly to see its contents. Once everything was laid out on the table, you looked over everything again: Devil May Cry HD Collection, T-shirts, posters rolled in a bin, 10 Asmus figurines still in pristine condition, and four Tsum Tsums?

You squinted at the plushies. “Tsum Tsums?” you muttered, picking one up between your fingers. The tiny plush wore a miniature blue coat with a comically serious expression stitched into its round face. The tag read: Vergil. You decided to examine all the others one by one. The red-coated one with white fluff for hair: Dante. The one with silver hair and a grumpy pout: Nero. And the last one, all black with a smirk stitched onto its face: V. Like just the letter ‘V,’ you were initially confused if this was a print error, but it didn’t seem like it.

You held all four in your hands, the little plush pile looking bizarrely high-effort for novelty merchandise. The embroidery quality was ridiculously detailed. Even their weapons were stitched into their little backs. You cooed at how cute they were and decided to set them in a row at the table’s edge like a plush army. From the couch, scruffy cracked one eye open and yawned—dramatically—as if unimpressed by your arrangement. “Jealous?” you quipped. Scruffy didn’t respond. He just stretched like a smug little lion and flopped onto his side again, still king of the couch.

You sat back on the couch, eyeing your plush lineup with an amused smirk. “Honestly, you guys are cuter than you have any right to be,” you muttered, nudging the tiny stitched Dante forward like he was their fearless, squishy leader.

Just then, you heard the soft TAP-TAP of claws on wood. Slick-back reappeared from the hallway with the same look he left with, tail flicking sharply behind him like he’d just returned from a silent war. He jumped up onto the table again—pointedly ignoring the plushies—and sat down like some little furry dignitary. Your eyes flicked between him and the blue-coated Tsum Tsum still glaring from its stitched brow.

You blinked.

Then slowly looked at the couch. Scruffy was watching with half-lidded eyes, still sprawled in his ridiculous “draw me like one of your French girls” pose. You picked up the Dante plush again. “…Huh.” You looked between the real cat and the toy. The white fluff. The cocky little expression. Scruffy even has a similar hair.. furr? Style with the plush. That’s… a peculiar coincidence. You looked at the blue plush again. That frown. That hair. Your gaze returned to Slick-back. “Okay,” you said slowly, a grin pulling at the corner of your mouth. “This is too good to pass up.” Slick-back’s ears twitched.

“Fine,” you said, pointing a finger at him like you were announcing judgment. “You’re Vergil now.” He blinked slowly at you. You turned to the couch. “And you… are definitely, Dante.” Scruffy—Dante—let out a soft trill of approval and flopped belly-up as if accepting his new royal title. “I know you’re not actually them,” you added quickly, chuckling to yourself as you lined up the plushies again. “But the resemblance is just too funny. And I can’t keep calling you Scruffy and Slick-back. That’s mean.”

Vergil made a grumbly, offended sound in the back of his throat. “See? You even act like him, at least how I think this Vergil plush would act. All broody and dramatic. I bet you judge my taste in tea.” Vergil sniffed disdainfully, then turned away and started grooming his paw like he had better things to do. You shook your head with a laugh, finally settling back into your chair. “Alright then. Now that you guys have proper names, I’m gonna take these upstairs.”

As soon as the woman left the room, Dante rolled onto his back with a low, rumbling purr that sounded suspiciously like a laugh. “Scruffy,” he snorted. “She called me scruffy.” Vergil flicked his tail with sharp precision, still perched at the edge of the table. “You are scruffy.” Dante stretched luxuriously, paws reaching toward the ceiling. “Better than Slick-back, Mr. Brooding Over a Plush Toy.” Vergil’s ears angled sideways in evident irritation. “It’s your fault she started calling us anything at all.”

“I dunno, I think we lucked out. Could’ve been Whiskers and Fluffbutt.” Vergil growled softly. “She gave us the names based on plush representations of ourselves. Which she received in a package. Alongside detailed merchandise. Of us. Fictionalized.” Dante blinked. “Yeah. And?” Vergil jumped down from the table with feline grace, landing in a silent crouch. “And I found nothing.” Dante rolled back upright, now watching his brother with mild curiosity. “Nothing? Not even a whisper of demonic energy?”

Vergil’s eyes narrowed. “No summoning residue. No glyphs. No gateways. Just mundane architecture and insulation. I checked the windowsill twice.” Dante gave a dramatic gasp. “You voluntarily looked out a window? That’s character development.” Vergil ignored him and began grooming his front paw with slow, controlled strokes. “Whatever brought us here, it wasn’t her.” Dante leaped from the couch and landed beside him with a soft THUD. “Well, she’s not exactly Lady or Trish. Doesn’t even know who we are. Poor girl thinks you’re just a moody cat with excellent posture.”

Vergil paused his grooming. “She is… odd.” “In a good way,” Dante added, circling a spot on the rug before flopping down again. “At least she feeds us. And didn’t scream when you suddenly disappeared.” “It was not deliberate,” Vergil said stiffly. “Sure it wasn’t.” Vergil’s eyes drifted toward the stairs, where the sound of her footsteps had faded. “She called them ‘proper names.’ As if this—” he looked down at his paws, a note of disdain in his voice “—is what we are now.”

Dante tilted his head, then gave a, if a feline could, shrug. “Could be worse. You could be the plushie version of yourself. That thing looked like it lost a fight with a sewing machine.” A low, rumbling growl built in Vergil’s throat. “You’re enjoying this far too much.” Smiling at his brother. “Of course I am. We’re trapped in the bodies of domestic animals, yet somehow, you’re still more dramatic than usual. It’s comedy gold.” Vergil stood, tail flicking. “I’m going to check the upstairs next.”

“Cool. I’ll stay down here and judge the couch. Thoroughly.” Vergil didn’t respond, already padding toward the stairs in silent determination. Dante flopped back down with a purr. “Yeah, this is fine. Nine lives and not a single one of them boring.”

Vergil moved soundlessly up the stairs, each step precise, claws barely clicking against the wood. He told himself he was continuing his investigation, searching for anything unusual, hidden artifact, or residual trace of demonic interference. But really… he was following her. She was in her room, arranging the merchandise she received. Her back was to him, humming softly to herself as she placed the T-shirts by color on her bed. No rituals. No traps. No ominous chanting. Just… folding.

Vergil sat just outside the doorway at first, watching silently. It was a habit—observe, assess, distance. But the door was open, the carpet was soft, and she didn’t notice him immediately. For once, it didn’t feel like there was a threat he had to fight. He padded in slowly. Her room was oddly peaceful. Lived-in, yes, but not chaotic. He scanned the shelves: books, framed photos, trinkets, and candles that had been burned halfway down. One of the bookshelves held all the merchandise she had placed, which now looked like a small Devil May Cry merchandise shrine. Figures were still boxed, posters rolled in a bin, a collector’s guide. A world that somehow knew them.

Her scent was different in here. It’s not foreign anymore. Familiar. Warm. She finally noticed him. “Oh hey, Vergil,” she said with a smile, sitting cross-legged on the floor. “You exploring?” He didn’t answer, obviously. But he didn’t leave either. Instead, he walked over and sat beside her, tail wrapping neatly around his paws. She raised an eyebrow. “Wow. Honored,” she said with a soft laugh, reaching out tentatively. “Permission to pet?”

He considered this. And then… gave her a slow blink. She smiled wider. “I’ll take that as a yes.” Her fingers brushed between his ears. He stiffened instinctively—but only for a moment. Her touch was gentle, with no force behind it, no expectation. Not like anything he remembered. She scratched behind his ears, and to his mild horror, he leaned into it. It was comfortable. He sat there longer than he meant to. The petting stopped eventually, but she didn’t shoo him away. She just kept working, occasionally speaking softly about the contents of the box, her Father, and the weirdness of the cats showing up after the trouble they caused at the post office.

Vergil listened. He didn’t know why. Maybe because she wasn’t afraid of him. Maybe because—for once—he didn’t have to be anything more than what he was in this moment. Just a cat. Sitting in a sunbeam. With someone who didn’t expect him to fight or lead or fall. When she finally stood up to start organizing the closet, Vergil found himself stretching out on the carpet with a low sigh, tail flicking lazily. His eyes drifted half-closed, body relaxing in full for the first time since they arrived in this strange world. He didn’t fall asleep. Not completely.

But he didn’t watch the door either.

Dante wasn’t subtle when he came upstairs. There was a thump, a soft mrrrow, and the unmistakable sound of a cat sprinting in a zigzag pattern just because he could. You looked up from the closet as he skidded into the doorway, tail high and smug. “Hey, trouble,” you said, amused. “Couldn’t let your brother have all the attention?” Vergil opened one eye and let out a low sigh. Dante trotted over without hesitation and flopped dramatically beside you, his head thumping lightly against your thigh as he rolled onto his back, paws curled. He looked up at you with big, expectant eyes.

You snorted. “Oh, you want in on this too, huh?” Dante chirped in response. You gave him a scratch behind the ears, and he immediately began purring like a little engine. Loud. Obnoxious. Unapologetic. Vergil made a faint, judgmental noise in his throat—but didn’t move. Dante stretched lazily, then bumped his head against Vergil’s side like it was the most natural thing in the world. Vergil twitched slightly but didn’t retaliate. Didn’t move away either.

“Wow,” you said softly. “You two really are brothers.” You sat down again, cross-legged on the floor, flanked by two very different but equally strange cats. Dante nuzzled your knee. Vergil settled with his head resting on his paws, body still but no longer stiff. You didn’t say much after that. You didn’t have to. For a long moment, everything was quiet. The kind of quiet you could fall into and feel safe. Right now, you were just three souls, content in each other’s company, sunlight warming the floor, time ticking gently on.

