#is this the end?

[weirdlookindog]

Carolina Da Silva - ¿Éste es el final? (Is This the End?)

mezzotint, etching

[ominous-signs]

(it wasn't the end. there's a teeny little hiking trail right next to it)

Official ominous sign

[makeyoumine69]

I will survive or not☠️

Hello dear people, I don't usually talk about my personal stuff and the shit that's going on in my life, but I think now is the time to tell you and maybe ask for your help. As you know I live in Russia and our admin keeps blocking everything they don't like, including Discord, YouTube, AO3, Patreon and LGBT is now a terrorist organization. Yesterday they said they will block VPN and all sources that can help you to keep using the blocked platforms. In addition, my boyfriend can be taken away from me and sent to the army. So, I was thinking about moving somewhere a long time ago, but now I feel really depressed and trapped in a dead-end situation. I don't know if I can keep up with writing, but I will try my best. I'm sorry if I become less active or distant, but I'm very close to falling apart and just giving up. To everyone who wants to support me, you can do it here, thank you in advance! If anything happens, remember that I was always happy to be here in this fandom and write for you! American Psycho and Patrick himself changed my life and I am so grateful for everything, even though I know that a lot of people will be happy if I disappear forever.

[wolfthatroamsshadows]

Part two of the last episode. Here is where it gets interesting.

Editing choices, people. Why is Goren saying "Bound to fate." contrasted with Eames looking up at him. The framing makes it look like it's supposed to be Goren's POV. And, well, is the editing here implying that Goren and Eames are bound to fate?

Before we head into sadder things... Eames: Apps for saps. Goren: In caps.

They look so happy about their little rhyme. And as we all know: Happy detectives make me happy.

But now for the parallels between the case and the detectives lives.

He looks so sad. Like he wishes himself back to before. Before it all went wrong. Before his life took a turn. Before he lost his family and his mentor became unstable, before he lost his job. Back to the old days of just Eames and him solving crimes, when things were easy and less complicated in his life.

This cut to Eames serves no real purpose. Except to tell us her reaction to what Goren is saying. And he is talking to Danielle about "giving up everything for the man she loved". And having him say "What did you do?" while we see Eames feels like it's saying something. Now, her expression might be one of empathy, but to me it reads more like a flashback one. (Especially since we get another cut to her right before she arrests Danielle. And that expression reads much more like empathy.) Like she thinks back to what she did for Goren and what she was willing to give up for him. I don't think she hears "What did you do, Danielle?" but "What did you do, Alex?" She might realize that she did in fact give up everything for this man, her partner. She did put 'the man' before 'the job'. I think Gyson would have a field day with them in a session together.

Eames: True love. We all wanna believe.

True love believers spectrum. From Danielle (firm believer) to Bobby (on the fence) to Eames (wants to believe but is to practical to consider it).

We might have a discussion here about how to define "true love". 1) As a predefined, destiny love that just happens out of the blue and there's nothing anybody can do to change it. A zap and that's it, you're in love and have found the person you're meant to be with. A once in a lifetime thing. 2) As a "love that endures", a love that is a choice, a deliberate choice, to stick around, to support each other, to care for and about each other no matter what life brings. A commitment to loyalty to each other even if things seem hopeless. To stay "true" to that one person. To believe in that person even if no one else seems to. A long lasting love that is built on a strong foundation of trust and understanding, a love that has evolved and grown.

If there is "true love" between Goren and Eames, it would most likely be the latter one.

Now, the last scene has already been chewed to death, and looked at from a lot of angles, so I won't dwell on it for longer than necessary.

His initial reaction to seeing her is happiness. And after that, the confusion sets in, wondering what she's doing there. The first reaction is usually the one we can't control, the involuntary one. The one after is the one we show when thoughts catch up with emotions.

I always read the end as a direct callback to 6x03 - Siren Call. Where he waits for her outside and asks her "How'd it go?" Here, she waits for him and asks him the same thing. Result is, broadly speaking, the same thing. "Well, then let's go."

