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bruiisedpetals-a · 1 year

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TRIAL MUSES ; IRONBORN COUSINS.

PLEASE LEAVE A LIKE / REPLY IF YOU’D LIKE TO POTENTIALLY INTERACT WITH EITHER OR BOTH OF THESE MUSES.

𝐥𝐚𝐝𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐠𝐧𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐚 𝐝𝐫𝐮𝐦𝐦 , sometimes called ‘ narra ’ also known as ‘ lady bone-hand ’ & ‘ the salt death ’ — she is the secondborn of house drumm , the lords of the isle of old wyk. she is named after high king regnar drumm , who was known as ‘ raven-feeder ’ & was the fourth high king of the iron islands. considered touched by the drowned god after regnarra threw herself to the waves in a contest of faith , drowned , and then was revived with the kiss of life , thrice.

𝐥𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐰𝐮𝐥𝐟𝐟𝐫𝐲𝐝 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝𝐛𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 , a lord of house goodbrother of shatterstone upon old wyk , and captain of the longship the bloody wanderer in the iron fleet. known as ‘ the sea wolf ’ due to his famed ferocity in raiding and reaving ; a staunch believer in the old way & iron price , devoted to the drowned god. wulffryd is renowned amongst the ironborn for (first raiding) and then sinking a lyseni fleet of six ships against his one , deep in the sunset sea.

further basic details of both muses below the cut & though they are not set specifically in a show verse or era as yet , they are crafted in asoiaf lore. these are trial muse / ideas and i may bring them in for an ic trial run based on interest !

𝐑𝐄𝐆𝐍𝐀𝐑𝐑𝐀 𝐃𝐑𝐔𝐌𝐌 ; 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐀𝐋𝐓 𝐃𝐄𝐀𝐓𝐇 𝐋𝐀𝐃𝐘 𝐁𝐎𝐍𝐄-𝐇𝐀𝐍𝐃

title : lady of house drumm — also known as ; lady bone-hand (reference to her houses’ sigil) & the salt death (reference to her role as ritual executioner)

name : regnarra drumm ; reg-narr-ah / narra ; narr-ah

fc : thea sofie loch næss

age : 23

faith : the drowned god

role : elected ritual executioner for house drumm , serving in honour of the drowned god.

overview : fiercely devoted to the drowned gods , with house drumm considered the most holiest of the ironborn , regnarra often saw herself into fights with aspiring acolytes of the drowned men who mocked her for being a woman and thus unable to join the religion as a priest. both her parents were incredibly proud of their fierce child , who may have been small from birth but every bit as wild as the seas. when she was six , twelve and then sixteen , regnarra voluntarily entered into contests of faith upon the black cliffs of old wyk and gave herself over to the seas by falling from the heights — each time she had drowned but been revived by a priest with the kiss of life. she would never join the religion as a leader , but they now respected her beyond questioning and no longer sought to mock her unyielding faith. she was trained to sail and fight , which she is proficient in , but since her sixteenth nameday and her third brushing of the drowned god regnarra has been the elected ritual & sacrificial executioner of house drumm ; elected by her father as his representative in command as well as by the priests upon old wyk.

regnarra considers herself an oracle of the drowned god , whether that is agreed upon is another issue , but it is a known phenomenon that when lady bone-hand proclaimed the drowned god would battle the storm god ... a monstrous turn of the seas would come. when she burned dried salt and seaweed into the air like an incense and then proceeded to bathe naked in the salt waters as acolytes did , regnarra would often leave the ocean with the echo of prophecy in her mouth as she tasted of the fortunes of others at the hands of the drowned god ; for good or bad.

parents : lord dunstan iv drumm and lady yorra drumm (goodbrother)

siblings : denys drumm , ( herself ) , donnel drumm

half-siblings , by her fathers salt wives : keryn pyke , ellana snow , ulfurd pyke

other connection — cousin : lord wulffryd goodbrother , captain of the bloody wanderer. his is the son of regnarra’s mother’s elder brother ; thus her maternal first cousin. protective , rivalry , allies , ironborn support.

𝐖𝐔𝐋𝐅𝐅𝐑𝐘𝐃 𝐆𝐎𝐎𝐃𝐁𝐑𝐎𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑 ; 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐄𝐀 𝐖𝐎𝐋𝐅

title : lord of house goodbrother of shatterstone — also known as ; the sea wolf (reference to his name and his ferocity in reaving, etc.)

name : wulffryd; wolf-frid

fc : zach mccgowan

age : 37

faith : the drowned god

role : captain of the bloody wanderer in the iron fleet

overview : born with a taste for salt and blood he was always training , he would attend his lessons and devote himself to the drowned god , but was first and foremost an utter savage upon the seas. after getting into a brutal fight-turned-brawl that left his elder brother with a broken arm and two others dead , lord orys sent his out of control secondborn to work on a longship under the harshest taskmaster on the island. wulffryd flourished under the savage challenge , rod and salt and lash , never bowing under and returned still a beast , but a wiser and far more controlled beast with sharpened teeth and skills honed. some years later he would become captain of his own ship , the bloody wanderer , and carefully cultivate a specifically wild crew of devoted ironborn who possessed a similar savagery as him yet still honoured him as captain. wulffryd and his crew would carve a name in the name of the old way , the drowned god and the iron price — the laws stood firm : everything was earned with blood , salt and strain.

before setting off on a voyage of any sort , he will seek out his cousin regnarra and ask her council as he supports her claim of connection to the drowned god ; he’d been there each time she’d prevailed in her recklessly confident tests of faith and believed it without question. he will also have himself and his crew-members blessed by a priest , as well as the ship itself , and insists he and the crew of the bloody wanderer dedicate the last two days ashore to aiding the priests and drowned men in charitable service.

parents : lord noarne goodbrother and lady saralyn goodbrother † (botley)

siblings : orys ii goodbrother , ( himself ) , elfryn harlaw , noare goodbrother † , netha goodbrother

half-siblings , by his fathers salt wife : darrin pyke , oshara pyke

other connection — cousin : lady regnarra drumm , lady of old wyk and ritual executioner of house drumm. she is the daughter of wulffryd’s father’s younger sister whom married into house drumm ; thus his paternal first cousin. protective , rivalry , allies , ironborn support.

THEIR CONNECTION

house goodbrother and drumm were close before lord denys iv drumm wed the young lady yorra goodbrother , they have always been close allies. it wasn’t a huge surprise that the cousins mixed well together and shared similar dispositions and values , despite their varying ages.

wulffryd is fifteen years regnarra’s senior and they were not close in her initial youth for obvious age reasons. they would begin to bond over a shared devotion to the drowned god , and how even as a child she would brave the icy waters of the sea , as he would as a man grown , to bathe as ironborns ‘should’. by the time she had initiated a contest of faith at six years old he had already considered becoming a drowned man himself and had shared with her many more of the stories of the drowned god and his adversary the storm god.

several years later when noare , wulffryd’s younger brother , died unexpectedly in the night and with his eldest sister married to house harlaw — coupled with regnarra’s wild outbursts whilst her elder brother dagon tenured as a sea captain — he took her under his wing , and his own correcting under a harsh had allowed him to curb her impertinent and fiery temper. wulfrydd was often amazed at her fierce loyalty , understanding and recollection of the drowned god’s rites and rituals , particularly during her youth.

years gone by , when regnarra approached her father for the right to act as commanding executioner for ritual or sacrifice of house drumm in his stead , and then was granted that right — wulffryd was the first of her relatives she announced the news to. the two celebrated long into the night at the honour and privilege she had finally been granted after so many years of being dismissed of the religion due to her gender.

#( trial muse bio! )#( yes thats the tag )#( my ironborn cousins that appeared out of nowhere )#( using minimally established houses )

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plutosmainhoe · 9 months

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Camila Reinherz - Part IV

Master Post

————————————————————

Yee Haw 🤠

We are going through Mila's fourth house, let's go!

Just ignore the Sun for now (I know it's hard, but just do it).

4H Pisces

The fourth house controls family, traditions, ancestry and home.

With Pisces over the fourth house, Camila's family life has a direct impact on how she feels about herself. There is a strong emotional bond with her family and/or home, where she needs to feel support and stability.

Pisces is a water sign, her emotions run high when related to home. It is her safe place, a place where she can naturally be and prosper. If unsupported by family or friends she values as family, this can lead to depression tendencies. Her home reflects her mental state.

Mila will prefer to keep her home life private. It is her sanctuary. It allows her to shut down from everyday worries and social troubles. Although, because of this, she may tend to feel lonely as a result from isolating herself in her safe zone.

Camila will have a rampant imagination in regards to family, sometimes convincing herself that certain events had occurred, when they did not. She may have unrealistic views and ideals of her family and their traditions, however could grow out of this as she ages.

Where is Neptune?

Neptune is in the 2H. Why do we need to know this?

Each house has a Lord, depending the sign that is over the house. It doesn't matter if there are any planets within the house, the house Lord essentially communicates from the house they are in and brings energy across from their house.

Therefore, Mx Cloudy Blue Neptune is the Lord of the fourth, as it is the ruler of Pisces, however, is in the 2H. So what does this mean?

Amelia's family life and traditions are connected to her finance. This can indicate wealth from an early age and financial stability throughout her life.

However, Neptune is the planet of dreams, unstable environments, addictions and delusions. There needs to be large amount of stability offered by Amelia's family to ensure a happy and functioning mental health. If this isn't achieved, her finances and mental wellbeing can be greatly affected.

Placements

4H Aries Mercury

Mercury is the planet of communication and intellect.

With Mercury under fiery Aries, Camila will be a quick and independent thinker with an intense intellectual ability. Being a fire sign, there is a lot of unstable energy so it could be difficult to control her thoughts and organise them all accordingly. She may lack focus because of this.

Mila will be more focused on solutions rather than problems. She wants an answer to an issue instantly, finding creative ways to solve problems. She will be very encouraging of others, always enthusiastically supporting the people around her.

However, competitiveness and impatience may be had to control, and with Aries ruled by Mars, she is quick to become irritated or annoyed when things don't go her away. This will show in her communication and may become snarky, rude and down right nasty.

With Mercury sitting within the fourth house, Camila's home will likely be full of books, an intellectual atmosphere. Imagine a library within a house with a lot house plants.

Having Mercury in the fourth indicates that Mila comes from well-educated family, and will likely become well-educated herself because of this. Family and parents will have a large impact on Camila's way of thinking as their opinions mean a great deal to her. She may spend more time at home than the average person would.

Work and home life may often be intertwined, it is indicated that with this placement that the native may take over a family business or choose the same career path as their parents.

Mercury at 3°

The third degree is a Gemini degree, which is fantastic for Mercury as Gemini/Virgo are its preferred signs.

With this in mind, this degree will further increase the speed of Mila's thinking patterns and will be inclined to pick up patterns and trends in data. With the added Gemini energy, her speech may also be faster than normal and can be hard to keep up with, as she can jump from subject to subject.

Her communication may come off as flirty, flaky and dramatic, however she means well and just wants to make people laugh. A bit of a jokester and prank artist, Camila will try to find humour in anything.

Pisces Overtones

Pisces rampant imagination 🤝 Aries quick thinking Mercury

As Pisces is the ruler of the fourth house while Mercury falls under Aries in the fourth house, there will be layers of Neptune behaviours within Camila's communication.

So, to recap, this Mercury Placement has behaviours from Aries/Mars (placement), Gemini (degree), Pisces/Neptune (house ruler) AND Scorpio/Pluto (chart ruler).

What this means is that while she has her fiery, hot-headed, impatient, quick, adaptable and nervous communication and thinking styles, Mila can also be withdrawn and shallow with her articulation.

Neptune may bring the tendency to not be able to read in between the lines and become convinced on the delusion that the other party is confusing and is doing it deliberately. Camila may not understand people completely and could take things the wrong way, as Pisces/Neptune energy needs to be supported and stabilised.

Mercury is also in fall when placed in Pisces. These overhead energies can create some tension, with Aries trying to be action orientated and quick-thinking under the distractable and relaxed Pisces.

Remember when I said Pisces over the fourth will create a rampant imagination regards to her home life and comfort methods? This will go hand in hand with Mila's communication and intellect. While Pisces will bring a lot of imagination and creativity that witty and reckless Aries can use to benefit Mercury and its intellect.

And then of course, there is the slight Pluto overtones as the chart ruler. I can see Camilia changing her style of communication to fit the scene, much like a Gemini or Virgo Mercury would. With so many energies, her communication will likely be hard to keep up with.

Mila's communication is a weird combination of energies, and this will likely reflect in her articulation and speech, as well as her home. From ditzy, messy and all over the place, to loud, feisty and witty, Amelia could be difficult to understand or confusing due to the lack of consistency.

Next, we look into the fifth house and stop ignoring Amelia's sun placement ☀️

#astrology #astro community #astro placements #astrology tumblr #harry potter #aries mercury #fourth house #4H pisces #astro tumblr #astrology placements

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snoopmary · 11 months

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Wading into the politics: or, why does NYC elect so many idiots?

What? Why are you saying that, Catwoman? I came here for the tabloid deconstruction, not political destruction! Well, this got my back up so you’ve been warned, you can skip over my diatribe about this BS if you like.

But I found this concerning enough to break my own rule about not crossing the blog streams of my fun with real life issues, and you might too.

You’re welcome to disagree, I encourage it even. But I’ve learnt that when something makes the hackles on my neck rise, no matter how innocuous it might seem or hyperbolic the reaction, to pay attention to it.