Dante’s purrs softened into a sleepy rhythm.

Vergil’s tail flicked once. Then stilled.

And you smiled without even realizing it.

Elsewhere.

The alley was slick with rain from earlier, the pavement glistening under a flickering streetlamp. A box near the dumpster rustled. From within, a sleek, pale-gold feline emerged, her fur almost metallic in the light, eyes sharp and unblinking. She moved with slow confidence, every step precise like she already knew where she was going. A second figure followed, darker, scrappier, with a leaner build and a small notch on one ear. Her eyes were mismatched, alert, scanning the street like she expected a fight around every corner. She paused, tail twitching once, then glanced up at the sky as a low growl of thunder rumbled across the rooftops.

The gold one flicked her ears and started walking. The dark one hesitated, then fell in step behind her without a sound.

The city swallowed them whole.

A/N: Father is rich rich he bought 10 asmus figurines. Also I didn't realize the spacing on Chapter 1: Special Delivery TumblrVer. wasn't done so it probably wasn't obvious whenever the POV change. I edited it now:)

[felassan]

Game Informer:

"Dragon Age Cover Story And Shadow of the Erdtree Review | GI Show by Alex Van Aken on Jun 27, 2024 at 01:57 PM In this week's episode of The Game Informer Show, the crew discusses our recent trip to Bioware for our Dragon Age: The Veilguard cover story, our Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree review, PS5-bound multiplayer shooter, Concord, a new battle royale from former League of Legends developers, atmospheric horror title Still Wakes the Deep, Dustborn, Luigi's Mansion 2 HD and even more! It's a packed show, y'all.  Watch the Video Version: [embedded link to Game Informer video titled 'Dragon Age Cover Story And Shadow of the Erdtree Review | GI Show']"

(On YouTube, the description box for this video looked like this:)

[Article continues] "Follow us on social media: Alex Van Aken (@itsVanAken), Kyle Hilliard (@KyleMHilliard), Marcus Stewart (@MarcusStewart7), Wesley LeBlanc (@LeBlancWes) The Game Informer Show is a weekly gaming podcast covering the latest video game news, industry topics, exclusive reveals, and reviews. Join us every Thursday to chat about your favorite games – past and present – with Game Informer staff, developers, and special guests from around the industry. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app. Matt Storm, the freelance audio editor for The Game Informer Show, edited this episode. Matt is an experienced podcast host and producer who's been speaking into a microphone for over a decade. You should listen to Matt's shows like the "Fun" And Games Podcast and Reignite, a BioWare-focused podcast."

"The Game Informer Show – Podcast Timestamps: 00:00:00 - Intro 00:02:42 - Cover Story: Dragon Age: The Veilguard 00:21:48 - Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree Review 00:42:20 - Concord Preview 00:59:04 - Supervive Preview 01:11:59 - The Plucky Squire 01:24:37 - Magic: The Gathering – Assassin's Creed 01:35:01 - Still Wakes the Deep 01:45:52 - Dustborn Preview 01:55:06 - Luigi's Mansion 2 HD Review 01:58:26 - Housekeeping"

"The GI Show podcast is a weekly recap of exciting releases, exclusive details on upcoming games, and in-depth interviews with developers. Watch or listen to a new episode every Thursday!"

[source]

----

Felassan's notes section of this post -

In this episode of the Game Informer show, Game Informer talk some more about their trip to BioWare's studio for the DA:TV cover story, when BioWare showed them hours of DA:TV content while playing it live.

Some notes from this and from what they said:

Wesley LeBlanc wasn't a huge DA fan and he went in with no expectations. The job to go to BW for this just landed on his plate due to other peoples' schedules. After seeing the game, it's probably his most anticipated game for the rest of the year and the one he's most looking forwards to

The game really wowed him and stuck with him, he said he is thrilled about it and is engrossed in the fantasy it's bringing

The visuals and world finally feel like what BioWare has maybe always wanted to make

This is the game where the team said, yeah, we feel fully in command of the Frostbite engine, and it shows

The world is more like Fable-type whimsy than prior DA games. It has a high fantasy feel

BW want new people to play the game. They're very aware that it's been 10 years since the last game and the game does a good job of catching people up

Rook as the PC really has no idea what's going on with Solas and all the other lore-specific stuff that's happening in the game, so they kind of act as the stand-in for newer players or people who have not caught up on the lore

But it's not just a game for newcomers, there is still a lot to chew on in the game for hardcore DA fans. BioWare were saying that they know their community, what it wants and what it's looking for out of these characters

Wesley enjoyed the music, visual design, and voice acting

Nothing that they saw about the game stood out as worrisome to him

Wesley has quite a lot of further stories to add to Game Informer's DA:TV hub

Wesley: "On the topic of the [Dragon Age] fanbase, I just wanna give a shoutout to that community, because, wow, I did not, I knew people would be stoked about this cover, but people are really stoked about this cover. And it’s really funny, the day that we announced it, I got like hundreds of new followers. Anytime, if I tweet about Erdtree or Destiny 2, I get like my normal amount of likes, like, a dozen maybe, y’know, whatever. If I tweet about Dragon Age, it’s like. Today I tweeted, ‘my next feature is coming at 3pm’ and it’s at 1000 likes, it’s so funny, like, this community is like rabid for information, which makes sense if you haven’t gotten a game in 10 years. But yeah, so like, shoutout to y’all, I’m loving you guys reading the articles and telling me what you wanna hear about. So if you have any questions or anything, get at me on Twitter for sure, and I will see what I can cook up with some writing for you. But yeah, shoutout to the BioWare community, y’all crazy.”

[source]

[ozwriterchick]

Back to Us - Chapter 1

Summary: Y'/n wakes after an accident to her Avengers team-mates. But something isn't quite right and only Steve and Tony can see it.

Characters/Relationships: Steve Rogers x Reader; Tony Stark; Natasha Romanoff; Other Avengers Characters

Content warnings: Mentions of an accident (no details yet); If I missed any, let me know

Back to Us Masterlist

Dividers by @firefly-graphics

Word count: 1030 (approx.)

Present Day, Stark County Hospital

The monitor beep droned on and on.  10 days they’d been waiting for you to wake up.

The Avengers were there as well, in the - thanks to Tony Stark - not so small hospital room which still seemed too crowded.  They were all praying that you would wake up soon.  Some were re-living their part in what had occurred and trying to work out if they could have done anything differently.

Others were thinking back over the last few years they had known you and re-visiting all the wonderful memories you’d made together.

Steve sat in the chair closest to the bed, his head in his hands as he tried to reconcile what was happening.  He was hoping that you would wake up soon.  The doctor had told them that your brain and body needed the rest and the longer it let you do that, the better it was all round.  Steve wasn’t sure he believed that but he put his faith in the medical experts that were looking after you 24/7.

All of a sudden Steve’s head shot up.  He was sure he’d just felt you move your hand.  Your hand that had been still for the last 10 days.  He watched and waited for it to happen again.  Just as he was about to give up in despair, your hand moved on the bed.

He called out your name, leading the rest of the Avengers to look up and also see your hand moving.  Next you gingerly opened your eyes, a little at a time, the lights glaring down on you making you squint after having them closed for so long.

“She’s awake, I’ll go get the doctor” Steve almost yelled, leaping out of his chair and heading out the door of your room.

You winced as he did so, your head hurting just a bit, you imagined from being asleep for so long.  You wondered how long you had been asleep and moreso, how you got here in the first place.

“Hey kid, how do you feel?” Tony asked.

“Like I got hit by a truck.  What happened?” you asked, looking around the room at all the expectant faces around you. “And what are you all doing here?”

Tony levelled his gaze at you, as if trying to decide how much to share right now.  His decision was easy really – you’d just woken up, you didn’t need to hear a lot of the gory details of what happened. 

“Never mind that right now, we’ll de-brief once you’re back at the compound.  You need to concentrate on getting back to 100%” he said.

The door to your room opened and you looked up to see Nat wandering in with a cup of coffee in her hand.  Your mouth salivated and you hoped she’d brought it for you but that hope deflated when you saw her raise the cup to her lips. 

“Hey Y/n” she said. “It’s good to see you awake.  Oh and sorry, doc says no coffee for you just yet” and with that, she downed the rest of the black liquid. “Don’t worry, when you can have coffee, I’ll get you a proper one, not this hospital stuff.”

You chuckled at her, your head still hurting just a smidge.  “How long was I out?” you asked?

Before she had a chance to respond, Steve returned with the Doctor, who greeted you with a smile on his face, and in his voice.  “Well, good morning sleepy head.  So, you’ve been in a coma since the accident.  It’s been about 10 days so far.”

You looked around at your team-mates in the room.  “Accident? Tony, what happened?”

“Let’s not worry about that right now” the Doctor said.  Turning to the others, “Ok, now that she’s awake, you all have to leave so we can run some more tests.”

Steve looked back at the Doctor and responded. “I’m staying.”

“Me too” came from Tony.

The Doctor shook his head and told them all again that Y/n needed some rest and that they could all come back later, once all the tests were run and that maybe he’d have some more information about her progress.

Tony rolled his eyes and said “If you insist Doc.  Y/n, we’ll be back.”

She looked back at him, with fondness in her eyes. “Yes, please go, do something productive.  I’m sure you all have better things to do than baby-sit me.”

Steve looked at you softly. “At least one of us has been here 24/7 since the accident.”

Noticing the change in his expression and voice, Y/n replied “Wow, I thought you all had other things going on in your lives.  I’ll be fine, right Doc?”

The Doctor nodded.  “Besides, sitting around here while I’m in and out of the room, having who knows what tests and being poked and prodded will be no fun for anyone, including me.  And if I know I’m keeping you from the important things in your life, I’d be very annoyed.” Y/n continued.