In conclusion, I can say, that if they wanted to convince people that Goren and Eames were just platonic best friends, with platonic feelings about each other, they probably should've made a few different choices in the editing. Just in my humble opinion. But who am I even? Just a gal yelling into the void of an almost dead fandom, with maybe 5 people still huddled around a campfire.

[fizziepopangel]

A Fizziepop Take: Let’s talk about the beginning of the end and what the last few episodes might mean for the next chapter of Stolitz

Well hello, my lovely peoples! I feel like I haven’t written a Fizziepop Take in a good minute, and I know I'm putting my two cents in a lil late, but I am back and so ready to talk about everything that we’ve seen in the last few episodes because it has been wild…. So, you know the drill, let’s get into it.

So, if we wanna talk about the beginning of the end, we need to be honest with ourselves; the real beginning of the end of one of the fandom’s most beloved ships started back with the incident at Ozzie’s. If you've followed my takes for a while, you know I talk about this night a lot, but that is because this was a real turning point for the couple; the relationship has been strained ever since Blitz felt what he felt that night when Stolas pulled away from him in public when all eyes were on them. Ever since that exact moment, Blitz felt like he was being used and taken advantage of, and despite things going back to a kind of normal for them, those feelings just ended up festering and since our loveable little horse-loving imp doesn’t have a lot of healthy ways to process things and has already had it imbedded in his brain that he ain’t shit, I don’t think he ever fully processed what that night meant from any other angle than “he’s embarrassed to be seen with me��. What does this have to do with how things ended? I’m so glad you’ve asked! Since Blitz never fully processed the events of that night and therefore was only ever able to see it as a royal being embarrassed to be seen on a date with a lowly imp, Blitz didn’t get to see the sweeter side of being gifted an Asmodean Crystal by Stolas in “The Full Moon”. To Blitz, the crystal was more of a “you’re being let go” type of thing because Stolas essentially terminated their contract and since they had never talked about their relationship being anything but contractual, Blitz had no reason to believe that this was really anything but Stolas telling him that he was no longer needed by him.

Now, we as the audience know what the real intention behind the crystal was, and I think Stolas put it beautifully when he tried to explain it to Blitz when he gifted him the crystal….. but I don’t think that words really do much for Blitz in most instances, let alone in the long term. Blitz is more of an “actions speak louder than words” type of imp, but here’s the thing about that: for this saying to be true, actions must be consistent. Because, yes, actions do speak louder than words, but if that action is only done here and there, it doesn’t always show what it should. In terms of the end of Stolitz as we know it, Stolas isn’t the only one who’s actions matter, and unfortunately, I’m not talking about just Blitz’s actions. Being that Blitz has been abused (probably way more than we’ve even seen), those actions matter. Abuse of any sort does a lot more damage to the victim than we sometimes realize, and because of that, it can do a lot of damage in how a person looks at things like relationships and love…. And given the transactional nature of their relationship, and the fact that Stolas hadn’t consistently been a genuine partner to Blitz outside of the bedroom, his reaction to the crystal honestly makes a lot of sense. First, he treats it like an elaborate role play, because sex is the only love language he’s consistently known in their relationship, then when he realizes that it’s a serious conversation, he’s pissed rather than grateful…. Is his anger perhaps a little misplaced? Probably, but the feelings are all real. Blitz does feel used and discarded by Stolas, something he’s obviously felt before since we see in his bad trip in "Truth Seekers" that he feels very much chained to the prince by the design of their relationship, and the fact that Stolas doesn't give him much time to really sit with what’s just happened between them after handing him an out of their relationship doesn’t help…. And then we see the panic when Blitz realizes that unlike what he’s used to, Stolas isn’t going to match his anger, he’s just going to remove himself from the situation and let that be the end of it….

