#(which he could very much have been dead for as you do see other soldiers corpses caught up in the trees)

[badolmen]

I wish we got more moments of the Walkers being Family like. The opening of “Brave New World” where Hesh says he let Logan sleep a bit longer because he figured he could use the rest set the bar too high for the rest of the campaign. You don’t really get anything like that line again - there’s the “Sin City” and “The Ghost Killer” cutscenes as well but those are both high tension, ‘holy shit don’t hurt my brother/I am dying son but I’m proud of you’ lines. And honestly Hesh’s “All or Nothing” Rorke File where he talks about his misplaced guilt after losing Elias…it’s almost a bit weird that he doesn’t reference how Logan is handling it at all (especially considering he was the one manhandled into shooting their father).

I guess the first unlockable Rorke File where Elias talks about taking the boys to the beach counts, and Hesh’s “Logan’s got my back, and I got his. He’s my brother.” but it just feels a bit stilted compared to the natural tenderness of the “Brave New World” opening.

[scoonsalicious]

Unconscious

Pairing: Bucky x Avenger!Fem!Reader

Summary: You wake up to Bucky having a nightmare, and there's only one thing that will help him go back to sleep.

Warnings: Language, adult themes, violence, mentions of Bucky's trauma, brief mention of sexy stuff.

Word Count: 2.5k

A/N: Another stupid cute drabble based on this idea I had with Bucky resting his head on Pocket's stomach, her playing with his hair, and him asking her to sing a very specific song to put him to sleep. Enjoy!

I do promise that I'm working on other stuff; it's not just these two. Though, in a perfect world... ;)

You awoke from a dead sleep with a backhand to the face. Eyes watering in pain, you struggled to make sense of your surroundings. Your brain knew you should be assessing the area for the threat so you could neutralize it, but your body just wanted to curl back in on itself, pull the covers over your head, and hope the assault would just stop so you could go back to sleep. It was currently a toss up as to which part of you would win. 

A grunt and a knee to your stomach made the decision for you, and you were jerked into full alertness. Next to you, Bucky was writhing and mumbling, a fine sheen of sweat on his thrashing brow. 

You let out a defeated sigh. It had been ages since Bucky had had one of his nightmares, and you had foolishly hoped that he had finally escaped the torment, especially now that you had moved in together. 

“Baby,” you said, gently shaking him. You knew from experience that it was best to wake him slowly, to give his conscious brain time to surface and adjust, to not frighten him. “Buck, wake up.” 

You leaned over him, placing a hand on each of his shoulders. The second you touched the vibranium, his eyes flew open and locked with yours. But they were not the warm, loving eyes you knew so well– they were cold, lifeless balls of ice that looked right through you. You’d only encountered the Winter Soldier the one time, and when you had, he’d looked at you the exact same way. 

In an instant, Bucky had you on your back, his large frame leaning over you as he panted for breath. Under normal circumstances, you loved it when Bucky put you in this position, but this was not a normal circumstance, and this was not your Bucky.

“Buck,” you said, trying to calm your racing heart. “Baby, it’s me. It’s Pocket.” You reached a hand up to touch his face, but that was the wrong move. Bucky snarled and pinned your hand down with his flesh hand, his vibranium one grasping your throat and beginning to squeeze.

“Fuck,” you gasped as you began to struggle against him. You knew it was futile; he was so much stronger than you were. You needed him to wake the fuck up. Using what remained of your dwindling strength, you drew your free hand back as far as you could and socked Bucky across his beautiful, stupid jaw, snapping his head to the side.

The second he turned back to look at you, you could see the change in his eyes, and you knew your Bucky was in control once again. His eyes were wide as he took in the sight before him, an expression of absolute horror on his face when he saw his hand wrapped around your throat. 

“Pocket? Shit.” He pulled away from you like your skin burned him and jumped from the bed, putting as much distance between the two of you as possible while you reached up to gently massage your throat. 

“Doll, I… I…” he stuttered, struggling to speak as his breath came in increasingly ragged gasps. “Fuck, baby. I’m so sorry. I… I could have killed you!”

“Hey–” you attempted to say, your voice coming out in a garbled croak as you stood up. You coughed, trying to clear it before speaking again. “Hey. I’m okay. You were having a nightmare, but I’m okay.” You took a step closer, but he backed away from you, as though terrified he was going to put hands on you again. Eventually, you had him backed into a corner of the bedroom, and you took his hand and placed it over your heart.

“Feel that?” you asked him as his palm pressed against the fabric of his t-shirt that you wore. “I’m okay.” Gently, you reached out and cupped his cheek in your hand. “You didn’t mean to hurt me, and I’m okay.”

“You’re bleeding, Pocket,” he said softly, bringing his flesh hand up to your face. His thumb ran across your bottom lip and came away red with your blood. He must have split your lip when he’d backhanded you. 

“It’s just a little cut,” you assured him, taking his thumb into your mouth and wiping away the metallic taste with a sweep of your tongue. “I’m okay. I want to hear you say it.”

Bucky lowered his head, ashamed to even look at you. “I… I can’t,” he mumbled. “You’re not okay!” His head shot back up, a new rage in his eyes, though you knew he was only angry at himself. “Pocket, I had my hand around your throat and I was squeezing! If you hadn’t woken me up when you did… I don’t even want to fucking think about what could have happened!” 

His eyes were glassy with unshed tears, and your heart broke in that moment for him. You opened your arms, beckoning for him to come to you. “Come here, love,” you gently demanded of him, but you saw the struggle within him as he fought with himself against letting you provide him with any kind of comfort.

“Bucky,” you tried again, “please.” In an instant, he was in your arms, head pressed against your chest as you held him and he sobbed, garbled apologies falling from his lips. “It’s not your fault,” you murmured into his hair. “You didn’t mean it. I don’t blame you.”

“They…” he managed to get out between ragged breaths, “they were hurting me.” They could only mean Hydra, and you sucked in a breath. In all your time together, Bucky had told you little to nothing about the nightmares that plagued him, afraid they might make you think differently, less, of him. It had been a source of contention in your relationship last year, when he’d opened up to her about them instead, and even after all this time, it had still been something he’d chosen to keep to himself. 

“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to, baby,” you assured him as you ran your fingers through his hair. “I don’t want you to feel forced if you aren’t ready.”

He pulled his head away from you and stood up straight, looking you in the eye. “No,” he said as he ran a hand to wipe the tears from his face. “I want to tell you. I want you to know… all the parts of me. Even the parts I don’t like. The parts I hate. I trust you, Pocket. More than I’ve ever trusted anyone, ever.”

You knew it wasn’t the appropriate time, but his words made your heart swell and you felt a few tears break free and slide down your cheeks. Grasping his face in both hands, you pulled him toward you and gave him a gentle, chaste kiss. “I want to know all of you, Buck,” you told him. “And I’m honored that you trust me with this.”

He closed his eyes and rested his forehead against yours. “Lord knows you deserve it, doll,” he said. “You’ve put up with enough of my shit, and you’re still here.”

“And I’m not going anywhere,” you assured him. “No matter what dreams you have. You’re stuck with me.”

Bucky let out a weak chuckle, and you could feel some of the tension leave his body. “Could we…” He jerked his head toward the bed, and you instinctively knew what he meant.

“Yeah, of course,” you said, taking his hand. You laid down, and Bucky curled up next to you, his head resting comfortably on the soft flesh of your stomach, his arm draped low over your hips. His was face turned away from you, and you knew it would make it easier for him to talk if he wasn’t looking directly at you.

“Whenever you’re ready,” you said, running your fingers through his hair, alternating between tugging softly on the locks and gently scratching your nails across his scalp. 

Bucky let out an involuntary groan of contentment. “Don’t stop that, okay?” he asked. “It… it reminds me that I’m still here, with you. That I’m safe.”

You brought your other hand up to play with the hair on the nape of his neck by way of response, an additional source of touch to ground him.

And Bucky began to talk. He told you of his dream, which was just a memory, really, of the torture he’d endured. You’d read the files. You knew what Hydra had done to him, the experiments, the ways they’d broken him down so they could rebuild him in their image; you knew it all already. But nothing– nothing– could have prepared you for hearing about it directly from Bucky’s own lips, from his perspective. The pain, the terror, the sheer loss of any and all hope. It gutted you. 

You stayed quiet, letting your tears fall silently down your face, knowing that if he detected even the slightest bit of distress coming from you, he would stop his story so he could comfort you, and you couldn’t have that. Not now, when you were meant to be comforting him. So, you listened. You listened, and you played with his hair as he unveiled the horrors he’d been subjected to.

Somehow. Somehow, this man, who had been tortured, beaten, used, abused and violated, in so many ways, had managed to remain the funniest, most beautiful, caring, loyal, passionate soul you’d ever known. He was a marvel, a miracle, a once in a lifetime wonder, and you were lucky enough to get to love him.

When he finished, you exhaled a shaky breath. “I’m so sorry,” you whispered, afraid to speak too loudly, lest you give away the fact that you’d been crying this entire time. “You didn’t deserve any of it. If I could kill every single person that ever harmed you, I would.”

“I know you would, doll,” he said softly, his fingers teasing up the hem of your shirt to play along the skin of your stomach. “And I love you for it. You have no idea. But… well, there’s nothing to be done for any of it, now.”

“Nope,” you said, shaking your head vigorously. “I don’t accept that. There’s got to be something I can do to help make things better for you.”

You felt him smile into your skin. “You help just by lovin’ me, doll,” he said. “By makin’ me feel like I’m worth somethin’. It makes all the difference.”

“I just wish there was more I could do, though,” you lamented. “More ways I could help you, to keep the nightmares from even happening in the first place. To make you feel as safe as you make me feel.”

The arm around your hips tightened as Bucky held you to him. “You wanna do something for me, sweets?” he asked. “Something that’ll help? Help get me back to sleep.”

You quirked your lip. You had a general idea where the insatiable super soldier was going with this. “Of course,” you told him. “Anything you want.”

“Sing to me.”

“What?!” Well. That had not been what you had expected him to ask of you. 

“Sing to me,” he repeated. “I love when you sing to me; helps me relax.”

You sighed. You had said ‘anything,’ after all. “Alright. What song?”

“You know the one,” he said, and you could hear the smirk in his voice.

“Oh, come on, Bucky!” you said with an exasperated sigh. “All the new music you’ve learned and that’s the song you want to hear?”

“‘S my favorite,” he said. “Love when you sing it. Makes me happy.” You could hear the exhaustion in his voice, and you knew he wouldn’t be awake much longer. After the night he’d just had, this was the least you could do for him.

“Fine,” you said, and he burrowed himself against your stomach like you were his own personal pillow.

“‘S my girl,” he murmured. 

And you began:

“Oh, misty eye of the mountain below Keep careful watch of my brothers’ souls And should the sky be filled with fire and smoke Keep watching over Durin’s son”

Long ago, back when the two of you were ‘just friends,’ and you’d finally made your way through The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, Bucky had become absolutely enchanted with Ed Sheeran’s I See Fire. You didn’t understand it, but you didn’t dissuade him. You’d helped him download the track onto his phone, so he could play it whenever he liked, and you’d helped him look up the lyrics so he could sing it himself (though, bless him, he had many fine attributes, carrying a tune was not one of them). 

You’d asked him once, why he liked the song so much, and he’d just shrugged. “Dunno,” he’d said. “It’s a song about everything going to shit. The end of the world, knowing you’re about to die, but… but finding strength in it. Finding peace in it.” He’d looked at you then, that look you couldn’t discern at the time, but now recognized as love. “Not being afraid of it, because you’ve finally found the people who made dying worth it.”

“Now I see fire Inside the mountains I see fire Burning the trees I see fire Hollowing souls I see fire Blood in the breeze I see fire”

“Oh you know I saw a city burning out,” Bucky chimed in, deliciously off key, and you had to stifle a giggle so you could keep singing. 

“And I see fire,” you continued.

“Feel the heat upon my skin, yeah,” Bucky crooned as he crawled up from your stomach to lay his head next to yours.

“And I see fire.”

“And I see fire burn on and on the mountain side,” you both finished together in a peal of laughter. 

You rested a hand on his chest. “You were supposed to fall asleep,” you chastised him.

Bucky tucked a loose strand of hair back behind your ear. “What can I say, doll? Your voice got me going.” He reached down and began trailing his fingertips up your bare leg. “I might have some other ideas that will lull me back to slumber, though.” His grin was lascivious as his fingers danced under your shirt, pulling it up with them over your abdomen and breasts. 