Tony’s eyes narrowed as he listened to what you were saying and something clicked in his brain.

Steve started to protest “But Y/n, you are…”

“Ok Avengers, let’s go” he interrupted Steve.  “You too Cap.”

The rest of the Avengers say goodbye one by one and walk out, leaving just you, Tony & Steve in the room with the Doctor.

You could see Steve’s reluctance to leave, which was so like him, he really looked after his team in all areas of their lives.  “Captain Rogers, your watch here has ended, you can go too.  I’m sure you have some hot date to get to” she teased.

Steve exchanged a concerned glance with Tony who nodded slightly. Kissing you on the forehead, he left the room.

“I’m glad you’re awake Y/n” Steve began.  “We’ll talk more once you’ve had your tests.”  With that, he leaned in and you noticed a moment’s hesitation from him before he landed a kiss on your cheek and walked out the door.

You were left a little confused because that was a very personal gesture that you'd expect from Tony, but that was not like Steve at all.

Chapter 2

Tag List: @wolfbeanpotion

[lonewolflupe]

I finished playing Republic Commando for the first time and have some thoughts to share (: Beware, there be spoilers!

Alright so first of all, I'm a fan, and I think I'm gonna be obsessed with the boys from Delta Squad. Mind you, I haven't read the RepComm books yet, but I have the fullest intention to do so (they're patiently waiting to be taken off their shelves).

To start with, I've really enjoyed picking up gaming again. I've been gaming (mostly Playstation) since I was about 10 years old, and it's always been one of my favourite hobbies, so I'd totally call myself a gamer. Due to adulting, I hadn't gamed for over a year. So picking up my controller to finally game again was such a good feeling <3

So I've seen a lot of art featuring Delta Squad here on Tumblr, so that obviously piqued my interest. Reason number one to finally play this game is definitely @deltasquadweek , because I needed some sort of reference to participate, and what better option than the source material?

Look at me rambling; I haven't even properly talked about the actual game yet. To be fair, I'm really bad with giving a substantiated opinion review-wise, and I'm really bad with analysing stuff. So this won't be a review or analysis, it will just be another Lupe ramble, I guess.

The Game™️

So the game was awesome! I know it just hit its 20 year anniversary, and it obviously has 2005 graphics, but that's alright and I can definitely look through it because I know it's from that year and it actually feels nostalgic (I used to play a lot of Star Wars Battlefront II during my childhood, which also released in 2005). The story was pretty cool, although it had some bigger time gaps with missions jumping through the Clone Wars. I wouldn't have minded more missions, but that's mainly because I would have liked to see more of the boys. (Also detail: I played on Medium difficulty, which was the default setting)

Geonosis was awesome, despite the Geonosians being swift and slimy buggers which were hard to kill in melee, because of them being so.. Swift and slimy. I love that this first mission was right at the start of the war, and now we know how much Delta Squad contributed to the war effort. The last level (the timed one; was this the infamous Belly of the Beast?) was pretty hard and it took me a few times to beat it, but I was super happy to get all four boys out of Geonosis alive.

The ghost ship/RAS Prosecutor mission was pretty scary at some points haha, gave me some Alien (1979) vibes, especially with the face hugging scavenger droids. I have mentioned before on my blog that I'm a wimp when it comes to the horror genre, but I made it out unharmed - again, like the boys. (Although those Trandoshans scared the kark out of me a few times; it had some good jump scares!)

Unfortunately the Trandoshans returned in the Kashyyyk mission, as was expected - but so did the Geonosians, which was a pretty unpleasant surprise. Especially because they kicked our shebs with their elite warriors when they appeared out of kriffing nowhere. How rude. I definitely struggled the most with the Kachirho Bridge mission, because those insufferable SBDs kept killing us. I found it ironically hilarious that the level was called 'A Bridge Too Far', my inner history nerd really appreciated that fact.

I wish I could say I got all boys out of Kashyyyk too, but everyone who played the game knows that doesn't happen. I knew Sev wouldn't make it out with his squad before starting the game, because I guess it's hard to stay away from spoilers for 20 years. It just.. The fact that I knew it would happen, didn't make it easier? Because now I've seen the boys, their personalities and their dynamics, so now it makes it harder. Boss' determination to get Sev out, Fixer's practical answer based on regulation, Scorch's devastation.. Kriff Yoda.

BUT one thing I learned from watching Game of Thrones is that if you don't see someone dying on screen, they don't have to be truly dead (and sometimes when they die on screen, they come back anyway). Right? Right?!?

(Kriff, I wish they'd made that sequel game)

Alright alright, happy thoughts, happy thoughts.. 🧘🏻‍♀️ Yes, Delta Squad! I'd just like to say: I love all of them, obviously. But Scorch is probably my favourite? Although Sev is just <333 And Boss, but.. I can't leave Fixer out now, can I??

I love how they all have their own strengths and skills, and I loved how the game made use if it through the commands feature. It worked pretty well (although I only figured out how to use it on PS4 after Geonosis) and it was a really fun way to move around with computer-controlled characters.

The Blorbos™️

Scorch is just so much fun, I had to laugh at almost every comment he made. I loved his enthusiasm and his dynamics with the others, especially with Sev <3 And Sev is just amazing, I fell for him the moment I heard him talk for the first time. I also love the bloody paint decoration on his armour and his hunter/predator vibe, especially with the sniping. Oh my <3 I loved how Fixer was totally different, maybe a bit more of a follower of the rules, but definitely not less badass because of it. And Boss.. Well I did fall for Sev's voice, but if you let Temuera Morrison voice a clone, you have my vote. And he was Boss alright, since the others had such respect for him and followed all his orders without a doubt.

I'm actually really looking forward to diving into some Delta Squad headcanons, and of course more art and hopefully some fics too! And I can't wait to start creating some Delta Squad content myself!

Alright, have a Commando Cookie if you made it this far 🍪 Count me in as a Republic Commando fan, I'm definitely gonna obsess about it more and more and it's gonna be my hyperfixation (RepComm) within a hyperfixation (TCW) within a hyperfixation (Star Wars). So I guess you'll be seeing me around simping over anything RepComm/Delta Squad (and hopefully the books next) 🫡

[shellsstardew]

you made me ship shelliot so hard it's not even funny 😭 like normally im not super into rarepairs bc it seems ppl ship them just to ship them but i legit see where you're coming from, especially in the same context as your comic where their story begins after elliot moves in. i actually love your comic i cannot wait for the next part (not trying to pressure you obv). ive never gotten too many hearts with either of them but your characterization just feels so accurate like i feel like I could see your story with their dialogue happening in the game and it wouldn't feel out of place at all. and also finally (oops ive been rambling), your art style isn't overly detailed but the facial expressions/body language/like perspective i guess of the characters, especially shane and elliot on the dock is so well done, the small changes in positioning work so well to communicate the change in their body language and its just really impressive.

sorry i yapped or if it was weird or something i promise i was not trying to come off weird 😭😭😭 i just really admire good fanworks such as yours and it's important to tell authors/creators that they're doing well and yeah

also if you (or anyone else) has any shelliot fic recommendations i would loveee to hear them :>

No but seriously it's so funny that your like "I hope I'm not being weird" meanwhile I reread over and over your super thoughtful message to keep me going 😭

YOU GUYS DON'T REALIZE I NEED THOSE HYPER DETAILED COMPLIMENT or my stupid brain will go like "Okay time to think you're worthless and that what you're doing doesn't matter"

No I can point at the screen and say "See? 👉📱 SEE?! 👉👉📱?" and it's putting another coin in the machine hehe

Anyway, thank you so much 😭

AND YES I HAVE FICS TO RECOMMEND! ONCE AGAIN, @cutethulu you know the drill hehe

Camellia Station, by Awdrey (Explicit - but it's only one short smut scene in the last chapter for now)

Now it's still in progress (updating once a month) and they still didn't smooch yet, but that's what you get when you fall into the Shelliott rabbit hole, hehe, you can't be picky

It's really well written and the author and I have a lot of similarities in our interpretations of Shane and Elliott :) Go give it some love!

Also some one shots by @mongoosingisme that I really love :

Untitled Shelliott Ranch Project

Herding cats (Explicit - Shane/Elliott/fem!farmer)

And UHHH maybe you've seen it already but I wrote one about Shells, it's an alternate ending to part 34 (it's my first one and I'm really proud of it teehee)

Shells, alternate ending, by shellsstardew (Explicit)

Also @visionofthebees wrote this one for me on the same concept :

One Shell of a Night, by Visionofthebees (Explicit)

Be warned it's EXTREMELLY SILLY and she didn't even reread it before posting, but I love it with all my heart it's so so funny hahaha

I love her so imma also recommend her Clint x Elliott fic too (yes yes you read that right, she's 10 degrees further than me on the crack ship scene) :

Falling Ore You (Explicit) (46 chapters, completed)

LISTEN SHE MAKES IT WORK OKAY! SHE REALLY DOES!

And also, check my bookmarks! They are some non-Shelliott stuff that I absolutely love in there! (BUT always ALWAYS check the tags before reading, there is also some dark stuff haha)

Here you go, hope I didn't recommend all the ones you already knew about, as we all know this is not an extremely popular ship so this is what we get, quality over quantity hahahaa 😭

[us3rnam3-r3dact3d]

My friends we are finally here! In just a little while I’m posting the last chapter of the Firefighter AU!!

I have a lot of people to thank, so I figured I would put it all into a post before the chapter so that you guys can get right to the meat of it.

I don’t know what to say besides thank you. To the twelve thousand people who have read it, to the hundreds of comments and kudos, to the kind tags and asks here on Tumblr, thank you thank you thank you. The love being poured into me for my writing has sustained me over these ten months of writing.