This brings us to the events of “Apology Tour”. I actually really loved this episode despite the fact that my favorite couple literally just called it quits the episode before. We see the aftermath of what happened the night of the full moon, and we see the way both men start to grieve the relationship they had in their own ways, which I would argue is the true end of the relationship since this is where we see both men really accepting that they are no longer a thing the way they were before. We see Stolas taking all his eggs out of the Blitz basket and actually letting himself be happy with someone else, even if that happy is only gonna be for the night… And we see Blitz realizing that he not only truly loved Stolas more than he had wanted to admit, but we see him start trying to let go of what he had with the man despite the point of the episode being that he hadn’t really been ready to in the beginning…. Unfortunately, Blitz letting go leads to his spiral which we see in “Ghostfuckers”, and we see him get himself into a rough spot with his little found family; working Loona into exhaustion burning owl figurines as a form of therapy, not paying M&M while also fucking away all of I.M.P’s money, and using the job they get in this episode as a chance to just roleplay as someone who wasn’t him and therefore wasn’t going through what he was…Really, Blitz did go into a deep, rather dark place, and I suspect that he might be there for a while when it comes to love, which leads us to the big question….

What does this all mean for the fan favorite ship? Will Stolitz really be endgame if we just watched them break up the way they did? 

If you ask me, a humble Tumbr blogger who probably cares way too much about fictional demons, I honestly don’t think this hiatus will really affect the ship too negatively. The time apart may be just what Stolas and Blitz need. Both of these men have trauma they need to start working through individually, and while having a support system can be a helluva help when you’re reopening old wounds to try to get them to heal properly (hehe, see what i did there?), I don’t think either of them is really in a place emotionally to be the best support they can be for the other while they both individually try to do that. Stolas also needs time to learn who he is as a person considering he went from being a baby prince to being engaged, then straight from being engaged to being married, then married with a kid, and directly after that, he jumped into bed with Blitz and just proceeded to place everything he had in that "relationship"… He never really considered anything outside of loveless marriage with an abusive cunt or amazing sex and *hopefully* love with an old childhood “friend”. I think he needs some time to be alone and live just for himself as much as he can as a Goetia, and I don’t think he could have done that with Blitz right now, at least not fully. Vivzie is a smart woman, and she does a lot of things in her shows very intentionally, so I do think that she is setting the pair up for a happier, healthier relationship down the line and I think once they come together again and have more experiences apart from each other, we’re probably gonna get a sort of happy ending for the pair, or at least the start of a new beginning for them.

I’d love to hear what everyone else thinks, because as you all know, this is just a simple Fizziepop Take and anything can happen in the Helluverse, but my take definitely makes me excited for the next episode because I for one cannot wait to see what Vivzie has in store for us next.

[rachel-974]

Bruh what's happened in the video games industry... The PS5 pro 800€ to buy it and this console have nothing! Concord flop bruh Sony WTF!? Plus the Minecraft movie... Eww. I'm so sorry... Video games industry gonna be destroy... You can't play with you own material favorite video game anymore. Really sad.

(Sorry for my poor english...)

[its-in-the-woods]

Coyote Head - Part 14 - At the end, it is only the beginning

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part9, Part 10, Part 11, Part 12, Part 13

Pairing: Cooper Howard x Lucy Maclean 

Includes many other characters from Fallout

Synopsis: It had been beyond hard for both of them, which now included several weeks of Cooper not communicating with her at all. Lucy was pretty sure this was the end of their relationship, which hurt more than she could really put into words.

MINOR GET OUT. Rating/Warning: Medical stuff, Animal/people death, dead animal mutilation, general horror, religious themes, Alternative Universe, Slow Burn, Death, Aging, Family Feuding, Older Man/Younger Woman,

Note: And somehow we have found the end

Lucy rolls into the room, where Cooper is lying, Richard and Dorothy sit beside him. Richard looks like he has aged a century, Dorothy gets up and comes over to embrace Lucy. Margie parks Lucy beside Richard, he squeezes her hand as they all turn to Cooper. The man is covered in blankets, IVs, hookups, tubes, wire, and a bank of monitors. His eyes are closed, and he is covered in bruises, cuts, and marks, Lucy is positive that if she removed the blanket she’d see cut wounds across his chest. 