In the afters of contracting with places of worship to house homeless male migrants, NYC Mayor Eric Adams also thinks offering up private residences to migrants will benefit New Yorkers in the long-term since NYC has run out of hotel rooms and shelter space and hotels are fed up with the destruction of their property.

He thinks if the city can find a way to get over the 30-day rule and other rules that federal and state governments have in place, the City can spend $4.2 billion in tax dollars (or as he thinks of it, Monopoly money rather than Americans’ money!) and pay New Yorkers to rent out their spare rooms.

To be clear, he might not be saying “force people,” but we all know you can’t trust politicians and that “never” is always “unless I can get away with it” for them. Slippery slopes are the natural habitat of politicians the world over, and one sneezes and another starts WW1.

So let’s look at what my favourite legal document, the beautiful US Constitution, says about Adams’ suggestion, shall we?

Aside from the inevitable judicial extension of the Third Amendment this would cause? [No forcible housing of military personnel in a citizen's home during times of peace and only if passed by Congress in times of war and within strict legal limits with an enforced end date!]

One of the driving forces behind the Second Amendment were the circumstances referenced in the Third: forcible seizure and forced housing of British soldiers. While these migrants aren't soldiers, the circumstances and rhetoric Adams is using is as near to exact stitching of what the British said. Oh, we’ll pay, oh, it’s an economic hardship mitigation policy, oh oh oh. Don’t Tread On Me was the OG Get Off My Lawn, peeps. It wasn’t just taxation without representation that caused the American Revolution, and the behaviour of British troops made the occupied territories during that war a very unpleasant place to be for women in their own goddamn homes, I might add. Hashtag InsertHairyFuckinEyeballHere!

Furthermore: one could also argue that the bill of attainder clause under Article I, Section 9 is being violated by this proposal. Specifically: the effect of such a bill is to nullify the targeted person's civil rights, most notably the right to own property (and thus pass it on to heirs). Owning and controlling one's own property would be violated under this cockamamie BS. Also? Article I, Section 10, powers denied to the states? States are expressly forbidden from issuing bills of attainder. Cities have no political ability to circumvent those laws Eric mentioned re: $4Bn, so oh look Eric has political ambitions beyond NYC. Talk about telegraphing a punch, yeah? Article IV, Section 2: Equality of jurisdiction under the Constitution.

The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all Privileges and Immunities of Citizens in the several States. The 5th Circuit would have the easiest morning session ever ruling hard against NY on this. But Catwoman, there are other amendments? What do they say? Fourth Amendment: not just for searches! Seizure can apply to property, such as forcible housing. See also Third Amendment.

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized. Fifth Amendment: Not just for Nixon and others!

No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.

Pleading the Fifth would become a normal thing, y’all. Who defines just compensation? What about damages? What about insurance - who is liable if shit hits the fan? Moreover, what about food? Quartering doesn’t just pertain to a roof and a bed. The list could go on.

Lastly, 14th Amendment, Section 1: A personal favourite

All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

America is an ongoing exercise in compromise, its greatest strength and advantage. Yet politicians like Adams are making a hobby of constitutional overreach and that is a very bad thing.

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boyfhee · 1 year

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remember when you said you wanted to know about my analysis ( or something along that line ) ? i had 4 conclusions;

1. ynki ended and it was left at that - something like they were right person wrong time but it ended in which the right time would never come again. the solace comes in the part where they were able to come to terms with their breakup and have neutral feelings towards each other, kinda like they become a distant memory for each other

2. ynwon ending - yn and won find solace in each other (maybe as friends maybe as more than that or just closure at least ) because we all know yn and won were kinda both wrong ( in their own ways ) but their closure (unofficial one 🤩🤩 since its based on my analysis) appeared a little one sided so if they finally found solace in each other it would really mean the end.

3. yn ends up with no one - the solace came from knowing that two great people ( wonki) was a part of her life and she can reminisce about it from time to time ( something like she hated the fact that she had to go through it but there was a silver lining )

4. theres no clear end game - open ending but everyone managed to be at a peace of mind ultimately.

when you pulled up with the latest chapter and i saw angst i was like 😀😀😀( inserts curse words in every language i knew ) NGL I WAS LOWKEY SAD THAT YN WAS TAKING TIME OFF ( a nice way of saying SHE RAN FROM HER PROBLEMS QUITE LITERALLY ) like i understand she needs time away to figure out things but 👹👹 im not as patient HAHAHA

at the same time, as much as i want to know what happens next, i dont too. i came to the realisation ( once again ) that with every chapter released, the end draws near. MY ATTACHMENT ISSUES COULD NEVER 😭😭😭 but im still very excited 🤭🤭🤭🤭 ILL DROP BY AGAIN SOON, THANK YOU FOR UPLOADING THAT CHAPTER SO QUICKLY

- 🎐 (ily for the angst , fr tugged at my heartstrings and had me making incoherent painful sounds )

WLCM BACK BESTIE the way i smiled when i saw ur ask 🤭 AND UR ANALYSIS ??? WTF UR SO MUCH BETTER AT THIS THAN ME ,,,, ok for the first one, this was so genius i literally love this. i love all four of them tbh. and i love how you co-related solace with a different element in each of them, and each time it meant a different thing ( like acceptance in first, choosing your stand in second, letting go in third, peace in fourth. im loving the concepts rlly kissing ur brain as we speak ) aND U MIGHT HAVE JUST HELPED ME SORT OUT THE ENDING BC IM SO LOST ATM 😭😭😭

ALSO THE LATEST CHAP YEAHSDJH i wouldn't say she's running away but she also is, in some ways ?? but also it's necessary ??? man i Dont know ive never been in her shoes i don't want to be 🙏 BFF THIS IS GNA END IN NEXT 3-4 DAYS CAN U BELIEVE :( 7 MONTHS, IM GOING TO MISS YNWONKI SAUR MUCH ( miya too actually i loved writing her )

#—🎐anon.#@ : tt #ilysm for taking ur time to send asks after every chap rlly

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minehog · 2 years

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tell me (more) about the modpack Pretty please

YES this modpack has 115 mods, including cores and dependencies, which is actually on the smaller end compared to "Professional" modpacks (which often have 200+ mods on average) It's focused on adventuring and exploration with a lot of building blocks and rpg elements which suits my modded playstyle a lot more. (In vanilla i like to buckle down and build bases or gather resources, but in modded i tend to explore, raid, pillage, plunder, and prosper, as well as gather an assortment of exotic pets.)

It's about a week old if you consider its first successful boot its birthday

It's on 1.16.5 Forge, which is an interesting era to me personally because it was the first version where Forge and Fabric modloaders started to really compete. 1.12.2 was the last big era for mod updates before this, but the change between 1.12.2 and 1.14(?) to a different codebase meant a lot of the mods from that era didn't get updated, or else got picked up by a different author. (which makes them almost impossible to find. it took me years to realise someone had picked up DragonMounts after the Wyrmroost crew dropped it!) Fabric also made its appearance and its higher performance levels and easier codebase meant 1.16.5 mods tend to be a 50/50 split (i think these days its leaning furiously in Fabric's favour and will probably continue to do so until Forge becomes nearly obsolete, but 1.16.5 fabric was so new no one really knew what to do with it and a lot of people refuse to move from forge for various reasons, modders and users alike)

So far on this modpack ive had four separate worlds, the current one included. the first world got deleted because one of the mods id had in there at the time was just fucking it over (rip autism one) and the second i really liked but a butterfly killed it (rip autism....2!). the third Also crashed and i wasnt vibing so i deleted it anyway but the fourth is the current one and im loving it. its called [16M mods help no i spilt my ji](ce). 16M is the categorisation system since i have minecraft worlds on multiple separate custom modpacks running at the same time, so this one tells me its version 1165, modded. ive lost good worlds before by booting them in vanilla accidentally and vise versa.

OptiFine is funnily enough the least stable mod in the entire pack and the cause of most ofthe crashes. I only keep it on for one very important feature, which is that OptiFine lets you selectthe time period between autosaving. In vanilla, autosaving the world is no issue (for the average computer). Modded, however, tends to have a lot more Bullshit that needs to be saved, and a lot of it isnt optimised. Having the normal autosave time tends to lag a modded world out within about three hours for me, so optifine is super important and the crashes arent toooo bad

#ive had this open for three days thinking what to add but itd end up being 20k words lmao #food for thought #hogsmods

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everydaydg · 4 months

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49. Alien Isolation (PC, 2014)(Replay)

Alien Isolation.

My favorite horror game.

Alright... Man I fucking love this game

Alien Isolation is one of those games that I want to go back to time and time again from here on out. My first playthrough was on the 360 version of the game with all the DLC arround 2018 and played it for the second time this year arround october on the PC version using the alias isolation mod so it looks prettier, it was a joy in every way possible both times.

The atmosphere, on point

The gameplay, tense and fun

The AI, pretty good (even if it hits its snags, you have... so many ways to cheese it lmao. Id say it adds to the fun!)

Its such a well designed game, I dont have alot of complains appart from the end of it being a bit annoying if anything.

I wasnt scared playing it honestly. I cant say ive played a horror game where ive been shaking my boots... there was one section in the core of the reactor tho... that shit was fucking scary... before I died a few times and I got a bit fed up which just made me beat it with no issues.

For people more susceptible to scares, yeah! its spooky as shit!

as for the PC port... man its great! insanely well optimized, ran with no issues! Trully fantastic.

I do have to say the anti aliasing is a bit... lacking which is a huge shame. I have seen age old games with better antialiasing integration

But at least there is a mod for it that is insanely good, that being alias isolation (fun name, team).

Because the game is so damm well optimized you can crank the antialiasing mod high and it will continue run smooth as butter!

I cannot wait to play it once again in october 2024.

A must play no matter if you are familiar with the movies or not.

10/10

Sidenote: Replays will be... consistently smaller than regular reviews.

I dont know... I just want to gush about some games at times. im just having fun playing games I like for the second time (or third... or fourth... or fifth time (I replay alot of stuff, man). My apologies for them being consistently less coherent in these. Its not even a review, its just mostly just a "hey! check it out!" if anything

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illionoisprelawland-blog · 2 years

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The Post-Roe Realities Of The Fourth Amendment

By Elizabeth Ugan, University of Chicago Class of 2024

August 11, 2022

With states beginning to respond to the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision, many have categorized the situation as a return to a pre-1973 life in which the same arguments for and against constitutionally protected abortion rights have reemerged. However, despite the fact that national legislation reflects a pre-Roe world, there are important distinctions to make between how anti-abortion laws were enforced then and the possibilities for their enforcement now. The rise in technology, especially mobile smartphones, has opened the door for data tracking and other forms of overlooked surveillance to be employed to gain information from users about plans for or involvement in receiving an abortion. Between the already personal nature of abortions and the controversial protections of cell phone data, the issue of abortion can be viewed as a matter of privacy that calls for a reevaluation of how the fourth amendment is interpreted in modern times.

The number of uses that cell phones have today and their almost inextricable places in our lives may become one of the most heavily relied upon sources of evidence for abortion prosecutions. For instance, some women use apps to keep track of menstrual cycles and related health concerns, something ordinary that has suddenly become so potentially incriminating that Berkeley Law Professor Catherine Crump has suggested women delete them.[i] Apps like these store data that could be accessed to confirm suspicions regarding irregularity in women’s cycles and identify the exact age of a fetus should the woman be investigated for having or attempting to have an illicit abortion. Another facet of data tracking that women now have to worry about is a relatively new development in virtual warrants that the government has used previously to extract data from tech companies like Google. A geofence allows the government to request that tracking data be handed over for the sake of an investigation; most notably, it has been used to determine the owners of cell phones congregated at a certain place at a certain time, as was done during investigation of the January 6 riot.[ii] With this tool, abortion prosecutors could identify if a woman under investigation was at an abortion clinic at a certain time.

Other sources like search history, navigation tools, and even location triangulation that have been applied to tracking criminal suspects in the past can now be refocused on the issue of prosecuting those seeking abortions.[iii] In combination with some of the more stringent anti-abortion laws like Texas’s aiding and abetting law passed in 2021, these tracking techniques can also be applied to those complicit in helping a woman obtain abortion, including those responsible for arranging an appointment or driving her to a clinic.

The fourth amendment, securing citizens’ rights against unreasonable searches and seizures, has undergone substantial interpretation in the past few decades as police investigations have begun involving cell phones. As it stands, the fourth amendment requires law enforcement to obtain a warrant before retrieving cell phone data. Derived from the case Carpenter v. US, Supreme Court justices held that accessing cell phone data constitutes a search because of the deeply personal nature of the information that can be accessed and the necessity that people have for phones.[iv] Furthermore, the reasonable expectation of privacy people have extends to information that is shared with a third party, which law enforcement would have to approach to retrieve cell-site location. With geofence warrants and keyword warrants (warrants that can be issued to Google to share data on people who have searched certain keywords), the law exists to allow law enforcement to quickly obtain information on possible suspects seeking abortions.[v]

The place where digital warrants may run into obstacles is in the act of obtaining the warrant. In order to get a warrant issued, law enforcement officers must demonstrate that a person has probable cause to commit a crime. Because of the relative novelty of this kind of warrant and the fact that it has not yet been used to prosecute women seeking abortions, there is a chance that courts will not find the probable cause presented as deserving of a warrant, or they may invalidate a charge because the probable cause was not properly demonstrated and therefore the warrant was falsely issued and the search illegal.

There are already motions in place to hone in on this practice and prevent it from becoming the major threat to those seeking abortions and digital privacy in general. Shortly after the leaked draft opinion of Dobbs, 42 Democrat members of congress sent a letter to the CEO of Google asking that location data not be unnecessarily saved to prevent law enforcement from accessing it.[vi] Google later released a statement on July 1 announcing that it would no longer save data that reported people visiting private places, including abortions and fertility clinics.[vii] With these actions, the pushback against forms of surveillance that could shape the new abortion conflict might force it into a battle for privacy and the laws that define that it.