This piece isn’t perfect. It very much resembles a first draft, and I might come back in the future and tweak some things, but all in all, I am so satisfied with this piece. I truly think this is my best writing.

I’ll be moving on to more Redacted fic, finishing other pieces that have been put to the wayside in favor of this one, and working on some original stuff now that I’m done. Expect at least some more one shots in this universe if not full pieces!

Lastly, I want to give some shoutouts to those who have helped me along the way with this piece. I truly wouldn’t have been able to write this without the community that rose up around me.

Thank you to my fiancé, whose love of schlocky romance novels is what inspired a piece about burly firefighters. He knows about my obsession with Redacted and, when he sees me listening he often goes “oh, you’re listening to your other boyfriends?” While he’s not into this world, he’s listened to me ramble about this piece and my plans for so long that he might as well be. Thank you, honey. Without you, I wouldn’t know how to write about love.

Thank you to Crab Anon, my mysterious analyzer who deepened and complexified how even I thought about these characters. You made me consider things in so much more detail than I intended to when I started what was meant to be a 10 chapter, 20k word fanfiction. Thank you for your constant presence and support. If you ever feel like revealing yourself (although I have a pretty good idea of who you are ;D) please send me a message. I’d love to thank you personally!

Thank you to @moonvalley94 and @nillabeanwrites for reaching out and starting some wonderful friendships over my silly fanfiction. You two have shown me the depth of community and how much talking with those passionate about art can make it that much more meaningful. Please know so many details about this piece are they way they are because of you two.

Thank you to @angelcakeeee who made so much of the details in this fic real and tangible. Your experience as a first responder helped to deepen this world and make it tangible. Beyond that, you’ve folded me into your friends, given me creative room to breathe, and made me feel so much more confident about the realism of my writing. Thank you, my friend!

And finally, the biggest thank you of all to @romirola. My friend, I don’t know what to say. You knew about this fic before anybody else and you nurtured the idea for a short and sweet piece into what is essentially a full length novel. In the almost year that you and I have talked every single day, I have grown as a writer and a person. When I believed that I wasn’t capable of something like this, you pushed back. You believed I could do it more than I did until I met you there in that belief. Thank you. I am the writer I am because of you. Steel sharpens steel, my friend, and we are very sharp indeed!

Thank you again to everyone who has read, liked, kudos’d, commented, and asked. Please know that I’ve read all of your messages, and if I haven’t responded yet, I will in the coming days. I hope you’ve had as much fun with this story as I have, and that this last chapter ties everything up for you. I love you all!

[azzibuckets]

For the Love of the Game [Pazzi | Part 8/10]

paige bueckers x azzi fudd

summary: in which the “fake” in fake dating starts to rear its ugly head

a/n: probably the most painful thing i’ve ever written

word count: 2.2k

masterlist w/ all parts

“How was practice?”

Azzi gently stirred the mug of hot chocolate as she carefully brought it over to Paige, who accepted it with a grateful smile.

“Pretty good. Worked on our box and one defense.” Paige brought the mug to her lips but Azzi halted her, leaning over to blow on the steaming liquid first. “Careful. It’s hot.”

The younger girl took a seat on the couch, bringing Paige’s feet onto her lap. This is how their past few nights had looked like - Azzi rubbing Paige’s legs while recounting practice detail by detail, from the conditioning to the drills to the scrimmages. It was slightly exhausting giving such a complete run down of their entire three hour practice, especially since Paige tended to asked questions that seemed irrelevant, making the whole spiel last even longer, but from the way the blonde listened intently, Azzi knew that this was how she was coping.

So these days she’d found herself stopping to take notes during practice, of important things that Geno said or observations she made of their plays, so that Paige would have something interesting to hear about.

“That’s good.” Paige pressed the heel of her foot against Azzi’s thigh, sending her a soft smile. “I missed you today.”

Azzi pinched Paige’s skin, a playful grin on her face. “You just saw me yesterday.”

“I know, but it’s not enough. It gets so lonely in here. Going outside is so tiring with crutches and shit.” Paige leaned her head back, breathing hard. When Azzi didn’t respond, only comfortingly patting her leg, she took it as a sign to continue. “I can’t even hang out with the girls no more because I feel like I’m dragging everyone behind, pathetically limping and trying to catch up.” Paige was on a rant now, her pent up anger seeping through her words. “But then I can’t go out alone, cuz sometimes people will start swarming me like I’m an animal at a zoo, and I can’t even escape because of my stupid leg.”

Paige was heaving now, and she was surprised when she looked down and saw that a wet drop had fallen on the collar of her shirt. Touching her cheek with her fingertips, she’d realized that tears had started to fall. “This is so stupid,” Paige grumbled. “I don’t know why I’m getting emotional over this shit.”

“Hey.” Azzi’s voice was gentle, a soothing balm to Paige’s wounds. “It’s not stupid. I get what you mean. I tore my ACL in high school. People always talk about the obvious struggles like not being able to play and stuff, but they don’t know about all these little things that make even daily life so hard.” She gently swiped her thumb over a tear rolling down Paige’s cheek. “I might have a solution to your problems, though.”

“What?” Paige perked up, suddenly interested.

Azzi smirked. “You’ll have to wait and see.”

————————

The next day, when Azzi opened the door of Paige’s apartment with the key that she’d been gifted, she came with a shiny wheelchair in tow.

She heard Paige moving around in the bathroom, so she rushed to hide the wheelchair behind the couch before the blonde could step out. The water from the faucet started running, and soon Paige limped out on her crutches.

“Oh my god, you scared me for a second,” Paige laughed.

Azzi slowly winded her arms around the older girl’s waist. “Guess what?”

Paige kissed the corner of Azzi’s mouth, trying to calm her heart that was now racing just from seeing the girl. “What?” But Azzi didn’t respond. She merely grabbed Paige’s crutches with one hand while supporting her waist with the other. She tossed them to the side, laughing at the confusion on Paige’s face.

“Are you gonna magically heal my knee?” Paige asked sarcastically, gripping into Azzi’s elbow for dear life.

“Nope. But today we’re going out, and all you’ll need is this.” Azzi slowly guided Paige to the couch, where she pointed at the wheelchair.

The blonde’s eyes widened. “No way!”

“Yes, way.” Azzi made sure Paige was steadily holding on to the couch before jogging to retrieve the wheelchair. “When I tore my ACL I had the same issue. I felt all pent up in my room but crutches were way too big of a nuisance. So my dad surprised me with a wheelchair and he’d just take me to the park and stuff so I could get some fresh air without having to hobble everywhere.”

Paige situated herself into the wheelchair, still in disbelief at the kind gesture. She felt Azzi run her hands through her hair, collecting and bringing it back, exposing the nape of her neck for her to brush her lips against. “Ready?” she murmured against her skin.

“Fuck yes.”

————————-

Paige never thought she’d be so happy to be in a wheelchair. But here she was, being pushed by Azzi around the Storrs campus, and she’d never felt so giddy.

At first, they walked quietly, without aim. Paige would occasionally point things out and Azzi would respond with a hum. Every so often Azzi would let her fingernails lightly scratch across Paige’s shoulders, a soft reminder of her presence, and both were content.

“Oh my god, Az. There’s ice cream.” Paige turned around and gave such adorable puppy eyes that the dark haired girl could only roll her eyes affectionately and give in. When Paige started quietly chanting, “I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream,” Azzi shook her head, marveling at how to everyone else, Paige as a big and intimidating all star athlete, but to Azzi, she was just a dork.

“You wanna share?” Paige asked, studying the menu with the most concentration and thoughtfulness that Azzi had ever seen from her.

“Only if we get mint chip.”

“So you like toothpaste. Gotcha.”

Azzi leaned down to whisper in her ear, “You weren’t saying that last night.” The blonde immediately blushed, recalling how while they’d brushed their teeth last night, Azzi had looked so gorgeous that she couldn’t help herself but kiss her right then and there. Azzi had shrieked and pushed her off, but Paige had chuckled, pressing another toothpastey kiss to her cheek.

But Paige quickly recovered. “Well, anything tastes good when it’s on your lips.” This time it was Azzi’s turn to blush furiously.

For the rest of their “walk,” Paige focused on slurping her ice cream cone, occasionally lifting it up for Azzi to take a bit.

“You ate basically all of it,” Azzi complained once Paige had popped the last piece of cone into her mouth.

“Sorry, I couldn’t hear you asking for a bite from all the way up there,” Paige mocked.

Azzi leaned over the back of the wheelchair, staring at Paige upside down. “You’re an idiot,” she’d laughed as she’d pressed her lips to Paige’s.

“Very nice,” Paige approved once they broke apart. “Like Spider-man.”

The girls heard a high-pitched squeal come from behind them, and they both turned around, surprised to see Leo barreling towards them.“That was so cute!” Paige looked down, noticing the camera in Leo’s hand. “But do you think you could redo that kiss, with everything exactly the same? My lens went out of focus so the video came out kinda blurry.”

“What?” Paige looked at Azzi to see if she was just as confused as they were, but Azzi was staring icily at Geno’s daughter, her jaw clenched and rigid.

“Uh, for the documentary?” Leo held up her camera, as if that explained everything. “Azzi, I knew I agreed not to come yet, but this was so great! I think after this we can just move onto the interviews. I won’t be needing any more content.”

“Leo,” Azzi said roughly, taking a menacing step towards her. “Please leave.”

“What?” The peppy brunette looked taken aback.

“No, don’t leave,” Paige interjected. She looked between the two of them in disbelief. “Does someone wanna tell me what’s going on?”

Now Leo looked confused. “Azzi? I thought you told her?”