“He’s breathing on his own now. It’s just a matter of time before he wakes up.” Dorothy says, her hand gripping her sons. “You saved his life, all of theirs.”

Lucy swallows, she would rather they were angry with her. They should be angry with her, she had led them into the woods with a creature that was more powerful than anyone could explain. As close to a God as Lucy had ever been to, one that was tangle-able, real, and was now living inside her. Was she still a threat to them? Would they ever be safe? 

“I don’t remember getting them out,” Lucy says quietly, “I remember John getting into the ambulance, but it’s a blur.” 

It was a lie, a calculated one, but there wasn’t really room for truth right now. The morning interview with the Psychologist was frustrating enough, she was not staying here any longer than she needed. 

“You don’t remember?” Dorothy looks at her son, her face scrunched up like she ate something sour. “You dragged them out of there. Don’t know how you got them onto the four-wheeler, but you did.”

Lucy shakes her head, “I remember being in the back of the ambulance and waking up here. Not much else. I was so surprised they were all here.” 

“Can’t blame you for that, it was a horror show what the cougar did,” Richard states, Lucy turning towards him, something passing between them. A knowledge that they both knew more than they were letting on, but to keep it quiet for now. 

“If it wasn’t for you, there’be four dead bodies instead of one,” Harris states, squeezing her shoulder.  She feels comfort in knowing that her Uncle had her back, what had actually happened would be discussed away from prying ears. 

Lucy isn’t sure how long she sits there, everyone coming and going, nurses constantly checking. She desperately wants to hear Cooper speak, to know that he is going to wake up, but he still lies there. Breathing and heartbeat stable, Doctors are still without answers until he awakens. 

“Heard you were awake,” A gruff raspy voice rumbles in, Lucy looks towards the door to see John rolling in. He looks chipper considering his state, his hair now braided into two neat rows, a several-days beard covering his tanned face. Despite everything a sly smile covered his face

“John,” Lucy says, moving her own wheels towards his. “I am so happy to see you.”

John gives a weak grin, as he moves over to her, Lucy scooting so there is room for him. She squeezes his hand, hoping to provide some comfort. 

“Cooper still out?” He asks as he looks Cooper over, "It never gets easier to see someone hooked up to everything."

“They said he could wake up anytime,” Lucy says, reaching to hold one of Cooper’s hands. “If he isn’t up tomorrow they are going to do more scans.”

“He’ll wake up,” John says, his hand rubbing at the top of his legs. Lucy watches him closely, unsure of what to say. “They figure it’ll be a few weeks before prosthetics are fitted, they have been showing me how to get in and out of the chair. Can pee by myself now.”

They both chuckle at the comment, Lucy feels her stomach twist. She couldn’t imagine what he was going through, Lucy had walked away with nothing but a few bruises and scratches. Whereas John's life would be forever changed by their small journey into the forest.

“I am sorry John,” Lucy finally says, though it feels so hollow compared to what he is going through. But what else was there to say? She couldn’t bring back his legs, even with Virol now hanging out inside her. Reattaching legs was even outside this deity's abilities.

“You saved my hide, Lucy,” John says, “Whatever-” He looks towards the door, Lucy happy they were on their own. “Whatever was in there, you had no sway over it. That thing, what was that thing?”

Lucy swallows, trying to come up with the simplest explanation. “Something old, it was so angry. The creature calls itself Virol.” She closes her eyes, knowing how ridiculous this all sounds even to her. “Tim, knew about it but didn’t tell any of us. I should have told you, stopped us from going.”

John shifts in his chair, fingers gripping onto the wheels. “Did you know it would have attacked us?”

“I am not sure,” Lucy sighs, her fingers rubbing together. In truth, she probably should have known that it would attack them and try to kill them. There had been enough warning signs. "I wanted to believe it wouldn't, that we had more time to figure out what was happening."   

“Then the cow goes missing,” John states, staring at the door. “ Lucy, you weren't the only one dealing with weird happenings. Things started gettin' weird when your Grandad got sick. I didn’t put it together until now.” 