______________________________________________________________

[i] https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/cellphone-data-collection-tracking-apps-will-help-abortion-related-prosecutions/

[ii] https://www.politico.com/news/2022/07/18/google-data-states-track-abortions-00045906

[iii] https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/cellphone-data-collection-tracking-apps-will-help-abortion-related-prosecutions/

[iv] https://www.oyez.org/cases/2017/16-402

[v] https://www.npr.org/2022/07/11/1110391316/google-data-abortion-prosecutions

[vi] https://www.lawfareblog.com/impotence-fourth-amendment-post-roe-world

[vii] https://www.npr.org/2022/07/11/1110391316/google-data-abortion-prosecutions

0 notes

dw-writes · 4 years

Text

Trektober 2020 - Day 7: Soulmate AU + Interspecies Relationship - Leonard McCoy x Alien!Reader

Ooof thats a long title. This is a little longer than the other fics ive written for trektober, and it’s actually for Day 7 because I missed it yesterday. Based on a uuuuuuh fic that I may or may not eventually write for McCoy later, because I love Asterlites and I’ve done them before for Marvel and never really got to explore what I wanted to do with them on that fic so /shrug

ENJOY

Trektober Day 3 - In Uniform (Bones x Reader) || Trektober Day 4 - Aliens Made Them Do It (Bones x Reader) || Trekober Day 5 - Pining (Bones x Reader) || Trektober Day 6 - Captain’s Chair (Jim Kirk x Reader) || Trektober Day 7 - Soulmate AU + Interspecies Relationship (Bones x Reader) || Trektober Day 9 - Sex Pollen (Jim Kirk x Reader) || Trektober Day 10 - Historical AU (James Kirk and Leonard McCoy) || Trektober Day 11 - Stars (Leonard McCoy x Reader) || Trektober Day 15 - Shuttle Crash (Leonard McCoy x Reader) || Trektober Day 18 - Waiting by Bio Bed (Leonard McCoy x Reader) || Trektober Day 31 - Holiday Celebration (Leonard McCoy x Reader)

You’d always wondered about your starmate mark, always questioned what it meant. Everyone else’s marks were beautiful, lovely things on your planet – intricate swirls of gaseous nebulae and streaks of bright colors reminiscent of the stars that sat in the chests of every Asterlite you knew. They adorned cheeks and crested eyebrows and sprawled over wrists and chests and ribs and the mates of every Asterlite would recognize them in a heartbeat.

Yours, though, yours was different. Your starmate mark outlined the delicate bones of your dominate hand, as though someone had x-rayed it. You often stared at it as you worked, the thin black lines that traced your bones sometimes distracting enough to catch your attention for minutes at a time. No one else recognized it – not during your years in Asterla’s prestigious academies, or during your time interning at the nearby Federation Starbase. By the time you left your home planet to join Starfleet, you had taken to wearing gloves: it hid your odd starmate mark from prying and pitying eyes, at least.

You flew through Starfleet Academy – your knowledge of star systems and interspecies relations helped launch you through courses in both Command and Science tracks. During your second year, the third-year cadets were assigned to starships in an emergency dispatch to Vulcan. The following week, you watched an energy drill pierce the bay outside of Starfleet Academy, and finally learned about the starship Enterprise and it’s new, daring captain.

You vowed that by your fourth year, you would be on that ship.

During your third year, Starfleet archives in London were attacked, and the Enterprise was roped into another adventure that had your heart racing with every detail you heard. The Enterprise was all put destroyed during the interaction with Khan, leaving the crew grounded for months – months during which the funeral for Admiral Pike took place.

You were there, of course, along with every cadet and every member of Starfleet that was in San Francisco at the time. A girl you knew, an officer you had made friends with while the Enterprise was grounded – Uhura – helped you with your dress cap. You fussed at her as she produced a series of Bobbin pins.

“You are not sticking those in my hair!” you hissed at her, scrunching your nose as she forced the cap into place with her hand.

“Hold it there,” she commanded. You pursed your lips but did so. She eyed the gloves you wore – grey, to match the dress uniforms – as she delicately pulled the long points of your ears out from under the cap. “Those aren’t standard issue,” she pointed out. She glanced over her shoulder as someone called her name, another officer from the Enterprise that you recognized – Commander Spock. Your heart raced a little in excitement: he was the First Officer, after all, and if you could get in his good graces, you could get a recommendation onto the ship.

“No,” you finally answered, focusing your eyes on her. Once the hat was secured to your head, and your ears bent unnaturally away from your head, you pulled the cuff of one glove down to show the delicate outline of your wrist. Uhura started to walk as she took your hand, pulling the glove up more and revealing more of your starmate mark. “It’s something everyone on our planet has,” you explained, pulling your hand away. “A mark that my mate would know.”

“It’s beautiful,” she said.

You fixed your glove as you approached Commander Spock, inclining your head towards him out of respect. He returned the nod. Uhura introduced you as the three of you continued your brisk pace towards the crowd.

“I remember you,” he said at the sound of your name, “You’re an excellent student. I imagine there will be captains vying for you to join their crews at the end of your term.”

“I actually want to join the Enterprise,” you blurted. Heat crawled up your face when Spock arched an eyebrow. “It’s been a dream of mine since the Enterprise faced the Romulans during her maiden voyage. A stellar crew deserves a stellar crew mate.” You flapped your hands and gently swatted Uhura’s arm. “I can’t stop talking, Nyota, please—”

She caught your hand and smiled, slowing down as a group of finely dressed men started to approach. “Top of the class in both Command tracks and Science tracks. An excellent negotiator for interspecies relations and a top-notch stellar cartographer,” she said, rattling off your credentials like she had already memorized them. Her smile crew at the approach of a man you instantly recognized. “I’ve already told Jim that if he doesn’t accept the application when it appears in his inbox that someone will jettison him into space in the middle of the night,” she added.

“I hate you,” you whispered.

“You’re welcome,” replied Uhura.

Captain James T. Kirk smiled when he approached, flanked by a man that you had seen a few times in recent weeks. “The academy is willing to wave your fourth year, since you seem to already be taking those classes,” he said when he approached. He held out a hand. “Jim Kirk. Once Uhura told me about you and we got handed the five-year mission, it only made sense to make sure you were on the crew.”

You took his hand with a dry mouth and a nervous smile. “I’ll be sure not to disappoint, sir,” you said.

The man next to him cleared his throat and with a voice that made the warmth in your chest double, said, “It’s starting.”

You were separated from the crew after the ceremony – you needing to finish the required tests for your remaining courses and them being asked to attend the burial of Admiral Pike.

You didn’t seem them again for weeks.

When you did, you were standing in the middle of the bridge leading towards the entrance of the Enterprise, holding your bag over your shoulder, wearing Science blues. Two unbroken gold rings encircled your wrists. Your gloves were black.

Uhura met you as soon as you boarded with a wide smile. “Commander,” she teased, holding out the emblem you’d wear on your chest for the foreseeable future. You took it, fumbling it around as you followed her, trying to pin it into place. “You’ll have to go to the Med Bay for a physical before we leave,” she said as she took your bag. “You’re the last one to arrive, you know.”

“I know, I’m sorry,” you said as you jogged to keep up with her excited pace. “I got lost and then when I found it I was just,” you took a deep breath, “Floored. This ship, it’s gorgeous, and I’ve been trying for years to get here, and—”

She stopped you with a hand on your shoulder. “I know,” she said. She squeezed it. “You’re here.” Her smile grew soft and small and she repeated the words so gently that you thought you would cry. “Hurry with your physical. You’ll wanna be on the bridge when we take off.” She lifted your bag. “Then, I’ll show you to your room.”

You nodded and swallowed the lump in your throat. She turned to your right, while you headed left, following the signs down to the Med Bay at the end of the hall. It was bustling with staff that were preparing to leave and other officers and crew members who, like yourself, had been running late.

The man you had seen before, at the funeral, turned when you entered, eyebrow arched as he called your name. You straightened. “You’re late,” he pointed out. He waved to a bio bed, silently ordering you to take a seat.

You complied. “The ship is still docked,” you said with a small, teasing smile, “So, I’m not that late.” You glanced up in time to see him roll his eyes. “It’s Dr. McCoy, right?” you asked.

“That it is,” he said. He frowned at the readings on the bio bed, then said in a softer voice, “Your heart rate is awfully high, darlin’. Nerves?” He stepped in front of you and held out his hands. You set your gloved ones in his palms. “Mind if I take these off? Wanna check your fingers.” He glanced up at your face, “They speak to circulation.”

“Oh.” You tugged on the fingers of your gloves and said, “I have a mark.”

“A mark?” he asked. You tugged your last glove off and held out your hands. He took your dominant hand with an interested, “Huh.”

“They’re—”

“Bones!” called Jim from the entrance of the Med Bay. Dr. McCoy rolled his eyes and turned, his fingers still clasped around your hand. You stared at him, heart thundering in your chest, eyes roaming over the gentle curls of bright colors that peeked over the zipper of his uniform. “We’re ready to go,” said Jim as he approached. He grinned when he spotted you, and added, “You should come up, too. See your first warp.”

“I’m in the middle of something,” pointed out McCoy – Bones.

Bones.

The name echoed in your head and you stared at the bones on your skin.

“You can do finish it when we’re on the way,” Jim said, slapping his hand against McCoy’s shoulder before turning and leaving. “I’ll hold the Lift for you!”

Bones turned to you with an annoyed sound, glancing down at your hand still held in his. “We’ll need to continue this later, darlin’.” He smoothed his thumb over the detailed lines of your knuckles.

“That’s fine,” you whispered, “I don’t mind.” As he looked up and met your gaze, you got the feeling that he didn’t mind too much, either.

#trektober 2020 #star trek #leonard mccoy #leonard mccoy x reader #leonard bones mccoy #leonard bones mccoy x reader #star trek aos

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princessjungeun · 4 years

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Sunshine on A Cloudy Day: Sana x Reader

tw// chronic illness, hospitals, needles, mention of cancer

it’s a high school au btw

this is based on my personal experience. pls be respectful as it wasn’t easy for me to write this :)

Your alarm played through your room, waking you up immediately. You pressed snooze at least seven times before actually getting up and dressing yourself for the long day that was to come.

You pulled on your favorite t shirt and pajama pants before tugging on a sweatshirt. You checked the time before packing your bag, making sure to add your laptop and phone along with their chargers, snacks, socks, favorite stuffed animal, and a few extra school assignments.

By the time you made it downstairs your mom was already waiting for you. Quickly she handed you an apple and muffin to eat on the car ride.

“Okay sweetie I have a meeting this morning from 8 until 11. I’ll bring you lunch, just text or call and tell me what you want.” Your mother spoke not taking her eyes off the road as she drove.

Your mom pulled out her wallet and handed you two familiar cards, telling you to tuck them away until someone inside asked for them.

“Alright sweet girl I’ll be back soon, if they have any issues call me and I can sort it out.” Your mom kissed your forehead before letting you out the car, watching you walk inside before driving away.

Your feet felt heavy as the familiar smell of saline and disinfectant filled your nose. You grabbed a disposable mask off the lobby desk and put it on.

As you started to walk towards the elevator a woman called after you “maam!”

You turned around and pulled down the mask “don’t worry I’m still a minor. I’m going to the 4th floor.”

The woman nodded and gave you a thumbs up with a smile before turning back to check in adults.

It was still early so not many people were in the hallways, except the emergency wing. It is always packed no matter what.

You made your way to the fourth floor hoping if you wakes slower you just wouldn’t have to go. But that wasn’t how it worked and you knew it.

When you entered the waiting room you found a seat by the window. The dull grey sky offered no source of light, leaving you to rely on the fluorescent ceiling panels for brightness.

“Miss Y/LN?” The woman at the desk called your name, waving you over.

“Good morning sweetie haven’t seen you for a few weeks now.” She smiled as she spoke her tone was calming but also happy.

She asked “you got the insurance card for me?” You nodded and handed her one of the cards waiting for her to tell you how much you owed for today’s visit.

“And you have a $30 copay today, would you like to take care of that now?” You nodded and handed her the second card your mom gave you earlier. She finished checking you in “alright they’ll call you back in a bit.”

You sat down and pulled out your phone knowing that your girlfriend was actually awake now.

Y/N: hey

Sana 💞: good morning jagi

Sana 💞: you have an appointment today right?

Y/N 💘: yeah...kinda just wanna go back home

Sana 💞: it’s okay i’ll come over after school and make it better

Y/N 💘: you don’t have to i’ll be fine, this isn’t new

Sana💞: no girlfriend obligations

Sana 💞: i’m coming and you can’t stop me

Y/N 💘: okay fine

Y/N 💘: i’ll text you later, they’re calling me back now

•

It didn’t take long for your nurse to call you back and get you situated in a treatment room. There was only one other patient along with you. It was a little girl no more than 3 years old. You didn’t know exactly what she was getting but your heart broke at the thought considering what department you were in, Cancer and Blood Disorders.

It took 3 hours for your IV bag to get delivered to your floor so you turned on the tv hoping something good was on. You settled on Moana, the only thing that wasn’t the news.

“Alright love we just got your bag, you know the drill, vitals every ten minutes for the first 30 then i’ll come every hour. We should have you out in 5 hours if everything goes well okay?” Your favorite nurse Haseul explained to you quickly what was going to happen.