“Oh yeah?” you asked coyly. “Whatever could you mean?”

“Come on, doll,” he teased, “wanna feel the heat upon your skin.”

You rolled your eyes. “You are NOT using Ed Sheeran lyrics in our foreplay, Barnes!” 

“Too late, sweets,” he said as he leaned down and began peppering your neck with kisses. “If this is to end in fire, then we should all burn together.” He paused to slip your shirt over your head. “Don’t you wanna burn with me, Pocket?”

“Fuck,” you groaned as his calloused hand gently massaged your breast. “I did say I’d do anything you want to help you go back to sleep, didn’t I?”

“‘S my girl,” Bucky grinned. 

And this time, when he finally rolled himself back on top of you, you were both panting for an entirely different reason.

[redhoodinternaldialectical]

Every time I learn something new about Batman: War Games I lose my mind a little bit more cause just, just fuckin, look okay so here's the thing:

Stephanie Brown tries to implement a contingency plan of Bruce's just after he fires her from being Robin and because of that gets tortured to (almost) death and no one knows she survived.

THIS STORY RUNS IN THE NEWS:

So, you know, anyone who might be paying even half a fucking ounce of attention to news about ROBINS would definitely absolutely notice this!!!

And then very very soon afterwards Jason comes back and specifically targets Black Mask to ruin the criminal empire he tortured Stephanie to get

As a way to torment Bruce about the fact that he doesn't take care of the nastiest criminals and they continue killing people

And how Jason should have been the last to die

and SOMEHOW

these two things are in no way related and Jason has nothing to do with or say about Stephanie Brown, fellow Robin, fellow martyred soldier, fellow child dead due to Bruce related villains.

HOLY DEAD SIDEKICKS BATMAN, DO YOU COMPREHEND THE MAGNITUDE OF MISSED OPPORTUNITIES HERE????

please walk with me down a timeline in which:

Lost Days Jason at first just tries to go after the Joker and can't because who he's really mad at is Bruce.

Then he sees Who Really Killed Stephanie Brown and the utter horror of another Robin dying on Bruce's watch (not just dying, but tortured to death!) is what convinces him to try to straight up kill Bruce via car bomb

Roman Sionis is no longer merely a tool against Batman, but another figure to demand vengeance be brought upon, another attempt to give Bruce a chance to right his wrongs and do what needs to be done

The confrontation with him and the Joker being all the more tragic due to how obvious Bruce's answer would have to be once Jason knows Bruce isn't going to avenge Stephanie either

Does Jason, once he escapes the rubble after UtRH is over, kill Black Mask anyways? Does he decide to avenge her himself? Or does he think that she too would demand that of Bruce, and find his death by a different hand unsatisfactory?

If he doesn't kill Black Mask, then when Steph is back, I feel confident he approaches her, tries to reach out to the other dead Robin, almost certainly makes the offer now that he can ask her. Does she take him up on it, gaining an ally and slipping into a far darker role? Does she instead refuse, either appealing to forgiveness or far more interestingly refusing both vengeance and forgiveness? How would Jason handle a refusal, which I gut instinct feel is more likely?

If he does kill Black Mask, then when Steph is back Jason drops his corpse at her feet like a loving housecat with a dead lizard and she has to grapple with her feelings about having someone really and truly avenge her!!! Like how DO you react to someone who you have been warned is wildly dangerous and mentally unstable coming up to you and saying, "I'm glad you're back, like me. I'm sorry you're back, like me. I made sure you could rest knowing he was dead, because I know what it feels like."

Like no matter how each character reacted to this happening there would be so much high stakes emotional shit to explore with both of them!! Revenge I feel like is such a pivotal thing for both characters, they mirror each other in so so many ways, they could be really interesting together if DC would just fucking let them!!!

Jason had a criminal father who he missed and wanted to avenge. Stephanie had a criminal father who she wanted vengeance on.

Jason started off as a fairly gentle soul who progressively became more violent and more hopeless as he was exposed to genuine horrors during his time as Robin. Stephanie starts off violent, angry and rash and finds her own courage and hope through her time as a crime fighter despite of the horrors she's been through.

Jason went to Africa and died there after Bruce failed to save him. Stephanie was taken to Africa via a fake death in order to save her from Bruce and the vigilante lifestyle.

I just...

There's just...

There's SO MUCH HERE I am genuinely fucking confused as to how this is not all deliberate?? And it's all just left on the cutting room floor because for no reason apparent to me they all just decided Stephanie and Jason were not gonna interact!

AAGHHHH!

[edenprime]

I despise Kai Leng and his pathetic faux foil role in ME3 so much. It would've been so much better if it had been the Virmire victim and honestly- it would've made the Cerberus storyline so much better. It would've turned "Shepard becomes an idiot every time some guy with a sword appears" into "Shepard is blindsided by seeing their friend back from the dead". It also works with the foils dynamic and more:

Both brought back by Cerberus. Shows Shepard the other side of the coin - how they could've been if Cerberus had actually messed with their head. Shepard also makes some comments about themselves that make it look, in a way, like they do have some lingering doubts at the very least about coming back. When you look at the Shepard VI and they ask if they are really like that, when they ask EDI if they are transhuman or cyborg, when they refuse to talk about the clone situation every time it's brought up on the DLC, when they keep comparing the clone to themselves... I know we have the child dreams as our show of Shepards PTSD, but this could've added another layer to it.

"And for every soldier you [the reapers] add, your enemy loses two: the one you converted, and his buddy on the other side who can't pull the trigger on a friend." -> we could see this! Javik aludes to the same, but we never see it on screen. It's just a hypothetical, the only people who become indoctrinated are villains, Cerberus, or their allies. This would've shown that, it would've been some cool foreshadowing. As it is, it's just a loose end.

Shepard spat in Cerberus eye when they left, especially if they destroyed the Collector base. Using the resuscitated and indoctrinated friend against them would've been an incredible way of spitting back at them. It would've been an amazing show of power. It could've demonstrated that Shepard wasn't the first, that Cerberus was already experimenting with life and death even before the success of the Lazarus project.

It gives more credibility to TIM's claims that he can control the reapers, and it's a nice setup to the reveal of what's actually going on in Horizon and Sanctuary.

And even then, no Kai Leng and no Virmire victim would've been better than Kai Leng. Everything stays the same but that plot-armored jackass doesn't exist. Cerberus attempts a coup with regular agents, they steal the data from thessia with regular agents, they show up as regular agents on Horizon, etc. Because Leng doesn't work at all in the story. He doesn't.

Regardless of how well it was executed, the entire Cerberus plot line is supposed to be a "coming full circle" moment from me1. We had the indoctrinated Saren leading the indoctrinated geth (synthetic) in me1. We have the indoctrinated TIM leading indoctrinated humans (organics) in me3. We end up with a "showdown" between saren/TIM in which depending on how persuasive we were during our previous talks, they (now deformed by reaper tech) shoot themselves in the head.

Where does Kai Leng fit into all of this? He doesn't! He's just... there. He's got no room in the story.

[bloop-bl00p]

Re-imagining the Extermination

TW: There’s like one image I could consider disturbing and such

Remember when back in the day before the series aired how the Exorcists were so hyped? They were this unavoidable threat looming over the heads of the characters, a reminder that if Charlie doesn't succeed in redemption, all of these characters will have to go years and years preparing themselves for a massacre and inevitably die a second time.

Then when we get to see them in the show a bit earlier than expected here how they act…

Maybe I hyped them too much.. I expected them to be fierce soldiers led by Michael or something.

The thing is, we don’t know what are the Exorcists yet, Adam said he named Vaggie (and probably the rest of the girls) but she’s still Salvadoran, which is really confusing. Hopefully, we’ll get more answers, my personal guess is that Viv is going to go with fan theories that they are humans. That can be interesting but if they are that doesn't explain why they thought themselves invincible.

I created something completely different, basing myself on multiple religious texts as always, I intend to make more posts about my rewrite of characters I drastically changed, and possibly one about Heaven. It’s gonna be long because I crammed a lot of information.

I. Why kill sinners?

Souls are powers, the more it sins, the stronger the 7 Deadly Sins get.

Hell started traditionally as a pit of fire and desolation, when The Seven Sins discovered they could get stronger through the humans, they completely reshaped Hell’s society and influenced Earth with the help of Hellborns.

Mammon is pretty much the reason why we live in a capitalistic society, as Greed is at the center of almost everything (The love for money is described as be Root of All Evil in the Bible.) So his influence on Earth was mirrored to create the Hellaverse we all know.

In Hell, Hellborns, rather than physically torture the Sinners, tempt and trap them in toxic lifestyles. Back in the day, Sinners could have access to the other Rings and indulge in a wide range of vices. Heaven noticed it and reacted immediately to prevent Lucifer’s rise in power and avoid a potential war. They came up with the Extermination and wisely decided to set this up at a very specific time.

You see, around the 16th century Lilith was expecting and she reached her 5 months of pregnancy for the first time in 6000 years. She was cursed by God after fleeing Eden, and all of her pregnancies usually end in miscarriage. Furthermore, she suffered ten times harder than any other woman.

So that's when they forced Lucifer to comply with their deals. He didn't want his wife to be in the middle of a war so he accepted. The deal essentially was that Angels could come to his kingdom once a year to kill as many people as possible, but if they dared to attack a Blue Blood he would bite back.

To diminish the amount of destruction that would be caused by the Exorcists all Sinners are confined to the Pride Ring as they are the main targets. But between us, if you’re a Hellborn and find yourself in the wrong place at the wrong time you’re dead.

Royalties are the only ones spared from the massacre, they picked a relatively weak type of angel to do the dirty work so the Exorcists aren’t even remotely strong enough to kill one of the 72 Lesser Keys, only lower ranks demons and sinners.

II. The Exorcists

The Watchers:

Over the few angels sent to observe humans' expansion, a considerably large amount of them have been exposed to Lucifer’s deviant ideologies and were inspired to follow The Traitor’s ideal and defy God’s plan. 200 of them put these doctrines into motion and their Heavenly Light got tainted by one sin, Lust.

They fell in love with the women on Earth and shapeshifted to marry those they lusted after, causing the birth of wicked creatures between Celestial beings and humankind, the Nephilim. Their second sin was to reveal forbidden knowledge to be viewed as deities unleashing Chaos and wars between humans (you know when we fight to know which God is stronger/real).

God put an end to this and sent Archangels who banished these 200 Watchers to Hell. To ensure that the rest of humanity wouldn’t be corrupted by their children, God flooded the Earth-saving few humans deemed as virtuous (Noah and his family weren't the only ones.)

The Watchers that remained were ripped off a considerable amount of their powers. They got disfigured to ensure the failure of any tentative seduction, and each of them is kept on a tight leash in Heaven unable to access most parts of Heaven without authorization and supervision.

The Birth of Exorcists:

Misael grew disdain for those of their kind who rebelled against the Lord as their trust and love for the Almighty was endless.

This loyalty permitted them to become the next leader of the Watcher after the betrayal of the former chief. The Watchers, alongside them, grew all bitter toward demons and their sinful siblings, a bitterness that turned into hatred for their peers.

When Misael heard the words of a possible uprising, they proposed an annual extermination as a last resort and a way for the Watchers to pay for the sins of their siblings. Which got accepted.

Few details about Misael:

→ Miseal means normally ‘As God is’ but my thought process was that Misia in Greek means ‘hate’ and they hate demons. I just added the ‘El’ syllabus of God.

→ Their voices are surprisingly soft, a bit like Blue Diamond, it almost make you forget that they are about to slice your throat open. They have this habit of reassuring sinners saying that their suffering is coming to an end.

III. Appearance:

Exorcists are lepers and constantly in pain, they were removed from their ability to shapeshift.

Today Leprosy is curable but before modern medicine, it was considered a divine punishment since they had no treatment. There are instances in the Bible where God punishes people by turning them into a leper.

They usually wear bandages to cover their face and this isn't even near how horrible their condition can get. The entirety of their body is sick and they wear large loose clothes to cover them, below the fabric they are still covered with bandages. The halo is in reference to the Crown of Thorns of Jesus, the Romans put it on his head as a form of humiliation. The Watchers used to have normal haloes but they aren't worthy of it anymore.

They are very much recognizable in Heaven as they are the only ones wearing black, to signify their loss of purity and kinda to represent their mourning for their Fallen siblings and the souls they are taking in Hell.

During the Exterminations, they wear silver masks, and Misael wears a golden one since they are the leader. They withhold close-range weapons as a reminder that they are taking lives.