“Fucking hell.” Azzi let go of the wheelchair, pressing her palms against her temples. “I was going to,” she mumbled. “I swear I was, but-”

“Someone tell me what the fuck is going on right now.” Paige heard her own voice, and it took even her by her surprise. She hadn’t used a tone so filled with malice and aggression against Azzi since before they’d started this whole thing, and right now that felt like decades ago.

Leo looked hesitantly at Azzi before saying softly, “Um, I know the truth about you guys. That you two aren’t actually dating.”

Panic rose up in Paige’s throat. “Fudd, you told her?”

“I didn’t tell her!” Azzi said quickly, her voice all nervous and high pitched. “She overheard one of our conversations and asked me about it.”

“But I told her I’d keep the secret to myself, including from my dad, as long as you guys would agree to keep doing my segment. It’s way too late into the semester to throw my whole project away,” Leo defended.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Azzi’s heart lurched at the wounded look in Paige’s eyes. She glanced at Leo. This was not the way she’d planned for this conversation to play out, in front of Leo and in public, with some people now staring at them.

“I-”

“Wait.” Paige interrupted. “So why is Leo here right now? Can someone explain that?”

Leo looked guiltily down at her camera, as if she’d just been caught red handed. “Well, you’ve been out with your ACL, so you haven’t really been around to help film for my doc. Which I totally understand, it’s really terrible what happened. But then I realized I was really running short on scenes, and they’re due in a week, so I asked Azzi if there was any chance that I could get any more candids of you guys.” A headache was starting to form behind Paige’s eyes, throbbing and threatening to split her skull. “Azzi texted back and said that she was taking you around campus today, and that I could come get some shots if I wanted,” Leo finished, staring at the ground.

“I told you that you could get some shots after I gave you the say so.” Azzi spit, her eyebrows drawn together in fury as she glared at Leo. “Not whenever the fuck you wanted, just following us like creeps.” Azzi leaned down until she was eye to eye with Paige. “Listen, P. I was planning on telling you that Leo knew. And I was planning on asking you for permission for her to come take some shots at the end of the day, so that she’d have enough to turn in. I was planning on doing all this before Leo came, but I forgot.” Azzi’s voice came out patched and broken. “I swear I wouldn’t have let her if you’d said no.”

Paige‘s knuckles clenched tight, her fingernails digging into the palms of her hand so hard that she started to draw blood. Of course.

Why else would Azzi show up to her apartment with this godforsaken wheelchair, with that stupid big grin of hers, and offer to spend her entire day pushing Paige around like a servant? Azzi hadn’t cared that Paige had opened up to her, been vulnerable to her about how difficult it had been to be stuck on crutches, helpless and incapable. No, she’d wheeled Paige around in order to look like a hero, to look like the model girlfriend in front of Leo’s dumbass cameras, motivated to save her own ass from being kicked off the Europe trip.

All of the times Azzi had shown up to her apartment, groceries in hand, had stayed for a movie and fallen asleep on Paige’s shoulder? Those moments had meant everything to Paige, and nothing to her. Paige cursed herself for letting her guard down, for letting herself fall in love with Azzi Fudd. For letting herself believe that they could be anything more than enemies.

She turned to Leo. “Take me home,” she demanded, her voice cold.

“Paige, wait.” Azzi scrambled furiously to stand in front of the wheelchair. “Please, you don’t understand.”

“Understand what? The fact that you know I have a hard time opening up to people, yet when I finally opened up to you about my insecurities about using crutches, you immediately took advantage of that?” Paige laughed, but it was bitter and hollow because right now, nothing was funny.

“That wasn’t my intention at all. You can’t-”

“You know what?” Paige interrupted. “I can’t even be mad at you. This is what we agreed to after all. Fake dating. Nothing less, nothing more.” She laughed bitterly. “In fact, I should thank you for being the reasonable one. For not being stupid enough to get your feelings involved like I did.” Paige bit the inside of her cheek so hard she could taste blood. “This was really a genius plan. Lugging the cripple around, getting her ice cream like she’s a poor child that needs to be saved. You’re smart, Fudd, I’ll give you that.” Paige hated it, the way Azzi was recoiling into herself because of her words, but she couldn’t think. She could only feel, and right now she was feeling a whole lot of hurt.

Leo nervously took ahold of Paige’s wheelchair.

“Paige, you don’t even know what you’re saying,” Azzi said. And apparently Paige was better at controlling her emotions than Azzi was, because Azzi was crying now, forcing words through her tears.

Paige cut her off again. “Save it.” She motioned for Leo to push, and they began heading in the opposite direction. “Don’t bother coming to my surgery.”

Paige hadn’t meant that. Oh god, she hadn’t meant that. They’d talked about her surgery just days earlier - Azzi had joked that she would fill up Paige’s entire apartment with stuffed animals to await her return; she’d joked that she’d show up to her hospital room from the first visiting hour and stay until the last, nagging and bothering Paige the entire time until Paige begged her to leave; she’d joked that she’d bring the biggest and brightest bouquet of flowers she could find so that she would outshine all the other measly attempts at flowers that people would bring. Paige had laughed, but in her head, she’d thought about how much she wouldn’t have minded if Azzi actually followed through with her words. About how the first face she wanted to see after her surgery was Azzi, and only Azzi. But she hadn’t said any of that, had instead giggled and swatted Azzi on the shoulder.

But now, the distance between them grew further and further, and it took Paige everything not to break apart right then and there.

[zazaiafe2]

Hi, thanks for responding to the question I asked you on one of your posts. I tried inducing sleep paralysis but I didn’t make it all the way so I wanted your input. I woke up about 4 hours after I went to bed and stayed up for about 10 minutes. Before I got back in bed I was super aware and didn’t feel overly tired anymore. I did some box breathing and then I just started counting and saying some affirmations. Eventually I started to feel different things like waves go over my body and some numbness but it never really advanced from there. I wasn’t paying attention to my cr but I could still hear my fan run if I tried to hear it. What do you think I should do next? Was I close?

I’ve been trying to shift for around 5 years but my experience last night has given me fresh motivation. I love your blog, thank you for taking the time to read this. 🙃

Hey, thank you so much for your kind words and for sharing all these details!

Honestly, from what you’re describing, the waves, the numbness, the sense of not being too tired anymore, you are very close. These are solid signs that your nervous system is shifting into a hypnagogic or even borderline trance state or even the void state ! Which is a perfect launchpad for shifting.

If you feel comfortable, you could absolutely add a soft brown or white noise in the background. This helps a lot of people stabilize awareness without snapping back to their CR (especially if you notice you keep hearing the fan, which is a CR anchor). The noise acts as a subtle “bridge” so you don’t latch onto CR sounds.

These kinds of sounds can help you disconnect from the outside world and enter an altered state of consciousness more easily.

-> A tip you might want to try next time:

When you notice the waves or numbness, imagine it deepening even more.

Tell yourself stuff like: “I allow this to take me where I want to go.”

You can even gently lean into the feeling instead of waiting for something to happen.

If you’re comfortable with it, you could also try holotropic breathwork before you lie back down, just a very short round (5-10 minutes max) or eventually a full session but before going to bed not during the wbtb to help you get into a non-ordinary state faster. It can give you a kind of emotional surrender that pairs beautifully with the physical relaxation you’re already getting.

I invite you to watch my video on the holitropic breathing if you want to try it.

Others tips

Avoid scanning your environment too much; let go of “checking” or "self checking" at the key moment it can tend to anchor you in the CR environment and identity

Use a clear anchor (like a mantra) thought like “I’m safe, I’m ready” or anything that will help you

Try visualizing one tiny thing in your DR (even a color or a voice), instead of the whole scene

And don’t worry if you hear CR sounds, just label them as “not important” and refocus

Do a meditation centered on the inner state to learn how to detach from the CR environment at the key moment

How a short mindfulness meditation like this before going to sleep can significantly enhance your experience.

With what you experienced, you are absolutely on a very very good path, so please don’t see this as a failure at all because it's not. I really believe if you repeat this and keep calm about it, you’ll break through soon and you'll be into your DR

If you want, feel free to update me after you try again, I’d love to hear how it goes and help you refine even more!

Happy shifting

[sokkas-first-fangirl]

Hope you're feeling better/home by now, but in case you still need distractions, thoughts on the new Deltarune chapters??? Any theories or favorite moments?

Bonus unrelated question, if you could hang out with any Owl House character for a day who would it be and why?

I am home and still in desperate need of distractions, but at least I had a nap!

I am in love with the new chapters, they had me climbing the walls. Thank god I was home alone while playing them, because I theorised and ranted aloud a lot

Gonna put my rambles under the cut

Ralsei, Kris, Susie, I would go to war for you all

I wish I knew if Kris was chill with Berdly for definite, I hesitated for quite a while before saying they’d go to the festival with him. Sorry, Kris, my job as the other-worldly entity possessing you is to get you a date and cause some normal drama outside of The Horrors

The Horrors. Oh man, The Horrors

So, theories! Ahem…

Dess is the Knight (or at least a remnant of her is), fight me. Dunno what the hell happened to cause this, exactly, but I’m sure it’s Dess

*shakes Asgore* Whatever you think you know, you’re wrong! He’s got a shard, okay. He’s got a theory board. But whatever he thinks he knows, he’s wrong, I’m sure of it. He’s got an incomplete picture, just like the rest of us. Maybe he thinks the Knight kidnapped Dess. Maybe he thinks Carol’s behind the whole thing. Maybe he’s wrong about Literally Everything instead of just a few key details. Either way, this man is on a collision course with the plot, and I don’t think it’s gonna be pretty

I’ve got more theories about more things and stuff I wanna properly analyse, but I have brain fog right now 😅 Maybe I’ll do a proper post sometime

✨Onto the rambling!✨

The Roaring Knight??? That introduction??? Their powers??? Oh my god???