You found yourself in this same spot with her every couple weeks so she knew how you liked things to go.

“So how’ve you been missy? How’s Sana?” She poked your side getting you to smile for the first time today.

You told her “she’s really good...I haven’t seen her in three weeks though. She got sick for two and she had finals this week, but today is her last one.”

Haseul checked “so you didn’t see her when she was sick right? You know you can’t be around that with your anemia.”

You nodded softly remembering why you were even in the hospital in the first place. What was once a slight iron deficiency quickly turned into a chronic anemia that couldn’t be healed with oral supplements. Doctors had no other option than to put you on infusion treatments which sucked.

Although people were definitely going through worse, especially in this department, that didn’t take away from what you dealt with. The constant fatigue, dizziness, falling asleep in class, hair loss, being malnourished, all of it a constant reminder that you weren’t like most.

“Y/N!” Haseul snapped her fingers in front of your face.

You blinked rapidly “sorry what?”

Haseul responded “it’s okay I just needed to make sure you didn’t pass out on me. I need to put on your heart monitor.” She placed the stickers on your chest before grabbing the IV kit she placed on your lap earlier.

“Alright in your hand or arm today?” Haseul knows you prefer the arm but she always asks in case you change your mind.

You simply pointed to your arm before extending it so she could access your vein. Finding your vein was no problem, as you still had a raised bump from the last time you got treatment.

“Okay...and one two- there you go.” Haseul secured the IV with a Tergaderm, which was weirdly enough your favorite part of this whole process.

She left you and cane back every ten minutes to check your vitals before disappearing to help another patient for a bit.

You ended up spending the first two hours dozing in and out of sleep, waiting for your mother to call you. Eventually you did in fact wake up, and to the smell of your favorite food.

Your mother sat in a chair next to you on her phone talking to who you assume is a coworker. Quickly she hung up the phone so she could talk to you instead.

“Hey hows it going so far?” She asked with slight concern.

You told her “ fine just sleeping to pass time that’s all.”

She smiled before handing you a bag of food hoping it’d bring some form of joy to your day.

•

You both ended up enjoying an early lunch together but unfortunately she had to leave the hospital for an emergency meeting. It wasn’t unusual for this to happen so you were used to it, she’d simply be back at the end of your appointment.

Your phone buzzed next to you, pulling your attention away from your mother’s absence.

Sana💞: how are you doing so far?

Y/N💘: it’s good. I’m watching Aladdin now :)

Sana💞: i wanna be there with you rn instead of in math class

Y/N💘: your day is almost over then you can see me

Y/N💘: think of it that way

Sana💞: yeah but i still wish i was with you

Y/N💘: soon

Sana💞: ok fine. i have to go i love you

Y/N💘: i love you too babe

Around the third hour you became irritable and ended up walking the hallways with Haseul. She was honestly the only thing that made you feel normal in this place.

When the two of you got back you were tired and worn out from the walk. It didn’t seem like a long distance to most but you definitely were feeling it.

You found your spot back in the treatment room, sitting in your chair and reclining it back. Just as you were going to close your eyes Haseul called your name.

“Y/N. You’ve got a visitor would you like her to come back?” Haseul didn’t bother to open the curtain to tell you who it was so being the curious girl you were, you allowed it.

Sana walked in with a smile on her face, it was like your sunshine on a cloudy day. It was clear she had just finished school as she was still in her uniform, and she was wearing her backpack.

“Ho- Sana? Why? How did you even get in here?” You asked her through a laugh.

Sana responded “nobody stopped me downstairs and I know you’re on this floor. The lady at the desk outside was very nice too!”

You immediately sat up, not realizing that was a bad idea given your position. Closing your eyes tight you tapped your finger on the arm rest of your chair, waiting for the dizziness to stop.

When you opened your eyes you saw Sana in front of you, a frown on her face. It broke her heart to see you, her girlfriend, in this state. You always tried to make it seem like you weren’t sick but it was very obvious that you still were no matter how much you pretended otherwise.

She placed a blanket over you before running her thumb along your face and softly saying “my baby girl...”

You smiled at her knowing it might possibly make her less sad but it didn’t do much.

She could tell you were tired so she told you “it’s fine just sleep.”

By the time you woke up it was time for you to leave. Haseul had flushed your IV and took your vitals for the last time while you were asleep.

Your mother was downstairs in the parking garage waiting for you and Sana so you could go home.

It was clear by the look on your face that you felt nauseous, a common side effect of your treatment, from the second you stood up.

Sana gathered your things and help you put on your sweatshirt and bag before you two headed downstairs.

You interlocked you’re hand with hers as you felt dizzier with every step you took. She could tell you were having a hard time but she knows how much you try to hide it. When you both made it to the car you fell asleep almost instantly.

Sana helped you to your room, quickly helping you to bed before stealing some of your clothes to wear for herself.

You sleepily held out your arms for her, a soft whimper leaving your lips. She crawled under the covers and you immediately clung to her. You were shivering as if you were standing in snow with only a bathing suit on. Your hands and fingers started turning blue, indicating you body temperature was dropping, a side effect of treatments.

Sana pulled you closer and kissed the top of your head as your fingers curled around her shirt, holding her close.

It only took ten seconds before you started sobbing into her chest. As much as you wanted to pretend you were fine and not in pain, you couldn’t hide it anymore. Breaking down in her arms you sobbed until you fell asleep. She felt terrible knowing there was nothing she could do to fix it, but she knew that you appreciated her being there for you.

You only slept for an hour before you woke up in a cold sweat. Your t shirt clung to your back as you kicked off your blankets seeking some sort of way to cool yourself down. That did little to nothing so you scrambled to the bathroom hoping cold water would do the trick.

Sana knew this was yet another side effect of your treatment, a high fever. Your cheeks burned red as you splashed your face with water in the sink. Much to your relief it worked and you were finally able to get back in bed with her.

Your girlfriend held you in her arms tight as if she never wanted to let go.

“Thank you...” You softly spoke as she drew small circles along the small of your back.

“For what?” She asked curiously.

You mumbled “everything...just everything you do for me.”

She giggled softly “you know i’d do anything for you baby.”

Mumbling softly you told her “i love you.”

She responded quickly “i love you too.”

Letting your eyes close you further melted into her embrace as she tightened her arms around you. In the back of your mind you were reminded why you always said i love you before you fell asleep. Besides the fact that you did in fact love her, but if you happened not to wake up tomorrow, the last thing she heard from you was those three words.

Nevertheless you hoped and prayed you’d wake up in the morning to see her smiling face.

#kpop imagines #kpop scenarios #kpop fluff #twice fluff #twice scenarios #twice imagine #minatozaki sana #twice sana

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rodrieleven421 · 2 years

Text

I realised that I never wrote down my thoughts on SMTV. These kinds of things always help me to make up my mind! There are spoilers here, though, so be careful.

I’m going to divide this kind-of-review-but-not-really into three parts: gameplay, soundtrack and story.

1. Gameplay

I have played quite a few SMT titles before (SMT IV; SMT SJR, DeSu Overclocked and P3P), but I don’t think I liked any of them gameplay-wise as much as I did SMTV.

The exploration was definitely the best in the series: Da’at is divided into four main sections (technically more if you count the dungeons and the Egyptian side-quest, but I’m not sure if I would count them) and each of them is full of secrets and items. Did you know that those little guys that give you glory are failed Nahobinos? I also wouldn’t if I didn’t find the one that told you! Exploration in this game is not only encouraged to find new items like in any other SMT game, but also to learn more about the lore ane enhance your character thanks to the glory system, which I found really neat. However, the beautiful scenary of Da’at comes with certain issues.

The framerate sometimes struggles. Not always and I wouldn’t say that it is a game-breaking problem, but it is definitely noticeable that the Switch is doing its best to run the game. This can also be seen in the pop-in that occurs a few times in the first area and definitely more than a few in the snow area; as I said, I don’t think this is that big of a deal and it personally didn’t bother me too much, but it caught my eye just how prominent it became by the end.

The battle system is incredibly polished and I really liked how challenging it was while still remaining somewhat user (player?)-friendly: the addition of an item to see an enemy’s weakness without the series’ usual try-and-error was a great idea and I loved grimoires (they helped some of my favourites like Idhun and Loki keep up in the lategame). Nevertheless, I did find the final fights (specifically the “Destroy the throne” final boss) kind of easy. I guess I’ll do a hard mode run in the future to see if that problem is solved. Still, I prefer an easy finale to SJR’s final bosses (I still have nightmares about Mem Aleph and Shekinah) and the boring sidequest fest that was IV’s neutral ending.

2. Soundtrack

Nothing to say here other than excellent, really. No track comes to mind that I didn’t like to some degree.

3. Story

This... I think they tried.

The story began incredibly promising. We are introduced to the world and the characters in a really interesting way and then, suddenly, we are thrown into Da’at. I remember seeing the protagonist curl into a ball when they realised that they weren’t home just to get up and continue their journey, and thinking that this was gonna be awesome. However, while letting you explore as you like was great, the story’s pacing definitely suffered in the first area, which carried on all throughout the game.

We spent the first... 5/6 hours? without practically seeing another human except for some short cutscenes. Afterwards, the story seems to improve with Sahori’s introduction and the attack on Tokyo just to do something similar (still, I want to clarify that the second area was much better paced); the third area is the worst of them all (Yuzuru disappears to do who knows what, Tao and Sahori are dead, and Miyazu is relegated to the Fairy Village) and the fourth area is better, but I would have definitely preferred to have more dialogue.

I already talked in a different post about why I felt some of the endings (mostly the “Destroy the Throne” one) were unfairly treated, so I won’t go into that again.

If I had to say one thing where SMT V shines story-wise, though, it’s the game’s sidequests: from sidequests were you can choose to help one of two sides to others where certain characters are developed a lot (I really enjoyed the Fairy Village ones and the entire Khonsu/Miyazu plot-line). Dialogues are really well-written too, specially the ones to recruit demons.

4. Conclusion

Is this game my favourite SMT game? Gameplay-wise, definitely. Story-wise... Eh, not really. Maybe a definitive edition will come in a few years with an improved plot (a part of me hopes so, but a different part of me thinks it would be kind of scummy... So yeah, Atlus is almost 100% sure to do it), but the main story is really weak as it is.

#smtv spoilers #smtv #my ramblings

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thegeekerynj · 3 years

Text

All Death Metal Review (And nothing from Sweden!)

Death Metal: Trinity Crisis One Shot

Writer: Scott Snyder Artist: Francis Manapul

‘And who are YOU supposed to be? I’ve faced enough Dark Knights that no Batman scares me anymore!

Ha! Then it’s a good thing I’m not a Batman! I’m his MOTHER!’

———————————————————————————————————

Sweet Christmas! That took me by surprise!

Harley kissing Jonah Hex, that was really sweet, and gods awful creepy, and kinda gross, after the exchange, and some thought…

This is it, Gentle Readers… the Beginning of the End of the Beginning of… Oh, crap, now I’m lost… This is where the story starts rockin’!

The Gang’s all together, and the Black Lantern Bat has determined what they need to do.

The plan? Split up, naturally. That AL-ways works…

When we left them in DM #3, the Lanterns are protecting the Home Base, and taking out the Crisis Energy Antennae on the Earths left in the known Universes, The Flashes are off and running through the Speed Force, trying to find Metron, and stay ahead of the Bathattan who Laughs, while the Trinity (Superman / Antilife, Black Lantern Batman and Warden Wonder Woman) along with Swamp Thing, Harley, Hex and Jarro, head for Castle Bat, to gain access to the Crisis Earths, where the Crisis Energy is being harvested for Perpetua.

**WHEW!**

Getting into the Castle involves getting past an army of Dark Knights… and we have a bunch of real winners here!

Bat Monday - Salomon Grundy in Bat ears, I could have busted a gut laughing, until I thought about what kind of weapon a zombie with Batman’s training could be, and shivered…

Kull, the daughter of Batman and Wonder Woman, corrupted by the Dark Universe…

Ark, the living embodiment of Arkham, with all of the knowledge and abilities of ALL her worst inmates…

Chiroptor, the amalgam of Batman and Chemo (Great Elder Gods!!)…

And the Pearl, Martha Wayne, in the equivalent of HellBat Armor, complete with her iconic pearl necklace.

This is a real mindscrew for Batman, and the panels depict it, most intently.

One nice thing about Scott Snyder… he is consistent about tying up loose ends. Once we are in Castle Bat, we find out what happened to Barbatos, the Big Bad from Dark Nights: Metal. Not that we were actually wondering, since we got Perpetual, and the Batman Who Laughs, but, like I said, it ties up the package nicely.

Then, we are introduced to the character I have been most happily waiting for… the Robin King, and his Utility Belt of Death!

Gentle Readers, this is the story we have been waiting for, the chapter which tells us what the Heroes Plan of Action is, and where the story has been going, for over 40 years. You see, the opening page of this book tells us where this story began… with Marv Wolfman and George Perez, and Crisis on Infinite Earths!

Not to spoil too much, but Crisis, Infinite Crisis, and Final Crisis, ]well… they have all played a part in getting us to this story. It seems, the “Crisis Energy’ has fed Perpetua while she was trapped within the Source Wall, and, now, she wants it all, so she can recreate the Universes in her image.

Great job, if you can get it…

I can’t say enough good things about this story and artwork, as Snyder and Manapul have put together a really tight, hard hitting bottle / lead story, bringing us to the next step in the saga…

Jeebus on a popsicle stick, I hope no one lets me down… that will hurt!

Out of 5🌶 🌶🌶🌶🌶.5

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Death Metal: Multiverse’s End #1

Writer: James Tynion IV Artist: Juan Gedeon

‘Mr. Rabbit?