The sun in the center of their armor is a reference to God (a symbol I created for my story) it’s in reference to the Morningstar trying to overcome the Sun.

I got lazy, I haven’t drawn anything in months, so I’m probably gonna re-draw this. I forgot a few details.

IV. Details

→ Each beginning of Extermination is announced by the sounds of Seven Trumpets playing at the same time.

→ They have to make the death as quick and painless as possible.

→ A list of names and ways of identification such as pictures is given to each of the Exorcists so they know who they should approach with caution. They can die, it may not be common but it’s still a possibility. Usually, they target Overlords as their activities in Hell make people sin more and more.

→ They have no right to kill anyone belonging to the Royalty, they don't have enough powers to. Any demons they encounter on the street however must be killed regardless of their status as hellborn or sinners.

→ They can affect technology, Hell has no natural light source as it’s the only place Gods do not pay attention. During the Exterminations, the electricity is completely shut down, the only source of light is the Heaven portals which disorient the sinners because it’s blinding.

→ Exorcists are killable, but usually when faced with 12-foot soldiers you back away. While they do wear armor that completely covers them if they get hurt somehow, they’ll regenerate unless it’s an angelic steel.

The only part that isn't protected is the base of their wings so with the right weapons you could cut it. Guns are also a possibility but their wings are big enough to be used as a shield (76 feet, I did the math.)

→ It’s rare but some Exorcists lose their weapons when facing sinners who fight back.

[dean-winchester-is-a-warrior]

The Dangers of Hope Ch. 10

Series Summary: When Y/N shows up at Camp Chitaqua with her little girl in tow, her bloodshot eyes leave no doubt that she's infected. Or is she? Everything Dean has come to know for certain over the last five hellish years, is about to be challenged.

Pairings/Characters in the series: Endverse!Dean x Reader, Emma (OFC), Castiel, Sam Winchester, Lucifer, Michael, Zachariah, Risa, Johnston (OMC), Patrick (OMC), Theresa (OFC), other survivors and soldiers.

Series Explicit 18 +/Warnings: Show level violence, some gore, angst, smut, fluff all the usual for a series of mine. ❤️ Endverse!Dean (that's a warning for his anger and callousness as well as his extreme hotness. 😁) Each chapter will have their own specific warnings.

Chapter Warnings: Angst, show level violence

Word Count: 7,447

A/N: So, I've had this idea for quite a while. Basically since I watched The Last of Us. I loved Pedro in the role of Joel, but I kept thinking how incredible Jensen would have been. Which then made me think of how amazing he was as Endverse!Dean which then led me to this idea. Lol! I've stolen the premise of Ellie's storyline from TLOU, but made her a grown up, a reader insert, and a love interest for Dean.

If you've never seen TLOU, don't worry - you don't need to have seen it to understand this story. 😊

I've taken some liberties with the Endverse in my story, changed a few things from canon, but kept lots of things too.

I sincerely hope you enjoy the story. It will be ten chapters and I will do my very best to post one chapter every weekend. ❤️

A/N 2: Sorry again that this chapter got postponed a day. But here is the conclusion of the series. (Except for the epilogue coming next Saturday - or maybe a little earlier. 😉) I've absolutely loved writing this series. Loved living in the Endverse for a while, so thank you so much to everyone who came along with me. And an extra, super-duper thank you to everyone who commented and reblogged their thoughts about the story as we went along. Kind words fuel authors. ❤️ And oh yeah, this chapter's a bit long. Sorry! 😊

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The dividers below were created by @saradika

Y/N didn’t want to look away, she wanted to keep her eyes on Dean. But the white light was absolutely blinding and she eventually had no choice but to turn away from it. The rush of white noise was almost deafening before becoming suddenly silent. 

There was only darkness behind her eyelids now so Y/N opened her eyes and stood up straight, looking at Dean where he still stood, halfway between her and Zachariah. His back was to her and she took a step towards him.

“Dean?” She questioned quietly.

He turned slightly so he could see her over his shoulder. He peered at her for a moment, almost scientifically, before he gave his head a brief shake.

“No.”

Y/N would never be able to explain it, but somehow it was Dean’s face, Dean's voice, and yet it wasn’t him. Something was missing from his sparkling, jewel green eyes.

This was Michael. Dean was gone.

Without a moment’s pause, the archangel strode towards the other angels and in the span of a breath they were all gone, leaving behind only the sound of fluttering wings. 

Y/N stood stock still, staring at the empty, open field where Dean had stood less than a minute before. Around her chaos began to spread. The people who’d been putting out the fire were rushing towards them now, trying to find out what was going on. Screams echoed as people saw Johnston lying dead on the ground.

Everyone was asking her questions, but she had no answers, she had no words. She just stood, as people rushed around her, feeling as though she’d wake up at any moment. She’d wake up and Dean’s arms would be around her and when he woke she’d tell him about the horrible dream and how scary it had been and he’d hold her gently and tell her it was all just a nightmare.

“...I have my arms wrapped tightly around you and we’re both safe…Close your eyes and stay there, in that moment.”

Dean’s soft words whispered their way into her mind and she shivered. This couldn’t be happening.

Without warning her knees buckled and she fell to the muddy, wet ground, her muscles simply going limp. She covered her face as more tears began to fall. She felt the weight of all her tears gathering in her chest, threatening to crush her, when suddenly she heard Risa calling her name.

When she looked up the soldier was standing over her, still holding Emma in her arms. 

“Y/N, you can’t. You just can’t right now. Emma needs you, and I’ve got to… “ She waved an arm towards the people who were panicking all around them.

Y/N felt her mind rebelling, all she wanted was to sit there in the mud and let the cool night air numb her to the all-consuming ache spreading throughout her body. 

But she looked up into Emma’s little, terrified face, and forced herself to really hear the horror and confusion all around her; she knew she couldn’t just fall apart. 

She nodded at Risa and pushed herself to her feet. She took Emma from her and the other woman gave her a nod and moved into action, working with Cas and her fellow soldiers to start organizing the chaos, trying to get campers back to their tents. They also started debating how best to deal with the burnt out cabin and Johnston’s lifeless body

For her part, Y/N simply turned away from the cacophony and walked slowly back to the red tent. Emma was sobbing on her shoulder and Y/N gathered every ounce of her exhausted strength to try and console her little girl.

When they reached the tent Y/N set Emma down on her cot and wrapped a warm blanket around her while she went to light the stove and warm up the tent. After standing out in the cool night air for so long with no jackets, getting them warm was the first order of business.

Before long the little stove was chugging out ample heat, and she went back over to Emma and snuggled her daughter into her lap. After a while the little girl’s tears subsided into deep, shuddering breaths. Her voice was tiny and quiet when she spoke.

“Dean is gone.”

Y/N felt the whispered words pierce her heart. “Yeah, baby.”

“Will he come back?”

“Yes.” Y/N said it without thinking, her soul making the decision. But she didn’t want to lie to her child either, so she amended her comment. “I’m sure he’s going to try really hard to come back.”

Emma seemed to accept that and was quiet for a little while. Then she spoke again, her soft words tinged with fear. 

“Did the bad man kill Eric?”

Y/N squeezed her tighter and nodded against the top of her head. “Yes, baby, because he’s a very bad man.”

“Will he come back to kill us?”

Y/N felt her stomach plummet with fear and heartbreak that her daughter’s mind was so clouded with terror.

Y/N shook her head. “No, baby. He won’t come back now.” She hoped she wasn’t lying.

“Because Dean saved us?”

Y/N felt as though her heart was being crushed. “Yeah, sweet pea, because Dean saved us.”

***

The next few days passed in a haze for Y/N. She was trying desperately to keep it together for Emma’s sake. Her daughter was having nightmares every night and the last thing she needed was her mother crumbling on her. But Y/N was barely sleeping, no more than a couple of hours a night. Every ounce of her being felt exhausted - worn out beyond measure. 

There were no classes to teach, thank goodness; the camp was still disorganized and a bit scattered. A dozen or so campers had left, afraid of more angel retaliation. The campers left behind were trying to salvage what they could from the big cabin, and deal with the rest of the burnt out building. 

Three days after Dean had gone, Cas came to their tent in the evening, carrying extra wood and asking Y/N if she needed anything.

“No, Cas, we’re good. You don’t have to worry about us.” She said with a forced smile.

“I told Dean I would take care of you.” He said with conviction. “It’s still cold at night, hence the wood. What else do you need?”

Y/N shook her head. “Nothing, Cas. Really.”

He lifted his chin towards Emma who was sleeping on her cot. “How is she?”

Y/N gave a small shrug. “She's trying to cope, like all of us.” 

He nodded and then headed out. As he lifted the tent flap, Y/N called him back. When he turned his bright blue gaze on her she hesitated before asking the question that wouldn't leave her mind.

“Can we get him back? Somehow?”

Cas stared at her intensely for a moment before his eyes softened slightly; his deep voice was gentle as he spoke. 

“We can hope.”

Y/N closed her eyes. “Yes. Hope.”

When she opened her eyes again, the angel was gone.

***

A week after Dean left they still hadn't figured out any way to get him back, or even how to find him. Cas had begun to hear angel radio again, but the angels were being very quiet. Just the odd remark here and there that made Cas believe that they were still in Kansas, but he couldn't be sure.

The camp had gone back to functioning - mostly. But people kept saying things like, “We’ll run it by the Boss and see what he says.” before realizing that was impossible. The soldiers were trying to run things smoothly between them, and Brandy was helping to keep things as organized as possible. 

But Dean was very missed.

A full eight days after losing him, Y/N sat up at the table one night, desperately trying to think up a way to get Dean back to her. Her eyes were scratchy and red-rimmed as she let her head fall into her hands.

She may have fallen asleep right there if there hadn't been a sudden burst of white light. It lit up the tent, blinding her. As it faded slightly, she could just make out a man's shape. Her heart leapt for a moment before realizing this man was much too small to be Dean. 

A deep booming voice spoke and shook the ground around them. 

“Hail, thou that art highly favored, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. Fear not, Y/N: for thou hast - Ow! Son of a bitch!” 

The angel cut off his proclamation and held up his hands as Y/N smacked him repeatedly with a broom. The last of his angelic light went out like a candle and he grabbed the broom away from Y/N and snapped it with incredible ease. 

“What the hell, lady?” He rubbed the side of his head where she'd walloped him. “You know that worked great with Mary. SHE knew how to be ‘sore afraid’.”

Y/N went to Emma's cot where her daughter was crying silently, obviously horrified to see another angel, inside their tent this time. 

“Get out!” Y/N said with as much strength as she could muster.

“You really don't want that, trust me.” The angel said, his hazel eyes twinkling, a smirk on his thin lips.

“Who are you; what do you want?”

He gave a little bow. “Name’s Gabriel, but I prefer Loki.”

The tent flap opened and suddenly Cas was there with Risa and Patrick flanking him. But Cas pulled up short when he saw the other angel.

“Gabriel?”

“Hey, bro!” Gabriel said cheerfully.

Cas looked to the two soldiers on either side of him. “I'm fine here. You should patrol the area. Look for anything amiss or out of place. But don't approach it without me.”

Both soldiers gave a curt nod and left.

Cas came fully into the tent and his face was very wary. “Gabriel, what are you doing here? Where have you been for the last thousand Millenia or so? Most of us thought you were dead.”

“Nope.” Gabriel's voice was still nonchalant and cheery. “Just in a sort of witness relocation. Got sick to death of Daddy's beefs and Lucifer and Michael's petty squabbling. So, I took a little time off. Sailed around, saw the world, got myself a brand new face.” 

He framed his face with his two hands. “Cute, right?”

Cas just frowned at him and Gabriel rolled his eyes. “You have never known how to have fun Castiel.”

Cas raised an eyebrow. “Well, these humans are under my protection, so I'll save the fun until after you tell me what you're doing here.”

Gabriel lost his smirk and he crossed his arms. “Isn't it obvious? I'm here to save the day, as always.”

Cas scoffed. “Not likely. You tend to sew chaos.”

Gabriel shrugged. “What can I say, it's a talent.” He moved back to lean against the table. 

“But seriously, I'm so over this apocalypse. As soon as Lucy dumped his little virus on this world, I was outta here. No fun to be had with a bunch of humans barely clinging to life. So, I traveled near and far, all over the galaxy and a little bit further. It's been sort of fun. But let me tell you, there are only so many green-skinned, six-legged chicks you can bang before you start pining for home, you know?”

He gave his head a shake. “Don't know how Captain Kirk did it.”

“Get to the point, brother.” Cas said, annoyance lacing his tone.