“Like what?” Lucy asks, trying to get her mind to pull up anything odd from the last year. It had all been a blur, Lucy had been too new to really notice anything, and her uncle had kept things to himself. It was so hard to know what was normal and what wasn’t. 

“Last year's crops just didn’t grow as well. More calves died, cows died, lost a bull. Most of us just chalked it up to a bad year, climate change, whatever.” John shrugs, hands running over his knees. “Now, I am not so sure anymore. After seeing that thing, Virol, like the old gods my elders talked about.”

Cooper is suddenly coughing, and sputtering, his hand grabbing onto Lucy’s, eyes opening as he wakes up. Lucy moves to hit the call button, while reaching to grab water, she brings it over to Cooper who takes several large gulps. He coughs some more, before leaning back against the pillow. A swarm of nurses enters the room, John and Lucy wheeling themselves backward so the nurses have all the room they need.

A doctor comes in shortly after, Cooper coughing some more as they look him over. His eyes dart around the room, searching for something, his mouth opening and closing as the nurse checks how his pupils dilate. They uncover his chest to look at the bandages. Another IV bag is hung, Cooper grumbling about the attention. His voice is raspy as he tries to get their attention.  

“M’fine, can I get some space?” Cooper huffs, as the nurse puts another blanket on him. His eyes glance over to Lucy and John, a small smile cracking across his face grumpy face. 

“Sorry, Mr. Howard, but we need to make sure everything is working as it should,” The Doctor replies, “Can you move your toes for me?”

Cooper squints at him, brow scrunching, “Yeah I can-”

The room goes silent as everyone moves as they look at his toes, at first they don’t move. Lucy feels bile burn her throat as she watches carefully. Then they move, Cooper flexing them, and bending his legs. He groans as they snap and pop, but they are moving.

“Well, that is the best news we could ask for,” The Doctor writes a few things down on his tablet. “Was hoping for a good outcome after surgery, we will have your surgeon come down. Go over a few things,”

“Can someone tell me what happened?” Cooper asks, the Doctor chuckles at the question, glancing over at Lucy and John.

“I am sure your friends will be able to fill you in,” Doctor replies before exiting. The nurses fuss for a little longer, making sure he is comfortable, showing him how to adjust his bed and where the call button is. 

Watching them leave Lucy then directs her chair toward the bed, John following suit. Cooper watches both of them, his eyes still squinted as he tries to focus. Lucy grabs the cup of ice and hands it to Cooper, who pops a few ice cubes in to crunch on.

“What happened to your legs, John?” Cooper asks, a glint sparkling in his eye,  Lucy covering her mouth at how forward the comment is.

John chuckles, not even flinching at the comment. “Didn’t I tell yah? New weight loss program. They take my legs and in exchange, they don’t pester me to cut out beef.” 

Lucy can’t help the snort that escapes her, the three chuckling at the ludicrous situation they are all sitting in. How had they all ended up here? It had all seemed so simple, go find a missing cow. Now here they were sitting in a hospital, grateful to be alive.

Lucy laces her fingers with Cooper's, “I am so glad we made it out of there. I was sure we were going to survive.”

“I don’t remember much,” Cooper rubbing at his jaw with his free hand, several days of stubble evident. “I remember Bert calling for us. On the radio, going to his location-” Cooper’s eyes fall, his jaw clicking as he clenches it. “It was leading us to it, was it that the thing we were reading about in the book? What Tim was feeding?” 

“I am not sure, I don’t know how to explain it.” Lucy licks her lips, watching as Richard and Dorthoy come in. The three of them exchange glances to keep the weird under wraps for now.

Now that Cooper is awake there is a lot of fanfair, as well as a video call with the kids. Hearing Janey and Matthias so enthusiastically ask when Dad would be home, made Lucy feel sick. She would be able to go home tomorrow, Cooper was another matter.  He’d need physical therapy, along with a lot of rest. The surgery saved his ability to move his legs, but if he pushed himself it could all be undone. There would be ample follow-up visits and more that Lucy was surely forgetting. 