Yes, Young Lady?

Thank you for saving me.

What a kind thing to say! It was so scary out there, and you stayed so brave. I don’t think I could have done it without your courage.

You’re really, really soft.

I use a special carrot shampoo.

———————————————————————————————————

Once upon a time, about a million, bazillion years ago in cranky fat man years, somewhere around 1982, Roy Thomas and Scott Shaw! brought Earth-C into the DC Multiverse, the earth of anthropomorphic animals… yes, they brought Super-Hero Cartoon Animals to the Super Hero Universe.

Our introduction to this Earth was Rodney Rabbit, a comics writing and drawing hare, who created the Just’a Lotta Animals comic by day, and was Captain Carrot, a Superman-esque rabbit, who got his powers from super charged carrots, when danger struck.

But, I digress… because I got really excited!

So, we have teams on the 6 Earths, each Earth holding a tuning fork, focusing the psychic pain energy of the population to Perpetual, powering her attempts to recreate the Multiverse in her image. The Earths in play, Earth - 3 (Crime Syndicate), Earth - X (Nazi Earth), Earth - 29 (Bizarroworld), Earth - 43 (Blood League World) and Earth - 50 (Justice Lords Earth) are all worlds of pain and suffering.

Their energy is the right flavor for destroying, and creating.

The heroes, organized and led by the Green Lanterns of Sector 2814 (Hal Jordan, Guy Gardner, John Stewart, Kyle Rayner, Jessica Cruz, Simon Baz), are working to take down the Antennae before the energy can be fed to Perpetual to power her Cosmic Undoing.

So, teamed with the Lanterns, we have Hawkgirl, Kid Flash (Earth-22), President Superman (Earth-23), Wonder Woman (Earth-6) and Captain Carrot, all hellbent on stopping the respective Antennae.

The problem… Each Earth’s inhabitants have been laced into the antennae, to directly feed the psychic energy to it..since the energy is effectively terror, well, what better way to induce some? Of course, this isn’t the only problem to be contended with…

Leave it to James Tynion IV to come up with a way to make a villain creepier than the Batman Who Laughs… How, you ask? Well, take the true polar opposite of Batman, and make him realize HE IS what Giggles says he is, and you have an interesting new ballgame.

You see, while the Batman who Laughs is the Ultimate CORRUPTED Batman, Owlman is the Anthesis of Batman, the purest EVIL to the Batman’s GOOD. And he plans to make sure that he continues to be the True Opposite…

Gedeon’s artwork is rough, but considering the story being told, and the pain portrayed by the characters, it fits, perfectly. Some times, I see Joe Staton and Nic Cuti in these pages, a little cartoony, but that’s not a complaint… The story concentrates a bunch on Guy Gardner and Cap, so, it seems to fit (and the art is reminiscent of the ‘A Guy and his G’Nort’ storyline from 1991).

All in all, a very good story, and a fantastic use of a truly underused treasure.

Out of 5🌶 🌶🌶🌶🌶

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Speed Metal #1

Writer: Joshua Williamson Pencils: Eddy Barrow Inks: Eber Ferreira

‘Hey, Flash Family, Is it true a Flash has to die in every Crisis?!’

———————————————————————————————————

And the levels of snark from the Darkest Knight have reached Epic Levels!

The first three pages of this issue give us a rehash of everything having to do with Wally West, since the beginning of the Rebirth Era, from Barry pulling Wally out of the Speed Force, to Barry and Batman finding the Comedian’s Smiley Face button embedded in the Batcave wall, to the events of Heroes in Crisis and Flash Forward.

The action picks up as Barry, Wally, Wallace and Jay leave the Batman’s Vault, in search of Metron’s Chair, with the Darkest Knight hot on their trails.

In the Speed Force.

With the Darkest Knight’s presence corrupting the Speed Force, Barry and Wally bickering the entire time, I’m reminded of why I hated the post Crisis Flash… Wally wasn’t mature enough to wear the mantle of Barry’s fame.

Sure, he had the speed, he was even faster than Barry, but he was still the same jealous little kid inside, the one who needed to be patted on the head, the one who couldn’t get on with the Titans, even though he was probably the most powerful of them.

He was just an immature kid, and here, Williamson dragged that all into the foreground once again.

All so Wally West, the King of the Redemption Arc, could have another Redemption Arc…

Sorry, that did me in.

The rest of the story is pretty good… the art is wonderful, the Jay / Barry / Wallace interplay is really kinda neat, and all the Black Flashes… well, I’m a sucker for Death icons, so a mass of Death Speedsters, well that’s fun with a CAPITAL F!

But, did we need another Wally gets to whine story?

Sorry, this wasn’t the finest arc of the Death Metal Saga.

Out of 5🌶 🌶🌶🌶

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Death Metal #4 ‘Shot In The Dark’

Writer: Scott ‘Scream King’ Snyder Artist: Greg ‘The Muscle’ Capullo Inks: Jonathan ‘Bloodied’ Glapion

“So, ever wonder why you never see A Harley Who Laughs’?’

———————————————————————————————————

And, that Gentle Readers, is the crux of one of those puzzles about this series… Why don’t we ever see more twisted versions of the Villains who infest Earth Prime?

The Robin King (this is the character who rates SECOND on my memorable Characters list, especially with his own One-Shot—— Who’s First?? Time, Gentle Ones in time…) puts the explanation out there, and it is very simple.

And worth the read… But, I digress.

So, Issue 4 picks up with Sergeant Rock describing what has been happening on Earth - Prime, and we finally get to see who has been carrying him around… AMBUSH BUG! Yes, the character that made the Fourth Wall more transparent than an open Anderson window has been carrying Rock around as his own personal narrator…

Which, if you know the Bug, is a joke unto itself.

So, here we go, the ride is picking up steam, and we are now following 6, count’em SIX, separate story lines. A guy could get whiplash, or Bullwhip or some other third rate character… But, I digress.

We have the Trinity storyline, the SpeedMetal storyline, Multiverse’s End, and the Lantern Storyline from the last issue, the Justice League / Legion of Doom story… am I forgetting anything?

Oh, and of course, the Robin King.

Where to start with this… I guess the simplest place to start is the artwork.

Greg Capullo’s pencils are absolutely wonderful. For anybody who it's to watch the process of drawing I want to watch so he's got a really wonderful touch I recommend Greg Capullo’s Instagram site. As he's drawing pages for these books, he posts the pencils as he finishes pieces of the process . Normally, he has six or seven photo panels showing exactly what he's been doing. In man cases, this involves crowd scenes, with extensive detail. His work is beautiful, it’s easy to see why he is such a sought after talent.

Jonathan Glapion’s inks on Capullo’s pencils are comparable to Austin on Byrne, and Janson over Miller, Janson over Colan… Enhancing, and not hiding the intricate detail rendered in the pencils, adding that last flash of lightning to bring it all together. The balance struck between them is almost organic, a constant growth between the two, bringing them to levels bordering on the true Classic Art teams of the last 50 years.

I do not make these comparisons lightly

Now, to the story. Scott Snyder is powering a roller coaster with a rocket sled. The coordination between the different aspects of these stories is both intricate and daring. With all the different aspects of this story spinning like plates on sticks, Snyder juggles the plot lines, and what is left to him by the myriad of writers as Emmet Kelly did in the heyday of Ringling Brothers.

His deft touch, and subtle influences are balanced by lace covered sledgehammer blows, leaving the reader reeling, and wanting so very much more.

Scott Snyder, much like Tom Taylor, has pulled out all the stops, cut the brake lines, kicked out the jams, insert favorite euphemism for creating a high speed, non-stop mad ride to Hell!

And, much to my wallet’s chagrin, I am very happy about it.

Now, as it crosses to other books, and other writers pick up the reins, I am sure Snyder will still be the whip hand driving the story, not allowing some of these writers to go too far astray (unless it’s Tom King… then, well Woo Hoooo!)

I can’t say enough good things about this story, or the team creating it. I’m beginning t feel a little biased, but, what the heck.

Out of 5🌶 🌶🌶🌶🌶.5

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Death Metal: Robin King #1 ‘The Robin Who Would Be King’

Writer: Peter J. Tomasi Artist: Riley Rossmo

‘Aw! Come on, this is the fun part!

Get up and let’s FIGHT!’

———————————————————————————————————

Games, within games, within games…

So, the Batman who Laughs wasn’t infallible.

And the Robin King is going to be the bigger threat to the Darkest Knight than any combination of the Trinity, Flashes or their cohorts.

At least, that’s my takeaway from this issue.

We continue the story of the Robin King, as started in the Tales of the Dark Universe one shot. Bruce has grown up, and grown into his sociopathy, and genius. He has used the family fortune to get all the training necessary, and to accumulate all the tools, to begin his reign as the true Evil Overlord of Gotham.

Utilizing his accumulated weapons, he has taken out Commissioner Gordon, Firestorm, Animal Man, Adam Strange Blue Beetle (Ted Kord), and the Red Tornado, all in truly spectacular and extraordinarily grisly fashion.

While the Black Hole Implosion for Firestorm was a particularly well thought out death, I think, so far, the ‘Mortal Coil’ Death, for the Red Tornado was the most imaginative… making his powers totally uncontrollable, while moving him closer to his ultimate dream, to be a real person, before his form totally destroys itself from the stresses of his own speed.

Marvelous! Fantastic! Gross!

Enter the Batman who Laughs, with the proposition to make the Robin King special, one of his own…

But, he’s a Robin, so, off to the Groblin Pit he goes!

Hence, his mistake, and possibly another chink in the boiler plate of his plans… since Bruce Wayne is NO Robin!

Peter Tomasi’s scripting for this issue is simply remarkable. The creep factor he brings to this iteration of Bruce Wayne is almost eviscerating. Reading this was painful to my eyes and psyche, feeling the levels of insanity drip off the page, and scratch across my mind like a little bird’s unnaturally sharp talons.

He really hit all the horror factors.

Then, there was the artwork for this story. Riley Rossmo’s artwork set the mood for this story. His shattered pencil / inks style, which can be distracting, was integral to telling this story. It allowed the Reader to view this story as if it were playing out in Bruce’s mind, its all the fracturing being how he is viewing the world.

For me, this story has been the highlight of the series… thus far. I am anticipating this, which is near the midpoint of things, is setting up the Wednesday Night Episode…so, -

Tune In, Gentle Readers!

Same Bat-Time

Same Bat Channel!

The Best Is Yet To Come!

Did I neglect there is a B-story, with Signal, Spoiler, Orphan and Red Robin taking on Quietus, the amalgam of Batman Ras’ al Ghul and Duke Thimas, from another Dark Universe, written by Tony Patrick and drawn by Daniel Sampere?

This story brings in a plot line for ‘What’s happening for the Other Bat-Family Elements’, as they try to find their way through Castle Bat’s myriad streets…

I am guessing we will start to see more of these stories.

I am completely fine with this, rather than having to recap things later…

Out of 5🌶 🌶🌶🌶🌶.5

#dark nights: death metal #DC comics #Batman Who Laughs #Scott Snyder #Greg Capullo

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dragonrajafanfiction · 3 years

Note

If ya could change somethin bout the canon story line of Dragon Raja, what would it be?

I’m folding my hands in front of my face because... This is going to be a bit technical.

There are three things a good story needs:

An external conflict... (ex. Gotta stop the bad guy from destroying the world)

An internal conflict (ex. I want to confess my love to my love interest)

And a philosophical conflict.... The point of it all (Love and friendship win the day. Or something)

What is the philosophical conflict of Dragon Raja?

If you were to ask me what is the philosophical conflict of Dragon DANCER, my fic, I could easily tell you: “Your identity is the one you choose for yourself VS. Your identity is what is imposed on you by others.”

In the first book, this theme is front and center when, in the third chapter, Isaac asks her the simple question of “What is your name?”

And she says “Nothing Important”. The MC you all know and love as Carli and later as Meixiu, has NO identity and allows her identity to be imposed on her by others every time she meets a new person.

This exchange with Luminous:

So… what’s your name?”

I felt a chill run down my spine, recalling the results of using my childhood name. “I don’t like my name.”

“Oh… then… what do you prefer to be called? I feel bad just calling you, newbie.” More nervous laughter.

“Newbie is fine.” I told him. “But if there’s a name you like, just call me that.”

His nervousness turned to surprised dismay. “What? I can’t just call you whatever I want! What if someone else calls you something different?”

The corners of my mouth turned down. “You’re Mingfei Lu, right? You said, just call me Lu. Does everyone call you Lu?”

“Ah… good point.” He rubs his chin in thought. “But… What if I call you something you don’t like?”

I chuckled. “Then I’ll tell you. Like I said I didn’t mind, ‘newbie’.”

He rubbed the back of his neck but didn’t continue to object.

Identity is an issue down to the very last chapter of Dragon Dancer IV when she tells the awakened Lu Mingfei:

“I have another question. Why did you lie and tell him I’m not a dragon king?” He asked.

“Are you a dragon king? Only if you act like it. If you act like a human, you are human. If I told them you were a dragon king, they would never treat you any different…” I folded my arms over my chest and looked away.

“No matter how I act, it doesn’t change what I am.”

I stomped my foot, and it reverberated the metal truck. “Yes it does! In Cassell, I learned that if the Dark King awakened it would bring forth a cataclysm! Millions of people would die! Human civilization would fall! Humans would be enslaved to dragons! Could you do that? Sure! But why let people define you? You’re the Dark King! You can be whatever you want! If you want to go on a tear and kill everyone, you’ve already proven that you can. If you want to turn me into a monster right now, you can! But you haven’t done that. You haven’t eaten Norton and Constantine.”