“I'm here to help.”

“So you said. How?” Cas asked harshly.

Gabriel shrugged again. “I have a way to shove Lucifer and Michael into the cage.”

From his pocket he pulled out an oddly shaped object. It was an X made up of four circles, four rings, by the looks of it.

He held it up. “Borrowed these from the horsemen. Well,” he shrugged, “to be fair, only Death was willing to part with his, the others didn't wanna give ‘em up easily. But, you know, archangel trumps most. I was glad Death was so cooperative though, he woulda been a tough one to beat.”

Cas stepped up to him and held out his hand. Gabriel dropped the cross into it and Cas peered at it closely.

“The horsemen’s rings. What will this do?”

Gabriel's voice was quiet. “Keys to the cage, brother.”

Cas’ eyes widened. “Lucifer’s cage?”

Gabriel nodded. “And Michael’s too.” He paused for a beat. “And mine.”

Cas frowned. “Yours? Why would you throw yourself into the cage?”

Gabriel shrugged, but Y/N could see a flicker of some deep emotion pass over his mobile features. 

“Someone’s gotta pull those two down there. And I’d say after millions of years, and untold damage to the world, me and my brothers could use some time alone and family therapy.”

He allowed a smile to turn up the corner of his mouth.”From what I understand old Raffy’s taken up as a god on some distant planet. He always did like to be worshiped.” He shrugged again, his smirk firmly back in place. “So, it’s just the three of us.”

Cas shook his head. “Why are you doing all of this, Gabriel?”

The archangel took back the key to the cage and slipped it into his pocket. “Told ya, got sick of banging green chicks on Mars.”

“No. That's…there are no green women on Mars.” Cas said, looking at Y/N as though to reassure her. 

Y/N stood up and walked the few steps to where Gabriel stood, looking him straight in the eye. “Can you bring Dean back?”

Gabriel contemplated her for a moment and then shook his head. “No.” 

Y/N felt her stomach lurch, and she opened her mouth to shout at him, but Gabriel held up a hand, patting his pocket with the other. “With this I can open the cage, and I can pull my brothers down with me to be locked away. But if you want Dean back, you’ve gotta get him to toss Michael first. Otherwise, his body and soul come down too.”

Y/N began to panic. “What are you talking about? You are not dragging Dean down to hell, no matter what!” She shouted, her fists balled. “I will not let you.”

Gabriel’s smile looked genuine for the first time as he looked at Y/N fuming in front of him before turning to Cas. “She’s feisty! Dean knows how to pick ‘em!”

He looked back at Y/N and held both his hands up in surrender. “Look, I can’t extract Michael from Dean’s body, it doesn’t work that way; Dean has to be the one to throw him out. And there’s nothing I could say to give him that kind of strength.” He tilted his head slightly. “But you might be able to. You’re our best shot.”

He looked to Cas. “If she can get Dean to toss Michael, I’ll grab on to him. I’ll be able to hold him for a little while. Hopefully long enough to get to Lucifer and try to get Sam Winchester to eject him.” 

He shook his head. “That one’s gonna be a lot harder, and I’m not gonna lie, I don’t hold out very much hope. I also don’t know what kind of shape Sam’s gonna be in even if he can get him out. He’s held Lucifer for five years now, he might be too far gone.”

Cas nodded. “If we can get Dean, he can get Sam. Or, he’ll be the best chance anyway. And if Sam manages to eject Lucifer, Dean won’t care what condition he’s in, he’ll fix him.”

Gabriel gave a nod. “We’ll see, I suppose. But we gotta start with Dean so…” He looked at Y/N. “What do you say, beautiful?”

Y/N contemplated him for a moment before looking at Cas. “Do you trust him?”

Cas was quiet for a long time, looking Gabriel over, the debate clear in his expression. 

The archangel rolled his eyes. “Thanks, bro.”

Finally Cas nodded. “Yes, I believe we can trust him.”

Y/N took a deep breath, hope and fear spreading throughout her body in equal measure. “Okay, then let’s go save the Winchesters.”

***

Their traveling party was prepared and ready to go in very little time, most of which was spent explaining to Emma why she couldn’t come. 

Y/N knew how terrified her little girl must be, thinking she was losing her mother now too. Eventually though, her tears subsided and her little face became resolved to what was happening. It broke Y/N’s heart to see that resolve, to know that her daughter’s soft heart was getting tougher. 

Y/N swore to herself that she was going to bring Dean home, and they would live happily ever after, spoiling Emma and letting her go soft once again.

Before they left, Y/N gave Monique a hug and thanked her again. She’d pulled her friend aside earlier and spoken quietly with her, asking her to take care of Emma if anything should happen to her. Tears had welled up in Monique’s beautiful amber eyes but she’d clasped Y/N’s hands tightly. 

“I will always look after Emma as my very own.” She shook her head and dashed away her tears. “But you’ll be back in no time, I’m sure. So, I’ll see you soon.”

The soldiers, Brandy and Monique had all checked privately with Y/N about whether or not she was really okay to set off with two angels. Y/N reassured them that she trusted Cas completely and he trusted Gabriel. So she did too. Besides, she’d reasoned, if this was their only possibility to save Dean, she had to take it. 

Gabriel said he knew just where Michael was staying, so she held Cas’ hand as the archangel tapped his brother’s shoulder and in a blink they were suddenly standing just outside a rundown Victorian house. 

The springtime sun was just beginning to lighten the sky in the East as they popped into existence on the sidewalk outside the house.

She hadn’t even had time to wave goodbye.

The three of them walked slowly up the front stairs and through the door. As they entered the house they heard a voice call from the back. 

“The polite thing to do would have been to call first, you know.”

Y/N felt her heart leap. She recognized Dean’s voice, but it sounded different. The consonants were more clipped, the words more even in tone, almost bland, bored. His voice had none of Dean’s rough, expressive way of speaking.

The dissonance continued as they walked into the sitting room and found Dean. He held himself ramrod straight, and when he turned towards them, his face held none of Dean’s stony anger, or joyful exuberance. It too was bland, cold, his normally shining, emerald eyes looked almost empty.

Looking at this version of Dean was very difficult. Somehow being in front of this non-Dean made Y/N miss him even more. 

But he never spared her a glance. All his attention was on his brothers. “Castiel, it’s been a long time. And Gabriel,” he looked him up and down, “it’s been even longer. Millions of years, in fact. I almost didn’t recognize you in this vessel.”

“Yeah, got this one custom made by a good friend of mine.” He ran a hand across his chest. “I’ve grown quite fond of my earthly form, so I’m happy I don’t have to share it with a human, and I don’t ever have to turn into a bright white mist, cause there's no human inside to reject me. This beautiful face is mine all mine.”

He smiled wide, but Michael just frowned. “That’s sacrilege, brother. Our angelic form is greater than any human disguise.”

Gabriel shrugged. “But they sure come in handy don’t they. If you wanna get anything done on earth, they really are a necessity.” He raised a hand towards him. “Hence all your trouble to get this one.” 

Gabriel's tone became grandiose and overwrought. “For here is your sword, your one true vessel. Destined for eons to be the one human whose bones you were the most eager to jump.”

Michael stared at him soundlessly for a moment and then spoke in the same even, emotionless tone. “Why are you here, Gabriel? And why have you brought this human?” He pointed at Y/N, but still didn’t look at her.

Gabriel paused a beat before answering. “Well, we have a bone to pick with you.” 

That was the signal to spur Cas into action. A white light shot out from Gabriel’s hands, connecting him to Michael. As the two archangels fought, Michael trying desperately to break the hold Gabriel had on him, Cas ran in front of him, drawing a straight line from wall to wall in holy oil and then dropping a lit match, trapping Michael behind the line of flame. 

Gabriel let his brother go, grunting with effort as the connection broke. Michael’s borrowed face was no longer emotionless, it was furious and bubbling with hate. 

“How dare you!” He shouted at Gabriel. “How dare you try to interfere with my destiny. This fight has been postponed for five long years while Lucifer ran amok. It is my duty to fight him and end him!”

Gabriel was scowling at his big brother a moment before a wide grin spread across his face. “You said doody.”

Everyone paused to look at him askance, and he shrugged. “What? That’s funny! Nobody has a sense of humor these days.” 

He shook his finger at Michael. “You know who would have laughed at that, the man you’re possessing. He would have thought it was hilarious. Or at least, he would have before the apocalypse struck. Been a bit down in the mouth since Lucifer possessed his brother and ended the world.”

Michael was still livid and he spoke through gritted teeth. “We tried to tell Dean that I needed my sword, that I needed my vessel to fight Lucifer, but he wouldn’t listen. He brought this on humanity.”

“Bullshit!” Gabriel called out and all traces of his humor were gone. “You could have used another vessel, you could have made due as Lucifer did before Sam. But no, you wanted THIS vessel.” He pointed at Dean. “And you were pissed you couldn’t have him, so you threw a hissy fit and left the world to burn.”

Silence reigned for a moment before Gabriel spoke again, quiet now. “And I left with you. I cashed in my chips and walked away from the table. But I kept an eye on humanity while I was galivanting around the universe. Kind of an old habit, and what I saw shocked me. The world was over, civilization destroyed, and yet - on they all trudged. These people. These humans. They kept on fighting. These flawed broken toys we all mocked and looked down on, they fought, they loved, they helped each other, they won and lost, but no matter what, they just kept going.”

Michael was motionless as Gabriel continued, pointing towards Y/N. “And just as there was a possibility of hope, just as they found a way they might be able to win, might be able to restart the world, here you come again, army in tow, ready to level the planet all over. And for what? So you can fight some ancient grudge match with our brother?” He shook his head. “What is the bloody point?”

Dean’s jaw ticked with Michael’s annoyance. “It’s my destiny. It’s what I was created to do.”

Gabriel looked sad as he glanced over at Y/N. “Well, not if she can help it.”

Y/N knew this was her time, it was on her now to help Dean find strength enough to eject the possessing angel. Michael’s cold eyes looked at her through Dean’s sparkling jade and she closed her own for a moment, imagining the warmth in Dean’s expression before she opened her eyes and smiled at him.

“Dean, can you hear me? I need you to listen, I need you to trust me. Throw him out. I’ll be safe, Emma and I will both be safe now. But I need you to come back home.”

“Dean isn’t available at the moment.” Michael said darkly. But she could see him squinting, almost as though he was in pain and Y/N chose to believe that Dean was fighting him from the inside. 

She kept talking as though Michael hadn't spoken.

“I have so many plans for us. Once we’ve made the cure possible, and the world is able to begin again, I really want us to go back home, back to Chitaqua. I wanna build a cabin there. Nothing fancy, you know, just something a bit bigger than the tent, but still cozy - with a bedroom door that locks.” She finished with a wide grin.

She stepped a little closer to him, careful to avoid the flame. “And, of course, I think we’re gonna have to get Emma that dog she asked for. And we can celebrate birthdays and holidays with all of our friends and family. We’ll keep them all close, and safe.”

Michael was stepping back from her, looking away and shaking his head as though he was dizzy. 

“Dean, I love you so much. All I want is to spend my life with you. Please kick him out. I know how strong you are, I know you can do it.”

“I’ll kill her!” Michael screamed out suddenly, as though his inner thoughts weren’t loud enough for Dean to hear. “You understand me? If you want her to live, want to keep her safe, stop fighting me. Now!”

Michael was breathing hard, but a joyless smile was spreading across Dean's beautiful face; the archangel was obviously pleased. 

“That's better.” He whispered, still slightly out of breath.

They were losing Dean, she could see it. Michael was terrorizing him again with threats against her. So, acting purely on instinct, Y/N made one last attempt, one huge Hail Mary. 

She took a deep breath and leapt over the fire, throwing her arms around Dean’s neck. She pulled his mouth down to hers and kissed him with every ounce of love and passion she could muster. 

She put everything into the kiss, every moment she’d loved him, and every promise she was making him were all there, tied up with all the hope in her heart. 

She felt a tingling against her lips that started to burn as she pulled away. She jumped back and fell to the ground as Dean let out a roar, and his mouth opened wide. The blinding white light that had consumed him was being forced back out of him, in an incredible light show that ended abruptly as Gabriel reached out and pulled the light into himself.

The darkness was complete for a moment before Y/N’s eyes could adjust. As the world came into focus, she could see Gabriel on the other side of the flame, breathing hard and fast. Cas walked to his side and poured some of his own white light into Gabriel, which seemed to stabilize him slightly. 