If he was able to walk on his own with limited assistance and his scans came back clear they were hopeful he would be discharged tomorrow afternoon. Lucy had no plans of leaving without him. Saying she’d sleep in the chair if she had to, Cooper was not exactly impressed with her statements. That said Lucy had always been a bit bullheaded and was not going to let this go.

As for John, well that was a whole other matter. The doctors would be holding him for at least another three days. He would also need extensive physical therapy, this would be an ongoing process for the foreseeable future. Lucy had already talked with Harris and Margie about helping the Roths out. Dorothy had also offered help, between the three families and their community friends things would get done and covered. Lucy had already decided to cover as much of John’s physical therapy and prosthetics. It would probably wipe out her savings, but she didn’t care. John being able to get back to life as much as possible came before anything, money didn’t seem like much after what they had been through. 

Then it came to the discussion of Bert, he hadn’t woken up yet. Steph was understandably beside herself, the man was beaten badly. He had to be stapled and stitched back together, there was brain swelling, which meant he had to be put back on life support. It was still a roll of the dice as to whether he would ever wake up. Lucy promises Steph the same treatment as John, whatever is needed Bert will get. 

***

Lucy is standing in her kitchen, for the first time in months the place feels like home. There had been no more noises, no more dead coyote heads, no more screams that sounded like her Grandfather. Now it was quiet, peaceful almost. Despite Virol occasionally crawling around inside her or scratching at her bones.

Virol was always there, always, just a breath away. Lucy was still struggling with that, and Cooper was too. The thing that had attacked them, torn off John’s legs, and had Bert still laid up in the hospital, was now living inside her. It had been beyond hard for both of them, which now included several weeks of Cooper not communicating with her at all. Lucy was pretty sure this was the end of their relationship, which hurt more than she could really put into words. She had accepted it, he needed to keep himself and his family safe. So, if that meant they couldn’t be anything so be it. Lucy didn’t believe Virol would be harmful, not anymore. It seemed more than content to curl up under her ribs, and occasionally demand offerings.

She had made up calendars of all important lunar events, and how they tied to specific offerings. Tacking them up beside all her other maps, it felt a little insane, yet at the same time comforting. Virol would chime in from time to time, moving her hand or highlighting something important. It was helpful when it wanted to be helpful, the other night Lucy had been pouring over a bible trying to translate phrases and words. She had tried to find it, to wake it up and ask it some questions. Instead, she had gotten a hiss and snarl before it settled back again. The thing was more like a grumpy cat than a god, which she supposed made sense.

Now she walks into the forest with an offering. It felt different, the place was so much brighter, the colors popping like a grey filter had been lifted. It was astounding and so beautiful, Virol was still here too; she could now easily see him, shimmering and moving among the trees tops. The poplar and birch were budding with new leaves, the pine and spruce tips just starting to break through their paper casing.

Standing in front of the stump she wondered not for the first if she was doing the right thing. How could she still be feeding it? Still giving it life?

I will take everything from you. I will burn this world to dust and rebuild on your bones.

The words bounced around her head, she wasn’t sure how much truth was behind those words. Virol loved this forest, loved this land just as much as she did. Every time they walked into the woods she could feel it thrum with excitement. Would it actually throw a fit like a toddler just to prove a point? Lucy had decided not to test the theory, whatever it was, god, deity, or petulant child, it was powerful. 

She shivers, placing a fan of feathers onto the stump, Lucy had spent a good amount of time finding the feather and making them into the little trinket. Reciting a small prayer of thanks, and humility to Virol. Digging into her pocket she pulled out a bag of charcoal from the fireplace, dipping her fingers into it as she continued the prayers. Fingers trace over old carved ruins as the words spill out of her. They don’t always make sense, sometimes they aren’t even in a language she knows. The words flow out of her without thought, but with intention. She continues until the whole stump is marked, come fall Lucy had plans to pull some of the stumps out and recarve them. No matter what, she would do whatever was needed to keep Virol quiet and happy. 