“Unless you actually do those things, you’re NOT the Dark King! Understand?”

Here you see the conclusion of the philosophical conflict.

In the very first conversation, we see how both Carli (Meixiu) and Mingfei Lu allow others to define them. In their last conversation the opposite occurs. They refuse to let others define them.

If you asked me. “What is the philosophical conflict of Dragon Raja?” I wouldn’t be able to tell you. How many times have I asked myself while reading... why are we doing this? What is the point?

Dragon Raja has a strong premise at the start of the books. You’re thrown into an excellent external conflict and even some really compelling internal conflict. But by the end of the book, they ring hollow because the books are essentially much ado about nothing.

In the third book, the good guys don’t even get what they want in the end. Not in the first, second, or third books....

Why did I read this?

Yeah so what if Osho dies. EVERYONE IS DEAD.

WHAT’S the POINT?????

I have other issues with the books but this is at the root of all of them.

For example how the author tends to go on tangents. In the Fourth book, the external conflict is about finding Chu Zihang who’s gone missing. Mingfei recruits Fingel and Nono and the internal conflict is convincing them that he’s not crazy and keeping the faith that Chu Zihang was out there somewhere. There is even a whisper of a philosophical conflict about staying loyal to your friends...

But that’s all lost when -- UH OH Nono is in danger! Save her from Gungnir!!! And the reader is left wondering... um... what does this have to do with anything I just read?

They spend SOOOOO MUUUUCH TIIIIME on this derailment that I had to force myself to take a breath and get through reading it because I didn’t care! I had invested so much emotionally in the FIRST half of the book... that I had no interest in the last half

And then... Chu Zihang, the person I was most interested in, is rescued and found off screen.

OFF SCREEN.

What was it all for?????

*HEAVY SIGH*

Pick a theme. Stick to it. That’s what I would change.

Thank you so much for asking. :)

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slapshot-to-the-heart · 4 years

Text

part vii

part i part ii part iii part iv part v part vi

Welcome back, friends! I know it’s been a long time since I updated, and I’m sorry for that - I just finished up my junior year of college, and combined with all of the protesting an unrest going on in the US (where I’m from) it’s been hard to write on schedule. On that note, I want to say that as a person and a writer I unequivocally stand with the Black Lives Matter movement and those protesting for an end to police brutality, the demilitarization and downsizing of the police, and equal rights for all - noting especially that these issues particularly affect LGBTQ+ people of color, particularly Black trans women. I am always striving to keep myself as educated and informed on how to be an antiracist, and encourage everyone to take a look at https://blacklivesmatters.carrd.co/ for resources to educate yourself, donation links if you’re able, and petitions to sign. Breonna Taylor’s murderers still have not been arrested. I love writing, and I hope this chapter lives up to your expectations. Please reblog as always, and pop into my inbox and let me know what you think!

part vii

February 14

Dress like I’m going to a diner? Cass was more than a little confused as she pulled one leg through the pair of her good jeans (the ones without ripped knees, she wore them out with Mat and to less-important meetings and even to church once or twice when she was feeling particularly daring) as she slipped into her pea coat, toying with the button by her wrist as she opened the door to the crisp February air. It wasn’t snowing, but it was cold enough that her hands were still jammed firmly in her coat pockets. She could see her breath when she breathed out. Matt pulled up a few minutes, an apologetic look on his face as he slammed his hazards on and scrambled over the chair to push her door open.

“Sorry I’m late,” Mat said breathlessly. “Parkway was backed up.”

Cass waved him off. “It’s not a big deal, just crank the heat up.”

“I know you said you didn’t want anything too fancy, so I hope you like it,” he added hesitantly, looking in between her and the road as he turned a corner.

Cass squeezed his hand that was hovering just above the gear shift. “I’m sure I’ll love it, Mat.”

It really had been hard for Mat to figure out what to do for Valentine’s. He was leaving the next day for a weeklong road trip, but it was still, you know, Valentine’s, and he wanted so badly to get it right. So he tapped Jordan, called Tito, even somehow got ahold of her roommates to ask them what they thought she might be interested in. He wouldn’t admit it, but there also might have been a text or two back home to his sister for a second (third? fourth?) opinion. He wanted it to be perfect, but even more than that, he wanted it to be her. Dinner at a Michelin-starred restaurant and a Tiffany’s necklace might be all well and good, but it didn’t really matter if the proverbial shoe didn’t fit. The handful of Valentine’s dates he’d gone on in the past had mostly been the standard roses-and-chocolates type, and while Cass did love chocolate, this evening meant so much more to him than any previous attempt.

He didn’t want to do anything to mess it up, anything to jeopardize what was hands-down the most meaningful and serious relationship he’d ever been in. He’d dated girls for longer, sure, but there was something about what he had with Cass that made him feel like she had been in his life forever, like she was already a permanent fixture who made everything else make sense. They drove down the island of Manhattan, his thumb running back and forth over the palm of her hand until he pulled into a hotel parking lot. Cass looked at him quizzically. “Easiest place to park,” Mat said by way of an answer.

He parked, opening Cass’s door and helping her out. “Where are you taking me?” Cass said with a small laugh, looking across the street at the dozens of couples taking an early dinner.

Mat held up a finger. “It should be...right up here,” he said, double-checking his phone. “Ah-ha!”

A dusty green awning and flyer-covered window greeted the couple. It was a pizzeria, and it was perfect. It wasn’t just the fact that, like any sane person, Cass loved pizza, but the fact he knew what she wanted and prioritized that over any expectation or preconception about what the “right” way to celebrate was. And she could really go for a dollar slice.

They squeezed into a two-top table in the corner. Cass hung her bag on the back of her chair, scooping back to go order at the counter. When it came to food, Mat was a simple man with simple tastes. He liked pepperoni. “I got us garlic knots because it’s Valentine’s day and I love you,” she said, setting down the trays, “and also because I’d willingly murder a man for garlic.”

Mat picked one up, biting in and nearly moaning. God, these are good. “Babe, you’re going to be a lawyer. You can’t just go around getting yourself arrested for murder. I don’t think your garlic defense would go over well with the judge.”

Cass shrugged. “I can get myself off.” Mat raised an eyebrow. “Ew!” She threw a packet of red pepper at Mat, promptly hitting him square in the chest. “Get your mind out of the gutter. There are children present.” To be fair, aside from them the restaurant was filled mostly with high school students, nervously holding hands and sipping each others’ Cokes while they tried desperately to make small talk. And to be fair, she could get herself off.

“Are you finally going to tell me what we’re doing?” Cass asked, biting into the last bit of her crust.

“In a minute,” Mat said, twisting around to rustle through the pocket of his leather jacket. He pulled out a small, flat square box, sliding it over the table to her. Cass traced the edges delicately with a finger.

Mat smiled softly at her. “Open it.”

Cass tapped the box against her palm until the bottom fell softly into her hand. Inside, nestled in a cloud of cotton, was a beautiful silver bar necklace. It was simple, elegant, not too flashy. But it was her, and it was hers.

“I know you don’t like me spending money on you,” Mat shrugged, “but you deserve nice things. You deserve to be treated well.” He reached over the table to tuck a curl behind her ear.

She picked it up, touching the chain, clasp, pendant. “Turn it over,” Mat said pointedly, with a smile on his face. Cass flipped it. There was an engraving on the back — well, two, really. 10-28-20. That one she knew. That one was their anniversary. WWRD. That one she didn’t know. Glancing back up towards Mat with a confused look on her face, she raised an eyebrow. “What would Ruth do,” Mat supplied. It took Cass a moment, and once she realized, she almost fell over, dissolving into peals of laughter. What would Ruth do? “I know I’m nothing but a filthy Canadian,” Mat started, “but I also know you love her and look up to her. You don’t just have a mug with someone’s face on it for no reason.” That was true. For Secret Santa last Christmas, Ryanne had 100% gotten Cass a mug with Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s face on it. And she 100% used it every day for her morning tea.

“Plus, I read on Wikipedia that before she was a judge, she was a lawyer and did a lot for women’s rights and stuff. Which is really cool.” Cass nodded. That’s sweet, she thought, he actually did his homework.

It was Cass’s turn to turn to Mat, leaning forward and cupping his cheek gently. He leaned into her touch. “It’s beautiful, Mat. I love it.”

“Let me put it on for you?” Mat asked. Cass nodded, he stood up and shuffled behind her, delicately grabbing the necklace and brushing her hair to one side. Cass shivered at the touch of his fingertips. After a few seconds, he managed to clasp it, leaning down and brushing a kiss on her shoulder before walking back to his side and grabbing his jacket. “You ready to take off?” His eyes flickered down towards his watch. It was nearing 7:30. “We’ve got to be somewhere by 8, but they said to get there early.”

“Who’s ‘they’?” Cass asked curiously.

Mat cracked a grin, sliding her hand into his as they walked out of the restaurant. “You’ll see.”

Two minutes of walking later and Cass was staring into the lights of Broadway. Even living only a few hours away, she had only been once before. The Lion King, in 5th grade. Her little sister Eliana was more of a theatre kid than Cass; field hockey and lacrosse kept her too busy in high school, any spare time she had between sports and work study was spent spending time with friends or reading old books. Eliana was four years younger than her, and when she got the lead in Heathers, Cass had never been happier to live only twenty minutes away from home. El killed it, she got to have a night at home, and was able to make pancakes with her mom in the morning. It was a win-win-win scenario. But Cass still loved musicals, listened to soundtracks while she studied, tried to make the drive once a year to Boston — Eliana was at BU — to see a winter or spring show.

So when she was suddenly looking up at the ten-foot-tall poster for Waitress, her mouth kept opening and closing like a fish. “Do you like it?” Mat asked hesitantly. “We can find something else to do if you’re not into it, I know —”

Cass cut him off, squeezing his hand tightly and standing on her tippy toes to press a kiss to his jaw. “It’s amazing, Mat. I just didn’t know what to say. I still don’t, really. This is such an...unexpected gift. But I love it.” Mat relaxed. He genuinely was nervous about the choice; her roommates had told him that she liked the soundtrack and she had recommended that Sara Bareilles album to him way back in October, but he didn’t want to assume that meant she’d want to see it live. Mat was glad that he was wrong.

Mat gently pulled the tickets out of his coat pocket, flashing them to the usher and handing Cass’s to her. “You ready for a show?”

---

“So, what did you think?” Cass asked as they walked out of the theater.

“I liked it!” Mat said. And he really had liked it. Some of the music definitely confused him, and he didn’t understand how quick changes were physically possible, but it was good. “Earl’s a class-A dick, though. Jenna’s much better off without him.”

Cass nodded. “Correct.”

March 4 (thurs)

Cass glanced down at her watch, making sure it was a good time to call. It was just after 6 in New York, which would mean it was...5 in Winnipeg? Was that right? Mat probably hadn’t gotten to the arena yet, or if he did, it was more likely dinner than training or warmups. Clicking on his contact, it rang for less than ten seconds before Mat picked up.

“Hey babe! You good?” It wasn't per se unusual for them to call each other — especially during road trips, they tried to talk or FaceTime every day — but it was usually Mat who called first, and usually just after games. So it was understandable that he was a little confused.

Cass giggled. “I’m good, really good. Got some good news, just wanted to hear your voice.”

“Awww,” Mat teased, “you loooove me.”

Cass didn’t really blush, but if she did, her cheeks would be scarlet. “Yes. I do. Shut up.”

Mat let out a laugh. “Just teasing you, babe. Good news, eh? What kind? Did you hear back from any of the places you applied yet?”

“No,” Cass huffed. “Not that.” She had sent out her résumé to somewhere around ten different firms and nonprofits, mostly in New York, but some as far south as D.C. and as far north as Boston. She had also sent in an application for a clerkship at the Supreme Court months back as some sort of pipe dream, but hadn’t heard anything back and had long since abandoned it as a lost cause. “I’ve done a few interviews, but nothing permanent. It’s still pretty early, though.” And that part was true — out of everyone in her circles back at school, there were maybe a handful who already had jobs lined up after graduation, most of them having evolved from summer associate positions they’d taken with some highbrow firm in Manhattan. Or D.C. One was even going to London to do something very intellectual-sounding with trade negotiations.

“I know you’re probably a little nervous, and I totally get that. But don’t worry, Cass. You’re incredible and so smart and so qualified and someone’s going to see that, even if it takes a little longer than expected.”

“Thanks,” Cass said, breathing out deeply and smiling softly. Mat was getting good at reading her, so good that he could tell when something was bothering her even without being face-to-face. And he gave damn fine pep talks.

Mat cleared his throat. “So. Good news?”

Cass screwed up her face. “Good news. Right. I just got out of the office, and you know how I said I was almost done with my hours?” It had taken Cass longer than usual to finish her experiential requirement, since nearly all of her peers got it knocked out in a summer and she, obviously, was a little more busy when it actually came to term time. “Mhm,” Mat responded. “I just got done with the last of them today!”

Mat was confused. “So...your good news is that you’re finished? I thought you liked working with Chris?”

“Right, yeah, I do.” Cass tried to backtrack. I should have explained. “Chris told me I’m welcome to stay on, and I’m going to. I genuinely like what I’m doing. Since I’m not doing it for school anymore, he put in a request for a status change with HR, and it just got approved. So,” she paused for dramatic effect, “the good news is that now I’m getting PAID.”

“Awesome!” Mat said. “You’re going to be the one making the big bucks now.”

“I’m making 16 dollars an hour. It’s barely above minimum wage, but it’s nice to finally get something back.”