But his voice was still wobbly when he spoke. “We gotta go. I don’t know how long I can hold him in here with me.”

Y/N nodded and crawled over to where Dean had fallen to the floor. She turned his face towards her just as his eyes fluttered open. 

“Y/N?” He whispered and she nodded at him with tears flowing.

“Yeah, I’m here, I’m safe. We’re all safe.”

Dean shook his head. “But how…” He sat up slowly and looked towards where Cas and Gabriel stood. He squinted and shook his head in confusion. “The Trickster’s an angel?”

Cas’ eyes widened as he looked at Gabriel. “You were the Trickster the boys went up against? Twice?” 

Dean’s voice was slightly annoyed. “Yeah, he killed me like a million times.”

Y/N felt her stomach lurch, but Gabriel just waved it away as nothing. “I was trying to teach you boys something; wasn’t my finest moment maybe, but you gotta admit, the tacos were funny.”

“Not to me, asshole.” Dean grumbled. Y/N was very confused and about to ask for clarification when Gabriel bent double.

“Ugh!” He groaned. “Okay, could you postpone my spanking for that very hilarious prank until after I’ve saved you all?”

Y/N nodded and helped Dean to his feet. Gabriel looked at him. “Okay, pal, this one’s on you. We’re gonna go get Lucifer so I can toss all of us into the cage. We can try to get Sam to chuck him first. We’ll need you for that. But if you can’t get him, and it seems like Lucifer might get away, I’ll grab Sam as is and jump into the cage.”

Dean stormed up to him. “You are not taking my brother to hell, you understand me?” 

Gabriel just shrugged. “Then I guess you better reach him before it’s too late.”

He groaned again as he fought his brother internally, closing his eyes and putting a hand to his head. Without saying any more, they all got into position so Gabriel could zap them to Lucifer’s location. 

Just before he could manage it however, there was a bellow of rage from behind them, making them all turn. From the doorway, Zachariah charged forward, angel blade bared and aimed for Dean’s jugular. 

Dean shoved Y/N out of the way as the angel charged them like a bull. But when he was just a couple feet from Dean, Cas stuck his foot out, sending the furious angel spilling to the ground in a comical looking pratfall. 

He fell onto the still burning holy fire and screamed in pain, rolling around, trying to escape the flames. Before he could pull himself free, however, Dean grabbed onto the silver blade the angel had dropped. He raised it high, and then plunged it deep into his throat, forever freezing the angel's sadistic face in agony. 

More blinding white lights burst out of the dying angel, forcing Y/N to once again cover her head and shield her eyes. When she reopened them, she could see the angel’s blackened wings, as his empty vessel was slowly consumed in the flame. 

Dean stood up and then helped Y/N to her feet. After giving her a once over to determine she was alright, he turned to Cas. 

“Nice job, buddy. Very Keystone Cops.”

Cas frowned. “I don’t know an officer by that name.”

Dean just smiled and then slipped the blade into his pocket as he looked down at the dead angel. 

“Good riddance.” He said under his breath before a panting Gabriel yanked him back into position and zapped them all away.

Suddenly, in another heartbeat, they were all standing in a bombed out street; the buildings around them were crumbling and burnt. It was all that was left after some of the original fighting between the army and the Croats five years before. The bombings hadn’t worked. 

As they stood looking around, a man caught their eye. He was strolling out of one of the buildings less than twenty feet away; he was very tall and had long brown hair and an easy stride. 

Y/N could hear Dean gasp slightly beside her and she took his hand. The man, who could only be Lucifer, slowed down as he approached them. His smile was soft and patronizing.

“Well, well. This is a surprise. What a merry little band of rebels you’ve all turned into.” 

He nodded at Gabriel. “Our brothers and sisters all thought you must have been killed somewhere, but I knew better.” He studied him for a minute before smirking. “And I see he got hold of you, Mikey!” He said loudly. He chuckled. “He always was a cuck.”

He frowned slightly as he spared barely a glance for the rest of them. “But Gabe, buddy if you’re here to try and put me back in that cage?” He raised his hand and closed it into a fist and Gabriel began coughing as though he was choking. “Well, that simply isn’t going to happen.” 

Cas ran forward to help, but Lucifer tossed him aside with a sweep of his hand. Dean pushed Y/N to crouch behind an upside down car. “Stay here.” He warned, before turning back towards his brother.

“Sammy?” He called tentatively. Lucifer looked over at him and dropped Gabriel to the ground as he let him go. He faced Dean and shook his head. 

“You.” The devil said, his voice menacing. “You have no idea how sick I am of you. Do you know how many times I’ve had to listen to Sammy bellyaching about how he was letting you down? Do you know how ANNOYING it is to execute a perfect reign of terror just to have this boy,” he banged his chest, “weeping in my head instead of truly reveling in it with me?”

He shook his head. “It’s only been quiet in here since I threatened to find you and end you. See that’s how I got Sammy’s cooperation in the first place. I promised that if he said yes I wouldn’t snap your neck like kindling.” 

He waved towards Dean dismissively. “You were sound asleep at the time, you wouldn’t remember this. But Sam finally said yes, as I always knew he would, and in return I promised that you could keep on living. So when Sam wouldn’t shut up and stop whining, a simple threat to revoke our original deal was enough to silence him.”

He smiled, and Y/N thought it was pure sin for such a sweet, dimpled smile to sit on the face of evil. Lucifer tilted his head slightly as though he was listening to something. 

“But now…hey Sammy.” He said in a silky tone. “Been quiet so long, I'd actually started to miss you.”

Dean took a step closer. “Sammy, can you hear me? I’m here. I’m here and I’m so sorry, more than I can ever say. I never should’ve walked away from you. We should have fought these assholes together. I should have known that we’re stronger together than apart.”

He swallowed. “But you’ve gotta chuck him. We’ve got a plan, little brother, we can win. Believe me.”

Lucifer rolled Sam’s bright, hazel eyes just before he slammed his fist into Dean’s face, almost knocking him to the ground. 

Gabriel shot light at his brother, but it was much weaker than what he’d thrown at Michael; so much of his strength was being used to keep Michael locked inside himself. Cas added his strength, but Lucifer quickly pushed them both away, severing their hold on him. 

Blood gushed from Dean’s lip, his jaw already swollen and purple, as he started forward again. 

“Sammy, I need you to force him out. I know how strong you are. I know you can do it. I never should have doubted it, never should have believed they could defeat us. We are Winchesters and we never-” 

He broke off as Lucifer landed two more swift blows to his face, causing a sickening crack as Dean’s nose shattered and he crashed to the ground.

Y/N gasped and jumped up, running forward even though there was nothing she could possibly do. Gabriel and Cas fought him again, forcing Lucifer to stumble back slightly. But he found his footing quickly and severed the hold as he had before, this time sending both angels sailing through the air. 

Lucifer stared at Dean, hatred spreading across Sam's handsome features. "I am done with you." He shouted. "You are not worth my time."

Looking as though it was a struggle, as though the body he was possessing was fighting back, Lucifer raised his arm, his fingers poised to snap. Y/N screamed, memories bursting in her mind of the swiftness with which Zachariah had ended Johnston’s life with a mere snap.

But before he could manage it, Lucifer once again stumbled backwards. This time, however, Cas and Gabriel had barely risen from the ground and were just walking back towards them. 

Lucifer dropped his arm and fell suddenly to his knees. “No.” He whispered, shock suffusing the word, and then he screamed. “No!” The ground shook and rumbled, knocking all of them down.

Suddenly a burst of white light erupted from Sam’s mouth, and as he had before, Gabriel reached forward with his own light to trap his brother. 

The light suffused the archangel-turned-Trickster; it was no longer being wholly contained within himself, but spilling out of him as he tried to hold on to all of their angelic forms within his one custom-made vessel. 

Jerkily he reached into his pocket and threw the key at Cas. “Now, brother!” 

Cas tossed it to the ground and began chanting. As the chant ended, a wide hole began to crack open in the street.

Gabriel pitched forward towards the hole, but his body seemed to be disobeying his commands - his brothers were fighting against him with all their strength. The light emanating from Gabriel seemed to be splitting, as though the other two archangels were separating from him.

With one last surge of strength, Gabriel leapt forward and dove headfirst into the hole in front of him. There were deafening sounds of furious screaming that were quickly swallowed up as the ground closed around them.

There was only silence for a long time, as they all struggled to get their bearings, to reconcile what had just happened. 

Y/N was the first to move, running to Dean just as he stood up, and then collapsing in his arms. Dean held her tightly, kissing the top of her head and then cupping her cheeks to kiss her mouth, hard and fast. He pulled away and smiled.

Cas stepped forward to tap his fingers to Dean's forehead, instantly clearing the blood and bruises. 

Dean nodded and smiled at him gratefully. “Thanks, Cas.”

He looked back at Y/N and his beautiful eyes and mobile, expressive face were once again his own and Y/N rejoiced.

Dean turned them both to face Sam where he still knelt on the ground. With a quick squeeze, Dean stepped away from her to reach out a hand to his little brother.

Sam hesitated only a moment before he took it and let Dean pull him to his feet. The two men stared at each other for a minute before Dean yanked Sam towards him to wrap the taller man up in a bear hug, his arms wrapping over Sam’s shoulders and clinging tightly. 

Sam’s face crumpled slightly and he crushed his brother’s ribs as he hugged him back. “I’m so sorry, Dean. I didn’t know what else to do, I didn’t…” He trailed off, but Dean was shaking his head. 

“No, Sam, no.” He pulled back to clap his hand against the side of Sam’s neck. “This isn’t on you.” Sam gave him a look and Dean shook his head. “Well, it’s certainly not all on you. We both fucked up, but we have a chance to fix things now.”

He turned back to Y/N and held his arm out towards her. She stepped forward to take his hand. Dean was beaming as he made the introductions.

“Sam, Y/N, Y/N, Sam.” Sam raised an eyebrow and Dean grinned. “Meet my wife.”

Sam’s eyes widened and Y/N gasped. “What?” She squeaked. 

Dean shrugged. “Well okay, maybe there’s still the formalities to go through, like the wedding ceremony.”

“And a proposal!” Y/N said, laughing from sheer joy, utter exhaustion and the madness of their new reality.

Dean grinned at her. “You saying you don’t wanna?”

Y/N beamed up at him. “Definitely not saying that.”

Cas interrupted. “Before you start planning the wedding, can we go home?”

Sam looked dazed and spoke softly as though trying to decide if it was all just a dream. “Where is home?”

Dean clapped him on the back. “Camp Chitaqua. You’re gonna love it, Sammy! Trust me. It’s paradise.”

“With outhouses.” Y/N said with a snort.

Sam’s smile was soft, and it suited his kind, handsome face much more than it had ever fit the devil.

“Sounds perfect. Let’s go home.”

Cas stepped forward and in a blink they were back in the field where the spring vegetables were just sprouting - where they could hear the voices of their friends and neighbors, and smell the thick scent of pine and new earth.

There was a cry of shock as the campers saw them all suddenly standing there. Shouts conveyed the message quickly throughout the camp and everyone came running to see their return. 

Y/N let out a cry of happiness as she saw Emma racing towards her, her little legs eating up the distance surprisingly fast. As she reached them, Dean scooped her up and pulled Y/N into the circle of his embrace so that the three of them hugged each other tightly. 

The rest of the day was spent celebrating and rejoicing, hours of storytelling, and off-key singing around campfires, food shared and enjoyed by everyone. 

Eventually, Dean, Y/N and Emma broke away to bring Sam to Dean’s old tent. They lit a lamp and Dean gave Sam the grand tour, pointing the way to the outhouses from there, and assuring him the cot was more comfortable than it looked. 

Sam nodded, still looking as though he couldn’t take it all in. Seeing his confusion, Y/N kissed Dean on the cheek and picked up Emma’s hand. 

“You boys have so much to catch up on. You should take some time together.”

Sam shook his head. “No, you’ve been away from each other long enough. This reunion should be yours.” He said, nodding at Y/N and Dean. Throughout the day he’d been caught up on how everything went down with Michael and Zachariah. 

But Y/N shook her head. “We’ve been apart a week, you’ve been apart for years. You need this time.”

Dean looked down at her, love shining in his gaze, before tossing his brother a smile. “Don’t bother arguing, Sammy, she always wins.”

He bent down and kissed Y/N deeply, making Emma curl her lip.

“Ew.” She said succinctly, and Y/N laughed as she pulled out of the kiss. 

She looked at Sam and then moved in for a hug. Sam hugged her back and she beamed up at him. 