Once the ritual is done Lucy walks out of the forest almost in a haze, Virol wasn't feeding directly off her, but he was still feeding. It had been uncomfortable the first few times, but now it was normal. After some water and a sandwich, she’d feel better.  It shouldn't have been so easy, so simple, yet it kept her and everyone around her safe.

Going up the hill Lucy hears the sound of kids chattering, truck doors closing making her feet pick up. As she crested the hill she saw Cooper’s old truck sitting on the gravel. Her heart stuttered in her chest as the man looked around the place. She lifted her hand up in an awkward wave, not sure what to make of him coming over. 

“Miss Lucy!” Janey calls out, running towards her. Even Matthias has a smile on his face as he follows closely behind his little sister. 

Lucy runs towards them squatting down to wrap her arms around them. Tears form in her eyes as she hugs the kids close, she had missed them so much over the last few weeks. Janey wrapped her arms around Lucy’s neck holding her tightly, Lucy lifts her up squeezing the girl. 

“I missed you guys so much,” Lucy says, looking up to see Cooper a few feet away. In jeans, blue button up shirt, and cowboy hat on. He looked tired but happy. 

“Missed you too miss Lucy,” Matthias says quietly, Lucy reaches down to take his hand, the three walking back towards Cooper. 

Cooper helps detangle Janey from Lucy, despite her very loud protests, so they can walk back to the trailer. Lucy tries to meet Cooper’s eyes but he won’t look at her, she feels her heart drop into her chest, than his fingers tangle with hers and everything comes into focus. She squeezes his hand and walks them all up into the trailer, the kids getting settled onto the couch. A familiar encyclopedia is placed between them.

“I didn’t think you’d want to come over,” Lucy said quietly, digging around the cupboard for glasses. 

Cooper leans against the counter watching her, face scrunching a little as he tries to relax his still sore body.  “The kids won’t stop askin’.”

Lucy swallows but hands him a glass of ice, before going to give the kids two glasses and pitcher of juice. She drops a towel on the coffee table, the chance of spillage is high. 

“The kids are welcome anytime,” Lucy replies, it comes out harsher than she intended but she doesn’t correct it. 

Cooper sighs, reaching out to drag Lucy closer to him, Lucy wants to push him away. She wants to tell them that it’s fine, she understands, that their worlds are upside down and sideways. Nothing makes sense, and everything makes sense, and it all is just shit. 

“I just needed some time, Lucy.” Cooper murmurs holding her tightly against his chest. Lucy can’t help but relax against his chest, the strength of him surrounding her making her melt. 

Lucy leans back to look up at him, “ I’d understand if you didn’t want to be here. If you want this to be over between us.”

Cooper snorts leaning down to kiss her, his hands gently holding her face. He pulls away to press his forehead against hers, their eyes closed for a moment. 

“We are in this together, I am still getting used to the idea that this is real. But I can’t let you face it alone.” Cooper says quietly, kissing her again before leaning back against the countertop. “What happened? I know’ya haven’t told us everythin’, but I don’t want secrets. Secrets put us in this mess.” 

Lucy looks back at the kids, who are now currently discussing in detail about the size of wolverines and whether they would actually fight a bear. She nods her head towards her bedroom. The two adults walk over. Lucy leaves the door open enough that the kids can see them, but their voice shouldn’t carry. 

She sits down on the bed, Copper doing the same, taking his hat off to rest it on the bed. Lucy fiddles with her fingers trying to figure out what to say. It still didn’t feel real, even with the feeling of Virol twirling around her stomach. 

“I guess I will start from the beginning,” Lucy sighs, Cooper lacing his fingers with hers. She goes through the memories, trying to be as specific and detailed as possible. Even the gorey ones, the ones no one wants to remember. Then it came time to explain the near psychedelic experience of traveling through Virol’s memories, as well as explain Virol. 

Then there was Virol, which was difficult on a different level. A genderless, ever-shifting, unidentifiable being, that had god-like powers to mimic, and enough power to potentially destroy everything around them. The way Cooper’s eyebrows started to disappear he was also finding this difficult. Considering they both had been non-believers before this incident, finding out a forest god was living in your backyard was eye-opening. Lucy then had to explain that Virol, or at least a part of it, was living inside her. 