Ten minutes later, after they had hung up, Mat leaned back in his hotel bed. He really was proud of Cass, unbelievably so, but hadn’t yet admitted to himself just how nervous he was. Not about their relationship, really, but about where things were headed. He absolutely saw them together as a long-term thing and at least from what Cass made it seem like, so did she. But they hadn’t really spoken about where they saw this whole thing going, or what it would look like, or really anything beyond vaguely discussed plans for the summer after her graduation. The uncertainty wasn’t really concerning him. Mat’s new contract locked him in through 2026, so he wasn’t leaving anytime soon. And he wouldn’t want to, he loved hockey and loved New York and loved his team.

Cass was a whole different story. She was probably the smartest person he’d ever met, and Mat knew that she could and would be able to go just about anywhere for a position. She didn’t have to stay in New York if she didn’t want to. And sure, New York was a pretty good place to be a lawyer — it didn’t take a genius to know that — but the worry kept popping up in the back of his mind that she’d get an incredible offer somewhere like California or Chicago or even somewhere international and would leave the city. Leave him. Mat would never dream of holding Cass back from her dreams. It would be a dick move and she’d worked way too hard to let everything go to waste. But the idea of doing something long distance, like true long distance, scared the shit out of him. It wasn’t just that he’d miss the sex or seeing her in the stands at games or early morning coffee dates, but Mat thrived on closeness, he thrived on intimacy of all kinds. It would terrify him to have to be away from someone who meant so much to him for so long. But this was Cass, his Cass, and if he’d go through it for anyone, it would be for her.

I’m overthinking this, Mat thought, as he flipped his phone over and over in his hands. Don’t make up problems where there are none.

March 13 (sat)

Cass tapped her fingers nervously as she walked through the doors of the Islander’s practice rink. It was family skate, and Cass couldn’t help but feel like she didn’t quite belong.

“There you are!” Mat said, his bag slung over one shoulder as he greeted her with a kiss. “You ready? I know Tito and Paige are already down there and they’re starting to get on the ice.”

“Yep!” Cass said brightly, forcing a smile and grabbing his hand a little too quickly.

Mat raised one eyebrow. “Alright, what is it?”

Cass dropped the face. “It’s just...this seems different than all of the other things I’ve gone to. It’s not like when I’m in the box at games or we go out with the team or I hang out with the girls when you guys are on a road trip. It’s like,” she let out a huff, “this is small. This is close. This is meant for family, wives and kids, and I’m not...I’m not family. I’m your girlfriend, sure, but…” She trailed off.

Mat squeezed her hand. “I plan on keeping you around for a long time, Cass. You’d better get used to it. And besides,” he said, looking at her softly, “wives have to start somewhere.”

Luckily, Cass didn’t have time to get too into her head, because she was suddenly engulfed in a bear hug from Paige. “I know we got coffee on Monday, but it’s been too long, Cass. I swear, you’re working too hard.”

Mat chimed in. “Tell me about it.” Cass swatted at him. “She’s been studying and editing and sending in her résumé to every office she can get her hands on.” He sat his chin on top of her head, arms crossing in front of her chest to hold her hands.

“Alright, Mr. Clingy,” Cass giggled, twisting her head to look up at Mat.

“But you looove your clingy boyfriend,” Mat whined, leaning down and softly kissing Cass.

She scrunched her nose. “Regrettably so.”

He squeezed her shoulder. “You ready to go out on the ice?”

“Yeah.” Cass nodded, taking a pair of skates from the rack. By the time she had unlaced her boots and set them to the side, Mat had already tied his hockey skates, an extra pair he kept in his practice bag.

“Let me,” Mat said, gently taking the skates and kneeling down in front of her.

Cass rolled her eyes, but her cheeks heated all the same. “If you insist,” she said, holding her left leg out.

“Okay, Cinderella,” Mat chuckled, holding her ankle for support as he wiggled her foot in, pulling the laces tight and tying them. “Double knots are more secure,” he said, blushing, as he finished the second skate.

“You’re cute when you blush,” Cass said, pinching Mat’s cheeks, which only made him go more scarlet.

He straightened out the knot, reaching out a hand so Cass could stand up. She steadied herself on the skates. “How much skating have you done?” Mat asked as he led her to the door.

Cass shrugged. “A little? I went a few times as a kid and the girls and I go to Rockefeller Center around Christmas every year, but not a ton. Skating’s an expensive enough sport as it is, and my parents were already having to deal with coming up with the fees for Noah before he started working.”

Mat grimaced. “Yeah, I get that. I hate it, how cost prohibitive the sport is, and I try to help out back home when I can, but knowing that there’s so many kids who love the sport and could be so good,” he took a tense breath, “but aren’t able to because their families don’t have the means. It’s really shi—” He cut himself off, noticing his teammates’ children skating around. “It sucks.”

“It does.” Cass nodded. “But I know you have a good heart, and I know you’re helping where you can.” She gave a half-smile as they stepped onto the ice, her hand gripping his forearm as she tried to find her balance on the slick surface, which had been passed over by a zamboni right before the group’s arrival. “Wipe that smile off of your face,” she said, sticking her tongue out.

“Yes ma’am,” Mat said with a grin, pulling her along.

---

After an hour or so of skating, Cass had gotten the hang of it enough to where Mat was good to step off the ice for a few minutes and talk to some of the boys. “They have goldfish,” he had mentioned. “I think the snack table’s supposed to be for the kids, but I’m not above theft in situations like these.” So Cass skated around with Paige, Lauren, and some of the other WAGs, nearly all of whom were much, much better skaters than herself.

“For someone who grew up on hockey, you’d think this would be way easier for me than it is,” Cass grumbled, tentatively pushing off from the sideboards.

“You’ll get it eventually. I believe in you,” Paige said, poking her cheek.

She grimaced. “Hopefully. I can see the Athletic’s morning headline now: ‘Cassidy Cabrera Shaw, Girlfriend of 2018 Calder Trophy Winner Mat Barzal, Falls on Face While Attempting to Skate.”

“Sue them,” Paige suggested.

Cass laughed. “That’d be nice, wouldn’t it? Wish I could.” She stuck her hands in her jacket pockets. “No grounds for defamation if it’s true.”

“Laws are dumb.”

“They can be,” Cass admitted, looking over to the bleachers. “You want to go get drinks? I think I saw Whiteclaws in the adult’s cooler, and I know how you feel about those.”

Paige was already halfway across the rink. “Only if all the limes haven’t been taken!”

Cass shook her head, turning like Mat had taught her and skating over to the benches. Paige had gone over to sit with Anthony, a lime Whiteclaw successfully in her hand, and it took Cass no time to find Mat. He was sitting in the second row next to some of the other guys, and he was holding a baby. A very cute, very small baby. She gingerly made her way over to the group, catching Mat’s eye. He beamed at her as she took a seat next to him.

“And who’s this little cutie?” She asked, smiling at him.

“This is Milo,” Mat said softly, turning him slightly so she could wave at him.

Cass absentmindedly remembered asking whose son it was — an offseason trade from Colorado, she vaguely recalled processing the contract at work — but she really couldn’t say which one. But she stroked Milo’s face with one finger, puffed out her cheeks at him, and suddenly he was in her arms and everything else fell away. She bounced him for a few minutes, easily falling back into her old routine — she was an older sister, after all — before handing him back to Mat, who was clearly having some separation anxiety.

Lauren sat on the edge of the bench, gently touching Cass’ shoulder with Collins on her hip. “He looks really good like that, doesn’t he?” She asked. Cass’ cheeks burned. She didn’t know anyone had seen her looking over at Mat and Milo. “Yeah, he does,” she said, a soft smile crossing over her face.

March 26 (fri)

A steaming cup of tea in her hands, Cass threw her head back against the couch, knocking her reading glasses askew. She straightened them with a huff. There were two days until the deadline for the law review, and she still had two articles to get through for last-minute edits and spelling checks. It was just past 11, which normally wouldn’t have been all that late for her, but she had been staring at her computer for hours and it was beginning to take a toll. She had been at the library until 8 or so, making more than one trip to the coffee cart in the lobby before she realized that she wasn’t going to get anywhere sequestered away in a cubicle on the fourth floor. The Islanders were playing that night, so Cass shot Mat a text that she was headed over, packed up her bags, and headed over.

He had just given her a key the week prior, and it was her first time using it. Even though he constantly told her she was welcome to go over, whether he was there or not, she had more than her fair share of nerves as she jingled her keychain, thumbing over her apartment key and mail key and car key and key to the house back in Connecticut before she opened the door. She set the kettle to boil and grabbed the little-used box of English Breakfast from the cabinet before crashing on the couch, where she had been pretty much ever since, save for a bathroom break after a thrilling review of a paper on recent intellectual property rulings of the 2nd Circuit Court.

The doorknob turned and Mat walked in, shower-damp hair, still clad in his gameday suit with his duffel slung over his left shoulder. “Hey, babe,” he said, dropping the bag and walking over to the couch to plant a gentle kiss on the top of her head. “Still at it?”

She nodded ruefully, rubbing her eyes. “Yeah. I ordered takeout earlier in case you’re hungry, there’s an extra gyro in the kitchen,” she pointed to a bag on the counter, “and they threw in free baklava if you’re still hungry.”

His eyebrows perked. “Baklava?” Cass had discovered early on in their relationship that hidden beneath his curated meal plans from the team nutritionist and smoothie kits was a surprisingly committed sweet tooth. She was a stress-baker, and Mat had been more than willing over the past few months to serve as her taste tester for cookies, pies, and anything in between.

Cass giggled. “Yeah. Better get it before I steal the last piece, though.”

Mat returned later with the pastry on a napkin, shrugging off his suit jacket and collapsing onto the cushion beside her. “Anything else interesting happen today?”

Cass shrugged her shoulders. “I had yoga in the morning like usual, which was fun. I tried a hot yoga class today, though, and you would not believe how much I sweat. It hurt my soul.”

“No pain no gain, baby,” Mat chimed in. Cass rolled her eyes at him.

“But then I had law review and my Entertainment Law seminar before I headed over to the office. Pretty normal, they had me looking over some leasing agreements for the next season. Called my grandma, she’s shipping my serape stole over next week and needed my address,” Cass added.

“Serape stole?”

Cass adjusted her position on the couch so she was facing Mat. “It’s a Mexican thing. You know how graduation gowns usually have stoles for the school or whatever?” Mat nodded. “It’s pretty common to have cultural ones too, Black students will often wear what’s called a kente cloth stole and Mexican and some other Latinx students have serape stoles. Give me a sec,” she said, grabbing her phone and scrolling through her photos. “Here’s a graduation photo of me and the girls from UConn, Ryanne’s in her kente stole and I have mine.”

Mat looked bewildered. “Why are you wearing so many of them?”

Cass laughed, realizing which photo she pulled up. “Okay, fair enough. So there’s the normal school one on the bottom, then I had one for the honors program, then on top of that is the one from my sorority, then on top of that is the serape. Most of the other photos it’s just one or two, like in the ones when I’m with the sorority or the Mexican Student Association or whoever. We thought it would be fun to take one where we’re just drowning in stoles and leis. Made us feel fancy.”

“You do look very fancy,” Mat said, leaning his head on her shoulder. “You also look very tired, Cass. You need to go to sleep.”

Cass scrunched up her nose. “I’ve only got the two papers left to look over, and I’d really like to get them done before I head back. Get them all knocked out, y’know?”

“Stay here,” Mat said easily, as if it wasn’t even a question. “Stay here, you can finish reviewing them in the morning. Plus, I’d feel a lot better if you weren’t taking the subway alone at half past 11.”

Cass sighed. He had a point. “Fine,” she said slowly, “but you have to promise to wake me up if I don’t get out of bed by 8. Okay?”

Mat gently took her laptop, setting it on the coffee table. “Okay. Now go take a shower and hop into bed, pretty girl. You’ve had a long day.”

“Thanks,” Cass said, smiling gratefully and padding down the hall to the bathroom. Shedding her clothes, Cass stepped into the shower, expecting to use Mat’s Old Spice shampoo — which, to be fair, didn’t smell half bad — when a white floral bottle caught her eye. She had mentioned offhand once that she was picking up a new bottle of shampoo, and Mat must have been listening more than she gave him credit for. Because, without asking, he had gotten one too.

#hockey imagine #hockey writing #nhl imagine #nhl writing #mat barzal #mathew barzal #mat barzal imagine #mat barzal imagines #nhl #nhl imagines #nhl smut #hockey #hockey smut #hockey imagines #New York Islanders #islanders #islanders imagines #islanders writing

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vivxwrites · 5 years

Text

Boom, Boom, Boom

*not my gif*

Word Count: 3123 (she’s a big one)

Summary: You’re the ceo of your own company and are involved in a car crash while you’re away on a business trip. Carol flies to your location in an attempt to save you.

Warnings: ANGST ANGST ANGST, Car Crash, Hospital Stuff, Swearing

Pairing: Carol Danvers x Reader

A/N: Of course this was requested by @aesthetiff because we’re the best fanfiction dynamic duo y’all have ever seen. Um I think I lost a piece of my soul somewhere in this fic so if you see it please let me know. :)

Italics are flashbacks

“Carol,” Tony’s voice was eerily calm as he spoke to her and it sent chills down her spine. His voice crackled through the speaker of her phone, “Turn on the TV, hun.”

“Tony, it’s 4:30 am, why would I want to turn the TV on?”

“Just turn on the TV.” She sat up in bed and moved her way towards the empty living room with a groan. She pushed the “on” button on the remote control and the TV sprang to life, displaying the news channel that she had watched before she went to bed. She looked at it blearily and squinted at the headline. ‘Breaking News: CEO of Northstar Biology, (Y/N) (Y/L/N), involved in deadly car crash.’