“I'm so glad to know you, Sam Winchester. Welcome home.”

With that she pulled Emma out of the tent to let the brothers get to know each other again.

Hours and hours later, the camp was finally quiet. A lamp glowed here and there as people slowly settled into their tents for the night. A happy peace settled over the camp, blanketing it in coziness and calm.

Y/N had sung Emma to sleep an hour before and was now stretched out on her own cot. She was planning on waiting for Dean to come back from visiting with his brother. But almost as soon as her head hit the pillow, her absolute exhaustion hit her and she was out immediately.

She woke with a start some time later, and then sighed deeply as she felt Dean’s arms tighten around her. Across the room she could hear Emma’s soft snores and her eyes filled with tears as the reality hit her anew that they were all truly together again, safe and sound. She turned in Dean’s arms so she could face him.

“Dean.” She whispered. 

He smiled a sleepy smile and kissed her softly. “You were sleeping so soundly when I got home, I didn’t want to disturb you.” He whispered back, voice craggy with sleep.

“How is Sam?” She asked.

Dean sighed. “He’s okay. Gonna take time for him to be a hundred percent, you know. But he’s here, and he’s smiling, and he’s...Sammy.” He shrugged slightly. “So, that’s enough for now.”

Y/N nodded and wiped away a tear, finally making Dean notice them in the dark. His voice sounded slightly worried as he cupped her cheek and thumbed away the wetness. “Sweetheart, you're crying. Why?”

Y/N shook her head. “Because all my hopes and dreams have come true. We’re together, we’re safe, the camp is safe, the devil’s gone, and we actually have a real chance of remaking the world.”

Dean’s voice voice was a bit choked up too as he responded, grinning. “Yeah, but I don't plan on forgetting that promise you made me. When the world is fixed, we’re coming back here to live out our days in a big log cabin with locking doors and indoor plumbing, right?”

Y/N giggled. “I’m not sure about the indoor plumbing, but everything else is definitely in the cards, I hope.”

Dean pulled her close and tucked her head beneath his chin. “Well, we’re in the business of hope, so I think our chances are good.”

Jensen RPF and Any/All Characters: @lyarr24 @lacilou @deans-spinster-witch @globetrotter28 @suckitands33 @alwaystiredandconfused @evznackles @jackles010378 @impala67rollingthroughtown @krazykelly @candy-coated-misery0731 @envyaurora95 @spnwoman @deans-baby-momma

Dean Fics Only: @roonthelittlespoon920 @slamminmine @zepskies @safiyas-world

Any/All Fics Regardless of Character or Fandom: @kazsrm67 @slut-for-evans-stan @sexyvixen7 @nancymcl @hobby27 @waywardcheshire

Everything Incl. Fan Edits: @k-slla @leigh70 @eevvvaa @kickingitwithkirk @foxyjwls007 @notinthislife50 @roseblue373 @mishkatelwarriorgoddess @avanatural @mrsjenniferwinchester @all-alone-he-turns-to-stone @deangirl96

[the-bad-batch-baroness]

Where's Mommy?

Wolffe x Lilith Sestri (OFC)

Part 16

Summary: Wolffe's wife suddenly dies, leaving him a single father in the middle of a war.

Pairing: Wolffe x Lilith Sestri (OFC)

Characters: Wolffe, Cara (child OFC)

Tags & Warnings: heavy angst, mention of death, off-screen death, spousal death, grief, hurt/comfort, family fluff, funeral

Word Count: 1.8k

Author's Note: I would call this a bit of a breather chapter. It's not overly emotional or angsty. Just some much needed daddy-daughter time, which I think is cute. Gotta throw some cute things in the middle of the tragedy, you know? It's all about that balance. As always, please enjoy 💚

Beta: @/beating-a-dead-plot

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Wolffe glanced at Cara to ensure she was still asleep, then grabbed a change of clothes and silently left the room. The male-species communal shower wasn't far so he could return quickly in an emergency. That automatic thought process made Wolffe groan as he entered the communal shower area. He could not handle one more emergency, crisis, or mishap. He needed everything around him to be calm for at least ten minutes so he could collect himself back into the battle-hardened commander he was before everything in his life exploded.

The sigh of relief Wolffe released when the hot water cascaded down his back was sinful. The sensation was rapturous. It had been a long time since Wolffe had a liquid shower and he almost forgot how nice they were. The shower in their apartment was his favorite. It was always clean, smelled like his wife's soap, and the water pressure was fantastic. The shower he was under now felt similar, but it was missing the comforts of home. Regardless, he stood under the hot spray for as long as he could before he washed his hair and scrubbed his body clean. 

After several minutes of soothing bliss, Wolffe turned the water off and exited the steamy shower stall. He wrapped a towel around his waist, walked to the sink area, and swiped his arm across the mirror to remove the condensation. He smoothed a hand along his stubbly cheek and frowned. He needed a shave. It was a minor annoyance, so he rummaged around the room until he found a shaving kit. It only took minutes to do, and he looked a little less ragged but it was still a chore. With that finished, he toweled off, threw his new clothes on, and left.

On his way back to the room, Wolffe heard a very distressed noise coming from down the hall. He stopped walking and threw his head back, releasing an exhausted and distressed noise of his own in retaliation. He knew it was Cara, he just knew it, and in that moment a part of him couldn't wait to get back to the battlefield where he wouldn't have to hear it anymore, but the other part of him, the father part, broke in half. He'd never get used to the dichotomy of soldier and father. It was always awkward when those two halves warred with each other.

Lo and behold, when Wolffe opened the door to the room, he found exactly what he expected to find–an unhappy and teary-eyed child. Wolffe took a deep breath as he analyzed the familiar scene, then easily switched into father mode. He closed the distance between the door and the bed in a few steps and sat on the edge of the bed where Cara was sitting up and rubbing her eyes. He sat beside her for a moment and listened to her cry. He wasn't sure if anything he could say would make it better, or if he should let her cry it out until she was tired.

His parental instincts won out. "What's the matter, baby?" he asked.

"Why'd you leave?" Cara sobbed. "Where'd you go?"

Wolffe was stunned. Of all the things he was expecting her to be crying about, it for sure wasn't because he left the room for twenty minutes. He thought she would still be asleep when he returned, so he didn't think about what would happen if she woke up and he wasn't there. "I took a shower," he explained. "See?" Wolffe bowed his head down so she could touch his hair, which was still damp.

She reached out, grabbed a chunk, and pulled.

"Ow," he said deadpanned.

Cara giggled.

"Feel better now?" Wolffe asked as he ran his fingers through the section of hair she yanked.

Cara sniffled, swiped her sleeve across her nose, and nodded.

"I'm sorry I left, but you were asleep," he said. "I didn't want to wake you up."

"I don't like it when you leave," she said.

Wolffe sighed. "I don't like it when I leave either, but daddies have to shower."

"Why?" she asked.

"For the same reason you take a bath," he chuckled. "I get dirty too, you know."

"Oh," she said.

"Alright, it's time for bed now," Wolffe said. He got up from the bedside, tucked her back under the covers, and kissed her forehead. "Goodnight, baby."

"Night, Daddy," she said, then she snuggled in against her pillow.

Wolffe smiled fondly and smoothed his hand down her hair. With a small shake of his head, he turned around, picked up his duffle bag beside the wardrobe, and plopped it onto the ground adjacent to the head of Cara's bed. He'd slept in worse places and with a lot less comfort, so he considered the floor as decent. A blanket was unnecessary and he didn't need the duffle bag for a pillow, but, without his armor, the neck positioning would be awkward. With his bedding all set Wolffe turned off the light, then laid down on the floor and closed his eyes.

"Daddy," Cara whispered. She had crawled to the edge of the bed and was overhanging the edge.

"Hm?" Wolffe responded, but it was more of an exasperated groan. 

"Can I sleep down there with you?" she asked.

"No," he said. "You get the bed, Daddy gets the floor."

"But I don't want to be alone," she whined.

Wolffe sighed. "I'm right here." He raised his arm and laid his hand on the edge of the bed so he was touching her knee. "Can't get any closer than that."

Cara grabbed Wolffe's fingers and tugged. "Daddy, please."

"Your mother would kill me if I let you sleep on the floor," he argued.

"Then sleep up here," Cara offered like it was the obvious answer.

"Baby, that bed is not big enough for me," he said.

"Daddy," she whined, but it sounded more like a cry. "Please. I miss Mommy."

Wolffe sighed and sat up knowing he wasn't going to win this war. If either of them were going to get any sleep, he needed to concede victory and give her what she wanted. Out of the options presented, sleeping on the floor was out. Wolffe didn't believe in much of an afterlife, but he wasn't going to take the chance of his wife coming back from the grave to scream at him for letting their daughter sleep on the cold floor where she could catch a cold. On the other hand, that bed was not made for adults like him and while Cara might sleep well, he would not.

"Alright," Wolffe finally agreed and he flipped the light back on. "Get up."

Cara beamed with excitement and hopped off of her bed. 

Wolffe was less than enthusiastic with his movements, but it was what his daughter wanted, and who was he to argue with those crystal blue eyes? They were the same eyes his wife would give him when she wanted something that he was hesitant about. It never took him long to cave to whatever whim or idea she had, and for the most part, they all turned out well. The only one that didn't end up going the way they expected was the night they made Cara. It was the first time he caved to his wife and it wasn't the last, but now he does it for Cara.

Wolffe tilted his head as he looked at the bed and thought about how he wanted to arrange himself. It was small, but not in the way that the barrack bunks were small. Those were narrow-small and this was short-small. No matter which way he looked at it, his feet were going to hang over the foot of the bed, and not just his toes either. In his mind, it looked like a very uncomfortable arrangement, but Cara looked very excited to be sleeping on a bed made out of her dad. He couldn't relate, but maybe that was normal for children who had biological parents.

Resigning to his fate, Wolffe pulled the blanket up, settled himself on the bed, and used the pillow to prop his head up a bit. As he suspected, his feet hung off the foot of the bed, but it didn't feel as bad as he thought it would. Then again, he didn't know what several hours in that position would feel like when he woke up. Once he was in a good position, he gestured for Cara to come over, and she climbed up the side of the bed and then on top of him. She wiggled and moved around to adjust herself which made Wolffe a bit nervous.

"Watch your feet," Wolffe warned, but she wasn't listening. "Baby, watch your–" Wolffe gasped when her foot made hard contact with his testicles, "–foot," he wheezed. If Cara wasn't on top of him, he would've doubled over and probably vomited into the nearest trash receptacle or maybe even on the floor, but he inhaled and exhaled sharply to internalize the pain instead of making a scene. His wife would be in a hysterical laughing fit if she saw what just happened.

"Daddy, are you okay?" Cara asked, the worry evident in her voice.

Wolffe moaned as he tried to settle his frustration, but he couldn't be mad at her because she didn't know any better. It wasn't like he sat her down and taught her about male anatomy. He preferred this sleeping arrangement when she was small and could fit on his chest, not when her legs were long enough to kick his testicles into the next galaxy. In an attempt to self-soothe the pain, he tossed around the idea that he didn't need them anyway. Without his wife, he wasn't planning on expanding his family anytime soon, so in reality, he could live without them.

"I'm fine," Wolffe said when he could finally verbalize his thoughts in a normal octave. "Just, don't wiggle around so much, okay?"

"Okay, Daddy," she said, then snuggled her head under his chin. "I love you."

While his nether region throbbed with a lingering ache, Wolffe could still feel the warmth well up in his heart at her words bathed in sentiment. At the end of the day, she was his baby girl and there wasn't a force in the Galaxy, not even a kick to the testicles, that could make him love her any less. He could never be a great father, but he could be the best father his short, meaningless life allowed him to be. And she might never understand that. She might grow up to hate him one day, but until then, he wanted to hear her say those words over and over again. 

"I love you, too," Wolffe said and he kissed her head as she snuggled under his chin. "More than you'll ever know." He pulled up the covers over them both and wrapped his arms tightly around her to keep her from falling off. It felt natural to hold her like that, as a protective father would, but it wouldn't be much longer before he couldn't, so maybe she was right in forcing him to do it now.

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[the-badger-mole]

A Kya lived (but with some serious burns) AU.

Katara's relationship with the other characters?

In what way would this also affect Sokka?

Aang accidentally burning Katara?

Yon-Rha being alive or not,and Zuko and Katara hunting him down.

Depending on what ripple effect Kya being alive has on the series, what other changes do you think would impact things going forward?

Do you think kat*anng would still happen or zutara?

To answer your last question first, Kataang shouldn't have happened in general, so, no they absolutely don't happen here.