KRIS, WHAT ARE YOU DOING, WHAT HAVE YOU GOTTEN YOURSELF TRAPPED IN, PLEASE JUST LET ME HELP YOU

Never thought I’d ship Mettaton with Tenna, but here we are

Where??? The hell??? Did Onionsan go??? Have they been taken into a Dark World too?

Catti, I get you probably fancy Noelle, but how about you back off?

Toriel. Sans. As much as I ship it, I wanted to knock their heads together in that final scene

GERSON, MY MAN, IT’S GOOD TO SEE YOU!

The Titan was SO cool, love the design, fighting it made me wanna throw my Switch across the room

How much does Carol know?? Is she fully in control? I’m sure she’s trying to bring Dess back, but how does she think All Of This will accomplish that?

Ralsei, I’m sorry for ever being suspicious. I love you, sweet boy 😭💕 I will give him the best room possible if it’s the last thing I do

The church Dark World made me feral. Speaking of feral, Susie and Kris just get more and more feral, and I love that for them. My beloved gremlins

Susie opening a Dark World, holy shit. The muted colours. I’m losing my mind

Don’t worry, Alphys, I’ll save your future-girlfriend from the Knight! Eventually. Maybe. The Knight keeps kicking my ass

Kris’s soul glowing, the Fun Gang all supporting each other, taking hits for each other…Man, that genuinely made me tear up

Save me, Papyrus. Papyrus, save me (seriously, where is he, what’s his deal?)

MR GASTER, WHAT ARE YOU PLANNING???

What the ever living fuck is up with the eggs and The Man? Is he Gaster? Someone else entirely? Why eggs? What is going on?

I hope Asriel, when we finally see him, isn’t actually The Perfect Golden Boy that Hometown raves over. I hope he’s a normal kid, maybe a bit of a jerk sometimes. I’d love to explore how everyone perceiving him as The Good One could screw with his head and sense of self

*on my hands and knees* Toby, please. Mr Fox. Annoying Dog. I need a festival Dark World. I need a Dark World that covers the entire town

Kris Dreemurr, I would die for you 🫡

The soundtrack is simply perfection. I’ve been playing Raise Your Bat on repeat

Carol Holiday, you will die in seven days, get away from those kids

In short: I love it all, 10/10, this game just keeps on giving, thank you to Toby. I am being driven mad by this game and having the time of my life. I can’t wait to see where all this madness leads

[littlestarbigsky]

so ive been saying for a hot minute that i want to write some more with mama curtis sooo happy thursday gang, here’s this silly lil dally and mama curtis fic🩷

tbh i loved writing this so if you’d be interested in seeing more stuff like this plss tell me <33

the mid morning sun shone brightly through the window as mama opened the front door after her shift at the hospital. it had been a long night, her feet stinging with every step she took. she kicked off her shoes and unbuttoned the top of her scrubs, gazing longingly down the hallway as she imagined her bed, and how good it would feel to finally sleep.

the euphoria was short lived. as she surveyed the kitchen and living room, checking for unwashed dishes or anything her sons may have forgotten, when her eyes landed on another boy hunched over on her couch. she had to swallow a gasp as she took in his appearance. his hair was matted with dried blood, his clothes hanging off him loosely and torn in places, but her initial shock seemed to double as he looked up at her. both of his eyes were swollen and red, a thick trail of blood dried around both of his nostrils, and a slice, probably from a switchblade, across one of his cheeks. if she hadn't known him so well, the planes and curves of his face like the back of her hand, she might not have recognized him.

"dally..." she sighed, hurrying over to him and sitting down on to coffee table to face him, freshly fourteen and full of anger and fear.

"you should see the other guy..." he muttered, wincing as his split lip tore open with the speech.

"i don't care about the other guy," mama answered quickly, gently brushing some of his hair back from his forehead to get a better look at him. "what happened?"

"man, i don't know," dally flinched away as her hand grazed a cut nestled somewhere in his mess of hair. "there were a bunch of 'em, i don't remember."

she sighed heavily, "c'mon, get your ass in the bathroom."

he rolled his eyes and pushed himself off the couch, limping to the bathroom, mama walking a bit behind him to survey what else might be wrong. a part of her supposed it was lucky that all of these boys had a nurse close by to patch them up when they needed it, but it didn't make it any easier for her to see them so banged up.

especially dally. gpd, if that kid could make it two weeks without showing up at her doorstep looking like a stray dog, she’d sleep a lot better at night. she knew he had been trying, hell, sodapop said dally had even helped an old lady who fell in the park. he had admittedly swiped $10 from her, but… details. she knew he didn’t mean to cause her so much trouble, but the fact was, it seemed to find him just fine.

the angle dally was holding his head at seemed relatively normal, and he didn't seem too disoriented, so she silently ruled out a concussion. every few steps, he'd hiss quietly and grab at his side, leading her to suspect a broken rib or two.

he pushed the bathroom door open and sat down on the closed toilet seat, knowing their little routine by now. dally had been in tulsa for about six months after hopping trains all the way from new york city. the first time mama had met him, she was chasing him away with a broom when he offered her 11-year-old a cigarette. she knew kids in tulsa got into that stuff early, lord knows johnny was already smoking at 12 and a 15-year-old two-bit had shown up at her door drunk one night, but she was keeping her boys away from all of that if she could help it. dally wasn't like the other kids in tulsa, all those nasty things she’d tried to steer them away from, were old habits of his.

"where?" she asked as she started pulling supplies out of the first aid kit, and she knew this routine of theirs well enough to know he understood.

"the nightly double yesterday," he sighed, watching her hand apprehensively as she approached his face with an alcohol wipe.

she started to wipe away the blood caked under his nose and around the cut on his cheek, "last night? where were you all night then?"

dally shrugged, tipping his head back as mama cleaned out the wound, "around, i bummed 'round the drive-in for a while longer, i crashed in the lot."

"why'd you only come here in the morning then?" she fished around in his rat's nest of hair to try to find the cut, and he winced violently as she found it. "sorry, honey."

dally just rolled his eyes, "thought steve or two or johnny might be layin' over, didn't wanna make a fuss."

she nodded, accepting the story for what it was. even though two-bit and johnny had been frequent flyers lately, they hadn't been staying over, but there was every chance they could have been. dally was being honest, she could tell.

"next time," she tilted his head back gently. "you can stay in the recliner or we could stick steve or johnny with soda. it's getting cold, dally, you can't be sleeping out in the lot like that."

he huffed out a breath and she continued to work. they fell mostly silent, except for dally's occasional hisses in pain as she dabbed at cuts and bruises. dally's nose was broken, but by her estimation, he'd already set it back in place, and there wasn't much else she could do about it. she put a few butterfly closures over the gash on his cheek, praying that he wouldn't end up needing stitches or getting it infected, which seemed much more likely. once she had him all cleaned up, she admitted silently that he wasn't in as bad a shape as she had initially thought.

"stand up," she instructed, holding out a hand to help hoist him off the toilet.

he pulled himself up gingerly and raised his arms, knowing she would ask. she lifted his shirt up and ran gentle fingers along his ribs, feeling for breaks. when she seemed satisfied not to have found any, she gave a few experimental squeezes to his stomach. he flinched whenever she would press on a bruised area, but nothing seemed wrong internally. she smiled; he was okay.

she stood up and dally dropped his arms, not meeting her eyes.

"you look like you're gonna pass out," she pressed the back of her hand to his forehead and frowned. "i'm gonna get you something else to wear and we're gonna get some food in you, alright?"

he nodded mutely, waiting patiently for her to fish some clothes out of the drawers in her sons’ bedrooms and bring them back for him. he changed out of his torn and dirty jeans and t-shirt, dragging himself out into the living room and collapsing onto the couch, pulling his knees into his chest and burying his face in them. she came back out after a few minutes, a plate with some toast and sliced fruit in her hands.

she set the plate down on the coffee table and sat down next to him, maybe closer than he would have wanted, but something in her knew he wouldn’t shy away.

“you know, i can hear all those thoughts buzzing around in that head of yours,” she mused. dally slowly lifted his head and looked over at her, his eyes meeting hers in a knowing gaze. “you don’t have to be strong with me, baby, i know you’re hurtin’.”

dally glanced down at his hands clasped over his knees, knuckles bruised and dried blood caked over top. he didn’t even know if it was his. he slowly shifted and laid against her side and the second he was touching her, he knew he never wanted to move. she tugged him a little closer, wrapping an arm around his shoulders.

the contact was so gentle, so kind, so unlike anything dally had ever experienced, even with his big sister back in new york. even then, they had always been rough and tumble, never stopping to feel scared or talk each other down when one of them was hurt. he felt something inside of him snapping, maybe the pieces of himself that promised he’d never cry again, or maybe just something that’d had just about enough of getting beat on by preppy rich kids. either way, tears welled in his eyes and he sniffled heavily, trying to keep them at bay.

“that’s it,” she rested her head against his, carefully avoiding the cut she had just cleaned. “it’s alright, honey, i’ve got you.”

dally didn’t know how to feel, but he was becoming more and more aware that he had no control over it either way. he tried to blink back a tear, but instead, they fell from both of his eyes. he heaved a huge breath in frustration, and looked the other direction, hoping she wouldn’t notice.

instead, she guided his head to rest on her shoulder, pressing a gentle kiss to his head.

“you’re a real bruiser, dallas winston,” she whispered. “doesn’t mean it don’t hurt.”

dally shuddered, the delayed panic and pain settling somewhere in his chest. he curled up into mama’s warm embrace, emotions he didn’t even know he had pouring out of him like he was a stuck pig.