“Carol, are you ok?”

“Carol? You there?”

In a flash of orange and blue, Carol was off.

The wind whipped around Carol as she pushed herself to her very limits. She grit her teeth and pushed herself further, weaving in and out of skyscrapers. The cloud-filled area of New York City was slowly coming into view and she desperately rushed towards it. Higher, further, faster. Tears clouded her view but she angrily pushed harder and harder and harder. Finally she could smell the scent of a burning engine and she directed herself towards it.

Carol landed harshly on the ground and looked at the crash sight in horror. Hues of orange and red surrounded the two cars and smoke filled the entire area. She coughed as smoke slowly filled her lungs but she was a woman on a mission and she’d be damned if she was stopped. The cars were smashed together and she took in the extensive damage on the passenger door of one of the cars. Yours. She used sheer brute strength to separate the truck from your car and she ripped the door right off of its hinges in her attempt to get to you. She stopped short as she caught a whiff of something nasty, burnt flesh, and she gagged at the smell. Tears sprang into her eyes as she took in the interior of the car, charred black and completely empty. It was only then that she registered the voice that had been repeating “ma’am,” over and over again.

She whipped her head towards the person and saw that it was a firefighter who had been calling out to her. “Where is she?” The firefighter grimaced at her question and Carol’s heart stopped. No. No no no no no no. She looked around frantically and finally registered that police and firefighters were spread throughout the area, doing their best to control the damage that the crash caused. She took in the yellow and black caution tape that boxed the area off, then the news vans, and finally she zeroed in on a nearby ambulance, whose sirens were dead silent, a really bad sign. She hesitantly trudged towards it until she spotted something grey sitting inside. She squeezed her eyes shut but chanced a peek at the object. She couldn’t stop the bile that rushed up her throat at the combination of the heavy scent of burning flesh and the realization of what exactly the grey object was: a body bag.

She let out a cry of anguish and began pounding her fists against the sides of the ambulance. Boom, boom, boom. Her chest heaved up and down as she sucked in air and went to town on the vehicle. Boom, boom, boom. Her fists were riddled with blood and splatters of blue decorated the side of the caved in ambulance. The red in her vision slowly faded away and she felt boneless.

Her head pounded as she sunk to the ground in front of the ambulance. Everything in the background was muffled and her ears rang. She choked on her own tears and coughed violently, her vision completely blurred. Her body was numb and she melted into the ground, a red, yellow, and blue pile of mush. Everything around her was spinning and the only thing she could focus on was the blue sky, tainted with smoke and taunting her.

The remaining paramedics on site rushed to her side and tossed questions at her, but she was unresponsive. The words too late swirled around in her head and slammed against her skull over and over and over again. Too late, too late, too late. She lay limp as a rag doll on the ground and didn’t register that she was being propped up against the ambulance. A flashlight was shined in her eyes and she followed its trajectory but she didn’t see a beam of light, no, she saw a clock tick-tick-ticking down the amount of time that you probably spent helpless and trapped and hurt in your burning car, before you gave up and died. Sobs wracked her body and a gurgled “I’m sorry,” tumbled from her lips.

One of the paramedics grabbed her face in their hands and forced Carol to look at them. She stared straight past them but they spoke to her anyway. “Ma’am listen to me! That’s not her in the body bag, she was taken to the hospital. Do you hear me?”

That’s not her in the body bag. That’s not her in the body bag? That’s not her in the body bag! Carol snapped out of her haze and gripped the paramedics arm. “Where?” She pointed in the direction of the hospital and Carol took off without a word.

She crashed through the spinning doors into the lobby and repeated her question of, “Where?” to the secretary. Shattered glass littered the hospital floor and some found their way into Carol’s hair.

The poor man was scared shitless and didn’t even bother to follow protocol. “Room 409,” he squealed out the words and she was off again.

She ran to the elevator and tapped her foot impatiently once inside. The other occupants shot her weird looks and she growled at them. They snapped their gazes ahead and the entire duration of the ride was silent until the “ding” of the elevator signaled her arrival to the fourth floor.

She stomped out and tossed glares to anyone in her way as she searched for Room 409. She finally came across the room and halted in the doorway. There you were, broken and battered and burnt, laying motionless in the hospital bed. All of Carol’s energy was gone in an instant as she observed your pale body, riddled with bandages. She fell into the chair next to your bed and choked out sobs of pain. A throat cleared itself and she looked up in shock with bloodshot eyes. “Captain Marvel, hello.” The woman moved closer to your hospital bed and picked up your medical chart before continuing, “The burns on her face are first degree, so they’ll heal just fine with proper care. Her abdomen and legs were not as lucky, both suffering from burns of the third degree. Those will heal as well, but there will be scars left behind and her skin may never look the same. Our main concern isn’t her burns, it’s the major hit to the head that she endured in the accident. Right now she’s in comatose and has been since she arrived. Upon arrival we noticed that one of her lungs had collapsed and we’ve already fixed that issue in surgery. It’s difficult to determine whether or not she will wake up, so unfortunately I can’t tell you what you want to hear. We applied cream to the burns and x-rayed her body for fractures, finding two in her right arm. Her vitals are being monitored 24/7. I assure you she’s under the best care in our facility.”

Carol nodded her head and mumbled out a hoarse, “Thank you.”

The doctor nodded at her and gave her a small smile before she left the room.

After two hours of sitting and staring at you, Carol clicked on the tv that was attached to your bed. She flicked to the news channel, hoping to listen to some mindless story, only to be attacked with news about you and the accident. She couldn’t tear her eyes away and found herself watching on as cameras swept over the crash site.

“At the moment we are unsure if the devastating crash was an attempt on the CEO’s life or just an accident. Traffic cameras captured the moment of impact and you can see the offending truck running a red light and hitting the passenger door of (Y/L/N)’s car, consequently right where she was seated just hours before.”

Carol flinched as she watched the footage of the truck crashing into your car. She bit her lip to hold in a sob and leaned closer to you.

“We are unaware of the extent of (Y/L/N)’s injuries and whether or not she will recover is questionable. We’ll be sure to release any updates as soon as we receive them. Olivia Benson, CNN news. Back to you, John.”

The news anchor’s voice droned on in the back of Carol’s head. She looked over at you and her bottom lip trembled at the sight. Your eyes were closed and she started at the trach that was attached to your throat, following it up to the IV machine you were connected to as she counted along to your heart-rate. She registered the news anchor talking about your life and she listened as they drifted towards the topic of your love life.

“It is unknown whether or not the CEO is in a relationship or not but there are rumors of her dating the avenger known as Captain Marvel. The pair have neither confirmed nor denied said rumors but earlier today, just one hour after the crash we were able to capture the powerful Captain Marvel on camera as she arrived on the scene. Take a look.”

Carol blinked numbly as she watched herself land on the ground and rush towards the cars in the news footage. She took in the crater that she had left behind and found herself replaying those moments over and over again. She continued to stare at the screen as the story continued.

“Wow, John you can just see the obvious heartbreak on her face.”

“I agree and it’s not often we get to see our favorite heroes like this. Moments like these are so rare and the pain on her face speaks volumes. It just makes you realize that most of these guys are in fact human, just like you and me.”

Carol’s thoughts drifted off to one of her favorite memories of you.

She had just returned from a mission gone sideways and you were cuddled up on the couch watching your favorite show. She grumbled as she ripped her armor off and threw it to the ground with a clang. You turned your head towards her in surprise, “Carol? I didn’t know you were coming home today.”

“I wasn’t scheduled to return till next week but that mission was a total shitshow.”

You hummed in response and patted the spot next to you on the couch. She climbed onto it with you and tucked her head into your neck. You flinched at the feeling of tears hitting your bare skin. “Carol, babe, why are you crying?”

She buried her face further into your neck and continued to cry silently. You gently removed her from her hiding place and cupped her face with both of your hands. You wiped her tears off of her face with the pads of your thumbs and kissed her, tasting the salt from her tears. You pulled back and cooed reassurances at her and she felt so safe, cuddled up in your arms, looking into your eyes. “I fucked up and people died because of me. I’m a monster.” Tears blurred her vision as she gasped out her sentence. You felt tears forming in your own eyes at the amount of pain that filled her voice.

“Look at me. Carol Danvers you are not a monster. You do so much good, baby. You made a mistake, everyone makes mistakes.”

She blinked up at you and crashed her lips against yours, searching for something. She pulled back and asked, “Everyone makes mistakes? Even you?”

You laughed at her response, “Yeah babe. Even me.” You gave her a sweet smile and she stared in awe.

“You still love me?”

“Of course I do. I’ll always love you Carol.”

She snapped out of her flashback when she realized what the reporter was saying now. “You can see behind me as close friends and business partners of Miss. (Y/L/N), Tony Stark and Pepper Potts, arrive at the hospital where the CEO is being held.”

She cursed and made herself look more presentable before the pair could arrive. She splashed water on her face and patted her hair down before sitting in her seat once more. Tony’s snarking voice signaled his arrival, “You’d think they knew who I was, Pep. You don’t have to ask Tony Stark for his name these days.

Pepper rolled her eyes, “She was just being polite.” The clicking sound of her heels drew nearer and before Carol knew it, they were crossing the threshold into your room.

“Jesus Christ.” The pair ran to your bedside and took in your injuries. Tony snatched your medical chart and read through it, muttering out a “fuck” when he finished.

Pepper pulled Carol into a hug and she sunk into her embrace, shedding tears at the contact. “It’s gonna be ok, she’ll be ok.”

Tony furiously wiped the tears from his face. You were like a sister to him and he couldn’t lose you. The two of you had met when you were just an intern for Stark Industries and you were the sweetest, most determined, stubborn person that he had ever met. He was the one who had helped you kick-start your own company, providing monetary support whenever you needed it. Your work reflected heavily on your character; you used your genius brain to research cures to diseases like cancer and incurable STIs. You believed that everyone deserved a chance and you worked your ass off to save the people who had no one to save them. The last time the two of you talked was before you departed on this business trip, where you had told him all about how close you were to discovering something truly groundbreaking in your fight against cancer.

“I’m so so close Tony. All I need is a little more time and I can save so many people,” you had said. He reflected on that moment and looked at you now: pale and covered in burns, barely clinging to life. His tears flowed freely down his face as he wept for you, you didn’t deserve to die. You had done no wrong your entire life and the world needed you. He couldn’t help but to think how cruel the world was, trying to take someone like you away.

He stumbled over to Carol and wrapped her up in a hug and they cried together. He was the one who introduced the two of you and he was the one who pushed for you to tell Carol your feelings. Carol still remembered the day you two met and she didn’t think she could ever forget it.

You were holed up in a lab, working on your latest project. Tony was showing Carol around the compound, giving her a proper tour. Of course she had been there before but it was always for important business and she never really got to see the whole place. He dragged her down to the labs, fully intending on showing off his own when she spotted you. “Who’s that?” she asked.

Carol was star struck. You were focused on your work and your brow line had scrunched up adorably as you concentrated on measuring out the perfect amount of water into the graduated cylinder. She watched as you moved around the lab with ease, like it was a dance that you had memorized since childhood. You twirled towards the cabinets and pulled out varieties of Erlenmeyer flasks to fill with chemicals and you skillfully mixed test tubes. Every now and again you would rush over to your pad of paper and scribble down notes furiously before moving on to your next task. You were beautiful. “Oh that’s just (Y/N), doing her bio thang.”

‘(Y/N)’ her mind purred at your name. Tony smirked to himself as he put Carol’s actions together. She totally had a thing for you. You glanced up as if you felt eyes on you. You jolted in surprise when you realized that you did in fact have an audience and awkwardly waved the pair into your lab. “Hey, Tony. What’s up?”

Carol nearly swooned at the sound of your voice. You looked gorgeous and your white lab coat clung to you perfectly. “I’m just bringing my friend Carol here ‘round for a tour. Now that I’m here I suddenly have to go to the bathroom. Keep an eye on Carol for me?” He shot Carol a wink as he strolled out and she blushed furiously. ‘Stupid Stark.’

“Hey Carol, I’m (Y/N). It’s nice to meet you.” You went to shake her hand but remembered that your gloves were covered with chemicals and pulled them off.

“Hey (Y/N), I’m Carol. It’s nice to meet you too.” You giggled at her and she blinked back at you, confused.

“I already said your name.” Carol’s blush deepened and your eyes twinkled with happiness.

The three of them remained in your room the rest of the day. They shared stories about you, laughed at the funny ones and rolled their eyes at the annoying ones. For two weeks the group returned to visit you in the hospital and Carol and Tony took turns staying for an unhealthy amount of time before being dragged home to shower by Pepper. Carol would never admit it to the other two but she ended every night with you with a squeeze of your hand, a kiss to your forehead, and an “I love you.” It became a routine that continued for one month, then two months, then three.

One day Tony and Carol were playing Uno, tossing insults at each other and dramatically slamming down skip cards. They were busy bickering when an unfamiliar wheeze reached their ears. They both snapped their heads to look at you and found you pawing at the trach that was hooked up to your throat. Tony scrambled out of the room to find a nurse and Carol burst into tears.

You were alive.

A/N: Did you make it through? Feedback is appreciated and feel free to check out my other fics as well! You guys are so awesome that I’m gonna do my best to finish up part 2 of my series early instead of for next week like I was planning. Seriously, thank you so much for all the love on it, it makes me feel so special. Thanks, Viv :)

#carol danvers x reader #carol danvers imagine #captain marvel x reader #my fic

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