This would've been an extremely traumatic event for Kya, and I think she would become very protective of Katara. Sokka would have a complicated relationship with it because on the one hand, he'd get it, and he'd be very protective of Katara too (even more than he was in the show). On the other hand, I think it would very much read as favoritism to him, and he'd probably pull some very dangerous and stupid stunts in order to get his mother to fear for his life like she does for Katara's. I think instead of being sent off with well wishes, Katara would have to sneak away, and Sokka would come with her to protect her.

I think Zuko seeing the burns that Kya suffered would give him pause. He would still try to go in with all his bluster and bravado, but it would be a sight that would startle him. I think it would change the dynamic when he confronted Katara (does Katara get Kya's necklace here? I don't know. I could see it go either way). He might appeal to her desire to end the war instead, promising that once he got home and took back his rightful place, he'd make ending the war his priority so no one would have to suffer like Kya. His arc would then be centered on trying to reconcile what he knows of his father with his own hopes for how the war would end. I don't know if they still go after Yon Rah. I don't think it would have the same impact, to be honest. I think Katara's mother would be what bridges the gap between them still, but I think instead of focusing on their mutual loss, Katara would find out explicitly how Zuko got his scar and why. They would still connect over maternal sacrifices, but also the scars.

Katara, I think, would be the biggest change. I think she'd be a less maternal figure and less inclined to play caregiver to the people around her (which is part of the reason I don't think Kataang would happen). Her anger would be a lot more apparent because not only did her mother sacrifice herself for Katara, she treated her like she was too vulnerable to be let out into the world on her own (this version of Katara would probably have an easier time connecting with Toph, tbh). I think any attempts of people trying to protect her or tell her she can't do something would be met with much more force. Her fight with Pakku would've been much more feral and unhinged because I think she'd actually be out for blood. Like for real, for real. And her stint as the Painted Lady would probably end with a few dead soldiers. I see Zutara not only happening in this version of the story, but happening way sooner because Katara's anger would be easier for Zuko to see and understand, and then connect with. I think her pain and anger would hurt him for her sake, too. Getting to know her would make him finally understand everything Iroh was trying to do for him, and he would in turn try to be that for Katara. In the end, they'd both wind up helping each other find peace.

Also, as for what happened when Aang burned Katara? He'd have gotten a double barrel of anger from the siblings. Sokka would possibly lay hands on him, and Katara would resent him for not taking any of his learning opportunities seriously. I think Katara in this version would be much more militant (a reason why I don't think Aang would have a crush on her in this scenario to begin with). This episode would see him getting thee crap scared out of him, and possibly set him down the path of understanding just how badly the war needs to be ended.

[bleedingcoffee42]

Transcribed under the cut with spelling errors intact. From Dick Winter's Talbert file. Gems like "Your Devoted Soldier Forever" and "you kept officers like Nixon Welsh with you and gave me Spears" "You son of a gun! I love ya!"

Dear "Dick",

I find it very difficult to call you "Dick" as far as I am concerned you will always be my "Bird Colonel". You feel I did I job for you, do you know you were my total inspiration. This is understandable because all my boys felt the sa,e way! You were a GI's soldier.

Do you remember the time you were leading us into Carentan. Something happened to the other platoons. I told my boys to follow me and we came through. I ask you one question as I passed you, which way should I turn at the dead end. You told me to go right. I lost Tipper + carried Lipton out on my shoulder from that intersection. We continued on clearing houses, some on fire, and a lot of mortar. Again seeing you in the middle of that road wanting to move was to much.

I don't know if you know this or not. I remember only two major withdrawls during the war. The first was a small town in Holland, cannot remember the name, you gave Lt. Peacock and I the orders of march. We were to move out on our right flank and attack and secure this small village. You advised us there was approx a platoon of Germans there. I will not go into all the details. I lost 5 or 6 men + Randleman stay in a barn all night. We had four English tanks in support. The Germans let us get well into the town. They knocked the two lead tanks out, burned and lost all the crews. At this time I know there was two Tiger tanks one on each flank. Lt. Peacock had the right ditch I has the right. My lead scout Mars got hit in the cheek + a couple more (Van Clinking) was killed at that time. My decision was to withdraw. As we initiated this action the Mortars were really something. I remember the first house we came to had a pool table (we were actually withdrawing through the houses) Cpl. Dukeman who was one hell of a solider and were shooting pool as a joke as the boys came though. We worked our way through the houses and reached an open field. I knew I had to get Lt. Peacock + the boys back across the road to continue the retreat. Peacock through his carbine onto the road. He would not more. Honest to God I told him to retrieve the carbine + move or I would shoot him. He did as I directed. I liked him he was a sincere + by the book officer, but not a soldier.

As long as he let me handle the men he and I got along alright. NOw I know I have got to face you!!! As I come down that long lonesome highway. Ha! there you were in the ditch waiting. You were really pissed off. I gave you my report and you put me in reserve. You brought up more troops to handle the job. Now I am in Co. reserve. We settled down made some coffee + K rations guess what I got committed to attack on your right flank. You know the rest of this story. You son of a gun I Love Ya!

Dick this can go on + on. I have never discussed these things with anyone on this earth. The things we had are damn near sacred to me.

I remember you got pissed at me. You wanted to send me to some OCS. At tines like these you made me say yes sir + no sir. I feel I did more for you as a Sgt than I ever could as an officer. The only thing I could not understand was why you kept Welsh Nixon +officers like that with you and gave me Spears probably had Sobble still been there I would have had him. Ha! I have alot more to talk to you about in San Diego. Thanks for the picture brings back memories. I will try to identific as of now Gordon ?(not sure what this says) Wynn.

Your Devoted Soldier Forever

[sapphim]

Since everyone's been so nice about the other snippet I posted 👉👈 here are the good bits from sth else with the warden squad I wrote last year (since I might never get around to sprucing up the long and boring bits). Right after Lothering before anyone involved knows how to get along with each other so they're all kind of just standing around being assholes 🩷

—

"Not to catastrophize," Alistair says, to nobody in particular, "but when they find their way back and inform us with deep regret that they have no idea where we are or where we're going and we all die in the woods after wandering in circles for weeks, I'm going to say 'I told you so'."

"That's not going to happen."

Alistair twists around to gawk at Sten. The Qunari soldier has been standing at the outskirts of the group, stone-faced and completely unmoving—as far as Alistair can tell—since they paused their slow march through the woods.

"I think that's the first thing I've heard you say all day," he says incredulously. "Humor me. Why won't it?"

"Because in this scenario you've crafted in your mind, you'll be too dead to say 'I told you so'."

"They'll be my dying words," Alistair insists. "As I lay dying in the underbrush I'll croak, 'I told you this is exactly how it would happen, Sten,' and then I'll perish on the spot. See if I don't."

"I look forward to it," Sten says. "At least then you'll be quiet."

"It'll be a touching moment," Alistair says, settling back down into his seat at the base of a tree and staring up into the canopy, "and you'll miss me when I'm gone. You'll see."

"If it will make you feel any better," Zevran pipes up from his seat on low branch a short distance away, "if the end does come—which I very much doubt, mind, given what a capable group you have assembled here—I can swear that I will ensure you a swift and dignified death."

"Absolutely not," Alistair growls.

"My apologies," Zevran says mildly, as he has found himself doing not infrequently over the last few days since his initial ill-fated encounter with the wardens. "The offer was meant with no ill intent."

"Do not stab me."

—

"What's that?" Micah asks, pointing upward. Alistair and Rafael crane their heads to look at the rustling tree branch she's indicated.

"That, my dear, is another squirrel," Zevran says.

"Squirrel," she repeats under her breath.

"Don't have squirrels in Orzammar?" Alistair says, conversationally.

"We've got nugs," Micah says. "And moles. Mice. Deepstalkers. No squirrels."

"I guess everywhere has mice," Rafael muses.

"The one thing that unites us despite all our differences," Alistair agrees. "Mice in the larder. Hey, Sten, do Qunari have–"

"They're returning," Sten interrupts, nodding curtly in the direction of more rustling brush, where glimpses of Leliana's pale skin and vivid red hair can be caught through the trees.

The mabari crashes out of the underbrush first, panting and wiggling with an excess of excitement. A few moments later, the rest of the wayward scouts rejoin the waiting party.

"We have determined the proper course to reach our destination, and located a camp site for the night," Morrigan announces. "No need to thank us."

"And we saw the fattest squirrel I've ever seen in my life," Leliana adds cheerfully. The dog barks in agreement.

Morrigan sighs. "Yes. And—more importantly—a sight which has never before been witnessed by man nor beast. A fat squirrel. Again, no need to–"

—

"Could you tell if something is possessed by a spirit?" she asks.

The young mage twists the cuffs of his sleeves between his fingers, chewing on his lip. "I– I should be able to," he says. "Yes. I– Yes, I can do that."

"Spoken with remarkable confidence," Morrigan says dryly, earning her a reproachful glare from Alistair.

"Not all that many haunted trees in the middle of the lake, I'd think," he says.

"There was a cat, once," Rafael says, "that got possessed by a demon and went on a rampage through the tower. It killed three templars before they brought it down."

"Ah, 'tis a heartwarming tale that would bring a smile to anyone's face, would it not?"

The mabari huffs and snorts in response.

"Aw, I bet a nasty demon cat would be no match for you," Alistair says, crouching to scratch the pleased mabari vigorously behind the ears. "Isn't that right, Barkspawn? Because you're a good boy! Yes you are!"

"We weren't allowed to have cats in the tower after that," Rafael mutters in conclusion.

"Not allowed," Morrigan repeats derisively. "'Tis a wonder that anything would be allowed to begin with."

"For the mice," Rafael says glumly.

Alistair extricates himself with some effort from the wet, sloppy kisses the mabari is determined to plant all over his face. "Did you get demon mice after that?" he asks, with the gleeful tone of someone who has only just considered the possibility of demon mice and finds it funnier than they probably should.

—

As they fall into line behind the Dalish elf, Micah muses aloud to no one in particular, "So, I'm not entirely sure what a cat is."

Eydis snorts derisively. "It's a surface animal with four legs and a tail. I've been here as long as you have. How do you not know that?"

"Excuse me?" Micah snaps. "You just described every surface animal. They all have four legs and a tail. Or they're birds."

"It's got fur."

"They've all got fur. You're just describing the dog."

The dog in question barks.

"Smaller than the dog. And with a fluffy tail."

"That's squirrels."

"Bigger than squirrels," Eydis huffs. "They were all over the human settlements. Pay more attention next time, brand."

"Watch it, salroka," Micah growls.

"Perhaps I could draw some pictures tonight," Leliana says appeasingly.

"Perhaps you should write a song in memory of the princess, in case I finally kill her tonight."

"Don't be so sensitive," Eydis chastises.

"I've been lead to understand that we are all strictly forbidden from killing each other here," Zevran interrupts cheerfully, "or is that just me?"

"Do not stab me," Alistair repeats.

"I swear on my life," Zevran says, "I will make no attempt to harm you unless I am paid a great deal more coin and I have reason to understand that forsaking your company would be to my overall benefit. Neither of which I forsee happening in the middle of a haunted forest. Perhaps that may set your mind at ease?"

"That doesn't set my mind at ease! Why would that make me feel better?"

"Because I am being extremely honest right now," Zevran says. "Unless you would prefer I lie?"

"I would not."

"Nobody is killing anybody," Leliana says.

"Only a fool would do the work of his enemy for him," Sten says.

"Oh! That's very wise, Sten."

"It is not. It's common sense."

[dotster001]

hello! can i request lilia or leona for how you met/enemies to lovers series?

How You Met/Enemies to Lovers; Lilia Edition

A/N: god, I forgot how long these get 😂 For obvious reasons, Leona's is going to be in a separate post on a later date, so keep an eye out. Also, hope you're still here anon, cause this is an old request 😬

Other Versions: Vil Malleus Crewel Crowley Rook Idia Leona

In hindsight, it wasn't his brightest hour.

Maybe he was truly going senile in his old age…

"Malleus Draconia is twice the king you will ever be!"

"Shut up," he heard you mutter through gritted teeth, but the sands were already rising and swirling around him as Leona Kingscholar spiraled out of control.

It was the very first thing he taught his soldiers during training. Don't provoke cornered prey, because it's capable of great things.

But he couldn't stand the thought of this brat trying to grievously injure his son! How dare he!

But you didn't know his family situation…what you saw was a stupid college guy not knowing when to keep his mouth shut. Ah well. You weren't running in his social circles anyway. And he didn't care what people thought of him. It'd be fine.