“mama…” he whimpered, pressing his face into her shoulder.

she smiled softly, combing a hand through his hair, “i love you, kiddo. get some rest.”

when ponyboy got home after school, spotting dally asleep on the couch in minutes, he walked back to mama’s room, where she was in bed reading a book.

“dally’s on the couch,” he informed her nonchalantly.

“i know,” she held out a hand to her youngest, still small for eleven years old and still as much a mama’s boy as he was the day he was born.

he crawled up on the bed with her, “he was pretty banged up.”

“i know, i’ve got him all sorted out,” she pulled pony into her lap, where he leaned up against her shoulder contentedly. he was a dead weight against her, she could feel how tired he was.

“what do you mean?” he asked quietly, his brows furrowed.

she squeezed him for a moment before pressing a kiss to the crown of his head, “everyone just needs a mama sometimes.”

[reneesghostinthelivingroom]

First: I want to say that I LOVE your writing. Like when I requested something before and I saw you actually did it, I squealed. Reading your fics literally makes me some happy when I'm down.

Second: I was wondering if I could request another poly!Plastics fic with a Janis best friend reader. R was a bad home life (it can be abuse, neglect, detailed, or glossed over. Whatever you're comfortable with) and the girls, plastics and janis, start to notice it (Like R's behavior or clothe change or something). The girls team up and coast R into telling the truth. R ends up living with Janis (or regina if you want) and they all have a big sleepover at the end.

Now I did read your request rules and I know that you don't write abuse relationships and if family also falls under that category that's completely fine. You don't have to write this fic if it makes you uncomfy and if anything you can take the poly!Plastics fic with a Janis best friend reader idea and have a completely different plot.

Hope you have a good day.

Bruises and Cuddles

|| poly!plastics x fem!reader

(i myself am poly)

|| Warnings; swearing, hinted at abuse, injured reader

|| Summary; reader doesn't have the best home life in the world. As the girls and Janis begin to notice, they take matters into their own hands.

Requests open!

Started; August 31st

Finished; September 9th

slowly getting back into the posting grind 🫡

~~~

You had just walked into school, shoulders slumped and exhaustion etched in your features as you made your way to your locker. Which was right next to Janis', your best friend.

As you approached your locker Janis noticed your state right away with a grimace," you look like shit." Leave it to Janis to compliment you. Right?

Opening your locker, you sighed as you heard her words. It wasn't exactly the reminder you needed, you knew how you looked. You had pulled your hair into a messy bun, tried to cover the bags under your eyes with makeup but you weren't as skilled at that as your girlfriends so parts peaked out. Even your clothes looked sloppy.

"Gee, thanks, Jan." You responded, Janis had been noticing stuff like this from you for the last while now. Since the beginning of grade 10 you'd been coming to school looking like you had just escaped hell. She was starting to get suspicious, wondering about what your home life was really like behind whatever facade your parents put up whenever your friends were over.

"We hanging out later? Damian pirated some movies," Janis gave you a playful nudge as she smirked, pushing her worries to the side for now. Hoping that maybe at the least she could get you out of your house for a while.

You hadn't been listening until she nudged you, getting your attention. You blinked and looked at her," huh- what?"

"Movie night." Janis simplified, a frown on her face as she realized you really weren't doing well. Maybe this wasn't something she could just push aside for now.

"Oh, I can't tonight. Sorry." You replied, its not that you didn't want to. You really, really did. But your mom's been getting on your ass about being out late so often and grounded you over it. Honestly, a stupid reason for getting grounded. But you weren't about to argue with her. You knew better than to do that because of how she reacts whenever you do. Let's just say, she isn't winning the 'mother of the year' award anytime soon.

Janis watched you with studying eyes, a plan forming in the back of her mind. She had to get your girlfriends involved, as much as she wasn't the biggest fans of the plastics. She was sure that having them on her side for whatever this was would be better than going about it alone. "Right."

The bell rang.

"Well, see you when we see you." Janis gave a mock salute ad she walked off to class, you frowned as you watched her leave. Feeling bad for having turned down her offer. For the fourth time in a row that week. You haven't said why, you didn't want her to be concerned or take some reckless action. You knew Janis would try to sneak you out of your house or some shit and didn't need that.

Throughout the week, more instances like that would come up. It would either be one of your girlfriends who found you in an exhausted state, sometimes with a few bruises or Janis would be the one to see it.

One day, Regina had been the one to find you first and had enough of seeing you so beaten up and exhausted. Janis happened to be near by so she rounded her up first, then Gretchen and Karen.

Working together (shockingly) the plastics and Janis pulled you off to the bathroom after making sure no one was in there. They had briefly discussed a game plan beforehand, knowing this was a situation that needed a more gentler approach compared to how they (mostly Regina and Janis) normally handle things

"We gotta talk about.. this." Janis gestured to you with a frown, she didn't know how else to word it without being extremely blunt.

You looked beyond confused.

"But you just gestured to all of me?" Your arms folded across your chest as you glanced at Karen, who was watching you with a sad look. You tried having a silent conversation with her but she didn't pick up on any of your social cues. Maybe not the best one to get information from about whatever this was.

"We're worried you're not getting the right- parental care at home." Gretchen blurted out, Regina gave her a side eye and Gretchen looked at her apologetically. You sighed.

You should have guessed they would notice. It's not like you hid it that well either though. Should you lie? One look at Regina's gaze told you no. It's like she could read exactly what you were thinking. Swallowing thickly, you decided to go with the truth. Your eyes met Gretchen's, being too nervous to look at either Regina or Janis. They could get intense with things like this. And Karen just didn't understand.

"It's my mother." Simple. To the point. Confirmed everything the girls had suspected.

Gretchen's expression softened and she held her arms out to you, you easily went into her hold and relaxed as you felt her arms wrap around you. "Why didn't you tell us?"

"Didn't want you guys to worry." Your words were muffled as your face buried into Gretchen's neck, holding her tight.

Regina and Janis shared a look. Almost as if having a silent conversation.

"That's it." Janis said, then both Regina and Janis said at the same time; "You're living with me."

They paused and narrowed their eyes at each other. You looked up at them in slight confusion as you saw them doing a very aggressive and intense game of rock, paper, scissors to decide who you would stay with. You were silently thankful they didn't make you pick.

"Ha! Suck it, bitch!" Janis threw her hands into the air. You assumed Janis won. Regina rolled her eyes and folded her arms across her chest. You could just tell that she wasn't pleased in the slightest. Janis turned to look at you with a smile," You're gonna come live with me. No arguments."

You sighed but nodded, grateful for your friend.

And that's exactly what you did. You moved in with Janis' family, they welcomed you in much to your mom's distaste. She didn't approve of you leaving but your dad helped get you out. He didn't like how his wife treated you, so he gladly helped you leave.

The times after that were good. You were finally getting the proper rest you needed and your bruises healed. Whenever you weren't at Janis', you'd be with your girlfriends. Who always made sure to give you cuddles and comfort.

Despite your past, your future looked good. And you couldn't be happier with how things played out in the end.

~~~

Hoping to get back into my usual flow of writing. I think it sounds kind of close to it? I just haven't written in so long that it might be different and a little rushed. So apologies of it isn't as good as it could have been 🙏

[somekindofadeviant]

What do you think about the comics (not Boom comics, the old one) that feature Spike, Dru, and sometimes Darla?

I have read recently Spike VS Dracula and the Spike And Dru Serie and both of them are nice and provide a lot of the info/headcanon about the Fanged Four dynamics back in the day!

Like the fact that Spike used to write Darla letters when she was with the Master and him and Dru were travelling around the world, or the details of all the mess that were Spike and Drusilla after season 2 and pre Spike definitely returing in Sunnydale alone.

I think it's a pity that they get not discussed in the fandom when speaking about our favourite four vamoures' headcanon.

I'm glad you specified not the Boom ones, because I have thoughts about Boom's depiction of Dru.

But for the older ones,

I don't think I've read the Spike vs Dracula one, though it's on my list to acquire. The Problem With Vampires from Tales of the Slayers, it's been a while since I read, but I recall it being rather good! Tragic and wonderful.

I am a very big fan of about half of the Spike & Dru trade paperback! The artwork is hit and miss, I'm not fond of Ryan Sook's style for them - but there's some really lovely stuff in there. The first and last tales are very bittersweet, of course, and I... have disagreements with parts of their stories. Namely, Dru's attitude towards relationships and family, her saying that all she wanted/sired Spike for was to be a simple playmate. Nah, she sired him to be a playmate and companion, someone to love and be loved by, she chose Spike because of the potential she saw in him, and she only left him because he was obsessed with the slayer (and her sleeping with Angel(us) was not cheating, the four were a polycule, and man slept with Angel(us) too!).

The middle two. though? Those I adore. Queen of Hearts is a really nice romp and All's Fair is gorgeous and very sweet. I love them both. I need to go reread them now, I love the settings very much and it's so lovely to see the pair at their very finest. They capture them in a really fun way!! Just out for a nice date night and stumbling into chaotic hijinks and trouble :D

They hit the same spot in my heart as the Spike & Dru Pretty Maids novel, which I also loved.

Then there's Dru's appearances in the 'Season 9/10/12' comics and those I'm more... reticent about. I feel like people in fandom were already reticent to write post-s2 reunion fics for them that involved Dru becoming ensouled and those comics put the final nail in that for a lot of people, confirming their theories that Drusilla would not be able to cope with a soul. I... don't agree, I think it would be traumatic but in the right circumstances and with the right support system (ie: Spike and Angel) she could learn to manage life with it. I'm just also quite torn over the post-series Spru stuff generally, because they do generally show affection or even love between them still while at the same time cementing the walls between them, so while I can appreciate the stories it's always gonna be a double edged sword to the shipper in me.

So yeah. Queen of Hearts and All's Fair? In my heart forever. For the rest, it's more complicated.