“You can feel it?” Cooper asked, looking her up and down. Lucy pulls her shirt aside, grabs Cooper’s hand, and pushes at the scar underneath her collarbone.

“Can you feel that?” Lucy asks, Cooper’s brows furrowing as he feels the knotted skin there. 

“It feels like an old scar,” Cooper says, continuing to press at it, “This was where it pushed its hand into you?”

Lucy nods, Cooper moving his hand away to settle gently on her thigh. “So you can’t get it out?”

“I am not sure,” Lucy replies, feeling Virol move up to scratch her ribs. Wincing she rubs at it, “I don’t think it would go without a fight.”

Cooper sits there for a moment just watching her. “Do you want it out of you?”

Lucy blinks for a moment, she hadn’t thought about that at all. Virol was part of her, yes it was uncomfortable, but she had never really thought about getting rid of it. She’d seen its whole life, and somehow she felt sorry for it. It just wanted to be understood, it wants to keep what it had seen grown. Virol didn’t want to see its whole world flattened, it wanted to see it thrive. Isn’t that what everyone wanted? It was so human, and yet Virol was everything but human. 

“I don’t think so,” Lucy replies, rubbing more soothingly against her ribs. “I think, with it being part of me I can manage what it needs.” She pauses, trying to figure out how to word the next bit. “It’s happy, content. It’s uncomfortable, but not unmanageable.”

Cooper sighs, shoulders dropping, eyes narrowing as he thinks through everything she says. Lucy was half expecting him to get up and leave, instead he shrugs, a small smile flickering across his lips.

“If it was anyone else, Lucy, I would think we’d both lost our minds.” Cooper smirks, his hand tracing patterns on her hand. “But I saw it, and I believe you. I don’t know how but I do.” 

Lucy gives a small smile, “So? Do you want to try and make us work?”

Cooper grinned, leaning in to kiss her again, “I wouldn’t want it any other way.” 

~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~

This was such a challenge and I am not entirely sure how I feel about it ending here. I know there are probably more questions, and honestly, I cut so much out cause it felt like it wasn't lining up. Will I come back to this? Probably. But for now, I am going to let demons sleep.

Anyway let me know your thoughts as always

@toogaytofunctiondangit , @hiddlebatchedloki @whatsorceressisthis @dichromaniac @autumncryptids

@therealcozyaxoltol @thattrainwreckmama

[jessss-ica]

[hearsed]

my favourite shirt is missing

[heresthefanfiction]

Dr. Emily Grant in her ✨Post-Dominion Era✨

@themaradwrites @wordspin-shares @untestedtheory @lizisshortforlizard @ocappreciationtag @arrthurpendragon

[inc-immigrationnewscanada]

Doomsday Clock Ticks Closer to Global Catastrophe: 89 Seconds Until Midnight

In a chilling announcement that sends shockwaves through the global community, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists has moved its symbolic ‘Doomsday Clock’ closer than ever before to midnight – now standing at a mere 89 seconds away. This annual assessment signals an unprecedented level of danger to human civilization from a mix of existential threats including climate change, nuclear warfare,…

[kittenshift-17]

What do you mean, "AO3 is experiencing an unexpected downtime"? AO3.... No. Please. Come back. *sobs quietly*

[bbtin]

When you nearly fall to sleep, but catch yourself at the last second.

[rosstrytobe]

I'm crying again

As the clown i am

When i finally stop to ship so hard that it breaks my heart into piecies

[dearcharliefnafcomic]

@/icryink’s 2023 Cringetober!!

Day 11!!

Character: unnamed persona/vampsona?

Type: vampire persona

Made: 2023

I made him while attempting to make a new persona since my first one was back in the girl days. I’m not HUGELY into vampires but the concept of craving blood is just a tad interesting to me!

Thus

Him!

He’s also not actually a yandere I just wasn’t interested in drawing yandere characters I know of.