I do very much like the idea of Spike (and Dru) being in communication with Darla after she leaves him and Dru, and that's firmly something I keep in my headcanon along with occasional meetings/visits between them.

[ozwriterchick]

Back to Us - Chapter 2

Summary: Y'/n wakes after an accident to her Avengers team-mates. But something isn't quite right and only Steve and Tony can see it.

Characters/Relationships: Steve Rogers x Reader; Tony Stark; Natasha Romanoff; Other Avengers Characters

Content warnings: Mentions of an accident (no details yet); If I missed any, let me know

Back to Us Masterlist

Dividers by @firefly-graphics

Word count: 1142 (approx.)

Tony & Steve stood close together outside the hospital room in silence for a few minutes.

“So, that was strange, right Tony?” Steve asked.

“Yeah, I noticed somethings she said earlier too.  I think she’s got some kind of amnesia.  Let’s let the Doc do his tests and I’ll come back later this afternoon and talk to him to see what is going on.”

Back in the hospital room, the Doctor pulls a chair up and sits beside your bedside.  “Ok, let’s talk some more.  You’ve been in a coma for 10 days.  We’re going to send you off for an MRI, draw some blood and check the basics first and just make sure everything’s working the way it should. How does that sound?”

Y/n smiles at him tiredly “I’m getting really tired but I’ll try and stay awake for all the tests”

“Well, the MRI you’ll need to stay awake for cause there’ll be certain breathing exercises you’ll need to do during it, but that will all be told to you when you get to the imaging department.  And apart from that, we can always work around your naps, because you definitely need to rest as well.”

Later that day, you are back in your room after the first lot of tests have been completed.  Napping on and off while waiting for the next test and the results of the ones they have already completed.

The doctor comes into the room again with the computer that shows him the test results.  “Well, all of it looks good Y/n.  I can’t see anything concerning on the MRI and the blood tests have come back fine as well, so it looks like no permanent damage.”

“Well, that’s great news Doc” you said.

“Let’s do some memory test questions, okay?” As the Doctor asks this, Tony walks back into the room.

“Sorry doc, I just couldn’t stay away, but it looks like I got here just in time for the good stuff.  Hey Y/n, how are you feeling this afternoon?” he asked.

“Really tired tony.  But Doc has just said that the MRI and other tests have come back fine.  And hopefully if these memory questions go well, I can go home?” you look at the Doctor hopefully.

“Okay, first question – what is today’s date and do you know where you are?” the Doctor begins.

“Today is May 15th and I’m at Stark County Hospital” you proudly answer.

“Great, what is your full name, date of birth and parents names?” the doctor continues.

You smile because these are all easy questions in your opinion. “Easy.  My name is Y/fn Y/ln, Date of birth 22 June, my parents are Y/mn & Y/dn Y/ln”

“Alright, here comes the big one.  What is the last thing you remember before waking up here?”

“Well, I think I remember an impact, but I’m not sure if that’s a trick of my brain because I’ve been told there was an accident.  I do remember Steve, I mean Captain Rogers, Bucky, Nat and I were heading to a Hydra facility in Romania cause we had intel that there were some hostages being held there.”

“We split up, Nat and Cap went to the West and Bucky and I went to the East to make sure there weren’t any goons over and above the ones we anticipated would be guarding the facility.  Bucky and I dealt with the ones on our side and entered the building, clearing floors as we went.”

“We met Nat & Cap in the centre of the main floor, agreed they’d go up to the higher floors and Bucky and I would go down to the lower floors as we thought that’s likely where they’d hold the hostages.  The last thing I remember is being on maybe the 3rd floor down and entering a room with at least 6 people chained up to the walls, in cells.  Bucky started ripping the cell doors off their hinges so we could get into them, then there was a beeping and that’s about it. “

“Like I said, I think there was an explosion, but I’m not really sure if that’s just cause, you know..” you finished.

“Ok, get some more rest and I’ll be back later to see how you are.” The Doctor told you.  You nodded at him and Tony and closed your eyes.

“I’ll be right back Y/n” Tony smiles at you and you smile back, drifting into sleep.

Tony quickly caught up to the Doctor.  “Hey doc, so, what’s the latest?  That was particularly concerning to me?”

“She seems fine, there’s nothing wrong with any of her results.  What’s concerning you Tony?” he enquired.

“Well, that Hydra incident she says is the last thing she remembers, that was 4 years ago.  I was a bit worried today cause she didn’t seem to remember a few things, but this is the icing on the cake.” Tony conveyed his concern to your doctor.

“Hmmmm, well, I guess we’ll run some more tests and I’ll keep you posted.” The Doctor told Tony, also showing some concern now that he knew this further information.

Over the next couple of days, the doctor and his team ran further tests, but couldn’t work out why you were missing the memories, except for the bump on your head.

Tony and the doctor decided it was time to tell you so they sat down with you on the day you were to be discharged.

“So Y/n” the doctor began “We’ve run a whole heap of tests and everything looks great, however there is one thing we need to let you know.”

“Oh. “you were concerned that there was something that looked ok but wasn’t. “Alright, lay it on me.”

Tony took over “The other day when you first woke up you said a few things that concerned Steve and I.  Then when the doctor was doing the memory test questions, you mentioned the Hydra mission in Romania as the last thing you remembered.”

“Right, that was my last conscious memory that I can recall.” You said.

“Yeah, well the thing is…” Tony started “that mission was not the last mission you went on.”

“Oh, so there’s another mission in the middle that I don’t remember?  How much time am I missing” you can’t think of how long ago it was but surely it was only a few days or a week or two.

“You know what, let’s just leave it at a gap in your memories for now?” Tony asked.

“And we shouldn’t force anything, the more you force this kind of thing, the more the brain can subconsciously rebel against remembering.  We need the memories to come back naturally to give you the best chance of having full recollection of whatever is missing.”

You sat back and wondered just how much you were missing.

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[chinomiko]

hi! i know it must be kinga boring for you recive questions about castiel bc ppl are obsessed ober him for years but like the other person who asked you a few days ago, i follow you (and ply mcl) for like 10 years and ever since day one my fav boy has been tiel. till this day at the age of 22 he's my favorite and my comfort boy so i joke that he's not a fictional character anymore for me and that i know him personally at this point lol

with that being said, i bet you can imagine that over the years i've been elaborating his personality beyond what the game gives us but he's your boy, you created him therefore you know him and your word is canon, so i'd like to ask a few stuff!! nothing too big, dont worry but here we go.

tiel is an amazing songwriter and since he's very emotional not very good at express it (he does it a lot better now that he's an adult 🥹) i bet his lyricism is very deep and poetic so i have this headcanon that he at first wouldn't like taylor swift because obviously lol but then he payed attention to her lyrics and ends up basically being a swiftie since he likes her writing a lot. what you think about that?

and what kind of music crowstorm sings? like there are any bands that you listen and think "hey this would be in a crowstorm album!" (i have a playlist with this name btw lol). im probably wrong on this one but since this is my fav band i like to think that catfish and the bottlemen are the irl crowstorm, musically speaking

and the last one: another thing that gives me so much comfort is the lystiel friendship. not having present parents, being so closed off i know that lysander is such an important presence on tiel's life because he was basically the only close person he had (specially after the debrah fiasco); if lys didnt had taken the farm and went to college and bla bla bla do you think he would still be part of the band with castiel? im not sure if im mixing the canon with a fanfic i read a while ago (lol) but the band was more of a fun thing to lys, right? he liked writing most (i always imagined him getting into a literature degree or something like this). i also like to think that he helps tiel with lyrics at times, even if he's out of the band (in my head the canon is that they are best friends and pretty close till this day, i pretend lys never left our lives just like armin)

anyways sorry for this big ask 😭 i dont even know if you will read it all but if you do, thank you! and dont feel like you have to answer, i know its too much its just that mcl is my hyperfixation till this day like for real, i have a fanfic that i write still and i even plan on making it into a book sometime. except from the main characters (who is my oc) all the characters will be based on the game's ones :)

ilysm take care and stay hydrated!!

Hellow !

Aww thank you so much and for all your love for Castiel ^^

What a long ask, I'll try to answer in order.

Castiel being a swiftie. No sorry, I don't think he would be. If candy likes her, I'm pretty sure he would try to listen. Also he is an open minded person for sure, so I'm sure he would be curious to listen and study what all the hype is about, it could also help as some sort of far away inspiration, but I don't see him being a fan.

What kind of songs Crowstorm sings This is hard to answer because my musical knowledge is pretty limited and I'm sure I would miss on lot of potential groups or singers that would fit well. And it would require too much research time to have a real detailed and clear answer, but I still did check a bit and here is a little list of songs/groups that I think would have a fitting vibe for Crowstorm

City of the dead - Hollywood Undead The worst in me - bad omens Paranoid - I prevail Trauma Just pretend - Bad omens Ice Nine Kills - A grave mistake Catfish and the bottlemen sounds nice but I think its a bit too soft for what I imagine for Crowstorm.

What is his voice like I think something similar to this (not necessarily the song itself, just the voice. )

bonus, I think this song is so so fitting for Castiel's breakup song, I love it. Dial Tone - Catch your breath

Castiel and Lys friendship. It was'nt mentionned much in UL/LL because I didnt wish to bring too much drama by mentioning Lys when he was not there for the players, but of course Lys and Cast always kept in touch. It is very clearly mentionned in Lys' AL that they keep in touch, that Lys helps Castiel write songs and Cast also like to come to his farm to have a break and spend time together. You should play it if you havent, you'll have a good chunk of Cast and Lys friendship :) However yeah I can confirm that Lys would not like to do it serisouly and professionally, but he'll be all the way around to support and help Cast.