….

"I haven't seen you this nervous since you were a hatchling. What's the matter?" Lilia asked his silly king, who was standing nervously in the doorway, and clutching something in his hands.

"Um…"

He hesitated, before walking further into the room and handing Lilia an envelope.

"My Ramshackle friend has not been around, and I wanted to give them a holiday card. I was wondering, if you crossed paths with them of course…could you possibly…" Malleus trailed off.

Lilia stared at the envelope for a moment. The initials M.D. were on it.

"Have you told them who you are yet?"

"No. And I'm not scared to tell them, if that's what you're implying, old man."

"You should probably tell them soon…"

"I will…when I'm ready…"

Both men sat in silence, before Lilia laughed lightly.

"Alright."

….

"Hello!"

It was two days before you returned to Ramshackle, and you looked exhausted.

You didn't say anything, just looked at him with dead eyes.

"Someone has been disappointed that you haven't been around to hang out with over the winter break."

"Oh, shoot, tell Hornton I really wanted to hang, I just was, well, a little tied up."

"Hm," he hummed before giving you the card.

"M.D.?"

"He'll tell you who he is soon. Have a good night," he paused and gave you another once over. "Try to get some rest."

….

"Lilia…"

"Have I been reduced to your errand boy?" Lilia asked, shedding a fake tear.

"More like an errand grandpa," Malleus snickered, dodging the pillow Lilia threw at his head.

He then handed the not so concealed gift bag to Lilia.

"Please give this to-"

"Y/N. I know. They know who you are now. Why am I delivering your presents?"

"No reason," Malleus said, before vanishing in a flash of green fireflies.

Lilia sighed to himself, before staring at the gift bag.

….

Over the course of delivering present after present to you, he'd been able to get to know you better. He knew your likes, your dislikes, your favorite colors, what you liked to do for fun, what you missed back home…everything. And he could see why Malleus would fall for you.

Although, the thought of him being with you filled his mouth with a metallic taste. He had to laugh at himself. It had been a long time since he had had a crush on someone. But it would fade. He was old enough to know that.

And besides, he wasn't one to stand in the way of what his king wanted. Which meant that when your initial distaste over how he handled the overblot wore off, and you started to seek him out as a friend, he knew he had to scare you off.

It started simple. Just being a nuisance, or making his pranks go a tad bit too far. But that didn't do much, aside from make you wary. Pretty soon, it was full on bullying you, and you quickly stopped coming to him. 

It was when Malleus came to him, one day, that he knew he'd pulled off what he set out to do.

"Y/N doesn't want you to give them my presents anymore. They think you hate them. I told them that was ridiculous, as you have no cause to feel as such, but they were insistent."

"One thing you'll learn about humans, my young king, is that they are fickle creatures, and very sensitive. You never know how they are going to feel about someone," he said, as though it wasn't entirely his doing that made you feel this way. "But if it makes Y/N more comfortable, I'll stay away. Perhaps you should deliver your own presents from now on."

Malleus didn't get the hint that day, instead opting for Sebek to start delivering gifts, but at least it was clear you didn't feel any particular way about Sebek. And now Lilia could let his little crush die, until you and the young King were together, as the seven no doubt intended.

….

"Thank you for meeting with us at such short notice, General Vanrouge."

Lilia bowed deeply to his Queen,  before taking a seat in the chair next to her. It had been nearly three years since his graduation from NRC, and he didn't seem to have aged a day, opting only to swap out his dorm uniform in favor of his military garb. He had decided, during his four years in college, that he quite liked his cute form. It made it easier for people to trust him.

"It was no trouble, your majesty. What can I do for you today?"

The queen sipped some tea before fixing him with a scrutinizing look.

"My grandson has requested to officially adopt Y/N L/N into the royal family. His argument is that he is an only hatchling, so he needs someone to be next in line should something happen before he has his own hatchlings," she smirked, "As though that would ever be an issue. But he also says they have no family in this world, and are of noble character. He says he is determined to have them as his family, whether he has my approval or not. But I thought I would ask your opinion, since you are my most trusted advisor, and spent a year with them, as well."

As family.

Oh fuck.

He fucked up.

He fucked up so bad.

"They are as he says, a human of excellent character. Our young king has done well to choose them as his foster sibling."

The queen smirked again. "You are certain this has nothing to do with your goal to unite our people with humans?"

"No," he said playfully, acting as though he wasn't slamming his palm against his forehead in self hatred.

"Then it shall be done. Thank you for your input."

Sevens. He fucked up.

….

"Avoidance is not the way to solve your problems, father," Silver said, with a judging expression on his face.

"Whatever do you mean, my darling son?" Lilia said with a light laugh.

You'd moved into the castle three weeks ago. And, yes, he had been avoiding you.

He hadn't planned to.  He had been there at the ceremony where you'd been officially inducted into the family, and been legally renamed Y/N L/N Draconia. But when his eyes had met yours, he'd been rocked by the resentment yours held for him. But that wasn't the only thing that rocked his world.

What had truly shaken him was that his "crush" was still alive and well.

And someone as old as him knew, that a simple crush didn't last for four years.

He was in love with you.

"Father, Y/N is reasonable, and so are you. I know you would never have been cruel to them if you didn't have a reason, and if you explain that to them, they will understand."

Lilia sighed.

"Why did I have to raise such a wise and perfect son?"

Silver blushed and looked away.

"I'm simply saying what you would say to me."

"Fine, fine, I'll talk to Y/N," he groaned, standing up and leaving the room.

It wasn't too hard to find you. Most of your time was spent in Malleus' study, taking lessons on etiquette and the kingdom. Being newly royal, lessons filled most of your days.

Luckily, being general of all the kingdom's military gave him a few perks.

"I deeply apologize for the interruption, but I need to have a word with their highness."

The tutor fled without a complaint, and the two of you were left alone, you eyeing him warily, him nervously clasping his hands behind his back.

"I'm sorry."

Your eyes widened, and your mouth parted a little. 

"Huh?"

"I acted foolishly at NRC. I didn't want to get between you and Malleus. He," Lilia needed to choose his words carefully, lest he sound like a fool about your relationship with Malleus. "He has such difficulty interacting with new people, I worried that if I grew close to you, he would feel like I was trying to steal you from him."

You stared at him, looking a little confused, but on the whole you seemed to understand.

"Anyway, since we are going to have to interact a lot, from now on, I wanted to apologize, and extend an offer of friendship."

You bit your lip, weighing your options. He couldn't blame you. Some of the things he had done or said were pretty terrible. After a moment, though, you hesitantly nodded.

….

Three more years. 

It had taken three more years for him to reach this level with you.

"How do I look?" You spun around for him, showing off your Valley of Thorns celebration outfit.

"Beautiful," he hummed, before floating over to you and excitedly fixing your hair. Not that it needed it. He just wanted an excuse to touch you.

"You're sure? It's not everyday a brother gets married," you asked.

Lilia cupped your cheeks, and stared deeply into your eyes.

"You look absolutely radiant."

Your eyes flickered away from his, and you gave a cough. Lilia could feel your cheeks burning under his hands. And he couldn't be more delighted.

Three years to get here….

"Thank you, " you muttered, before pulling away. "Now let's go, Malleus will probably throw a tantrum if we're late to his wedding."

The wedding went off without a hitch. Malleus and his new spouse made their vows, then greeted their people. You shone as well: greeting the guests, appeasing members of the court, giving a speech, you were the perfect representative of the Draconia family.

But you were only human.

As the night drew on, he noticed you stepping outside. He followed. 

You were leaning against the railing looking up at the stars. You turned to him with a soft smile when you heard the door.

He bowed low, and extended a hand.

"May I have this dance, your highness?"

You giggled, as you took his hand, and responded, "Why, of course you may, my good General."

You both turned in slow circles, dancing to the music in your minds.

At length, you asked softly, "I wonder when we'll see you married."

Lilia burst into laughter. "You've been spending far too much time with her majesty, if you're asking questions like that."

"Well, she is my grandmother now. And being at a wedding makes you think, you know?"

"It makes you think about me getting married?"

You rolled your eyes.

"No, I mean it makes you think about happy endings, and what kind of person you'd want to settle down with."

He twirled you, then hummed, thoughtfully.

"And who could you see yourself settling down with. What kind of person would beguile our precious Y/N?"

"Hm…" you tilted your head to the side, pretending to think. "Perhaps he is someone who can be serious, but is usually a playful scamp."

"He sounds amazing already, fu fu."

"And maybe he is a terrible cook…"

"I don't know anyone like that-"

"Maybe he was a decorated war general, then raised a couple sons of his own."

"I'm in love with him already," he giggled, only now noticing that neither of you were moving.

Your eyes were solely on him, your face slowly moving closer to him, as though drawn by a magnet.

"Maybe he is wise, but also a complete moron."

"That's awfully harsh," he said lowly, his own face drawing closer to yours now.

"Maybe he is super into heavy metal," you whispered, your lips barely an inch away from his.

"I bet he's an excellent singer," Lilia whispered back, before pressing his lips to yours, smiling into the kiss when he felt your hand work their way into his hair.

Your arms wrapped around each other, and Lilia realized that even though seven years was a long time to get here, it was well worth the wait.

....

Tag list- @shytastemakerthing @eccedentesiast-sapphic @leoll

[minghaos-girl18]

Seventeen as Mafia Members

This was just for fun and it is my first post on here, so if you want to see more feel free to request and give my page a follow.

Warnings: mentions of death, brutality, and jail but nothing to deep ;)

S.Coups: The boss

For obvious reasons. He is Seventeen's scary leader for a reason. For example, in that one video of a dog only listening to him. And how he can just give the rest of Seventeen one look and they like backtrack. Boss vibes.

He knows how to handle his business and very rarely gets truly involved with any actual dirty business himself. Is very careful about who he plans to give his business to.

No one double crosses him and once you work for him, it is understood that you will always work for him.

Jeonghan:Consigliere

I think Jeonghan would be S.Coups right hand man. Him and S.Coups only make decisions together. He has almost as much weight as S.Coups himself, and no one can meet S.Coups without Jeonghan approval and Jeonghan is always present. (lovers)

Jeonghan handles everything for S.Coups, that way S.Coups doesn't show his face unless necessary. However, it is understood that if anyone came for Jeonghan for any reason S.Coups would be the one to "handle" it.

Joshua:Capo

He definitely runs his own crew. He keeps a tight hand on them. He is the type of person that you would never expect to have a hand in illegal dealings. Which is why he is so good. I feel like he also has a dark side and prefers to be the one that handles the people that cross him during business dealings.

Probably the type to live in a house about a thirty minute drive from the city (so no one heard the screams of the victims). Most of those working for him were kids he picked up off the streets- they stay the loyal.

Jun:Police

Jun is smart and I think he could handle living a double life. He is the informant for S.Coups. He reports to Jeonghan if any of the other operating mafia families are crossing into the Choi territory.

He is the chief and can make evidence "disappear" if necessary. He is one of the main reason nothing can be drawn back to S.Coups. The only time there is evidence is if Jeonghan gave specific instructions. This usually was signified by Hoshi getting the case, which usually meant the person that had been caught by police was a rat.

off topic junhui is so pretty

Wonwoo: Capo

Wonwoo also has a group of soldiers under his command. He differs from Joshua because he only steps into the dirty side of the mafia business when absolutely necessary. The group he runs consists of mostly hackers and only a selected few can even speak to Wonwoo.

Wonwoo takes his job seriously though. He works with Seungkwan to make sure there are no moles in the "business". And if there are, then that evidence will be sent to Jeonghan and after direct work with Jun and Hoshi the moles are either dead or in jail.

Wonwoo also keeps people from bugging the Choi territory sending his soldiers to do mandatory sweeps of every building owned by S.Coups. And if he finds out that they are not being done right or a bug was missed-well I feel bad for that soldier.

Hoshi: Associate

Hoshi is a part of the mafia, but he also isn't??

Hoshi does what S.Coups (or rather Jeonghan) tells him to do for the right price. Hoshi seems like a prosecutor by day, assassin by night kinda guy. Which is why he is so useful to S.Coups. As a prosecutor, Hoshi dedicates himself to putting bad people in jail (or the people S.Coups wants put in jail). And at night, he dedicates himself to making sure justice has been served.

He is seen by the public as some vigilante and due to his close work with Jun for his morning job, there is no chance of Hoshi or "The Justice" being caught.

Woozi:Underboss

Jihoon is reliable and gets his job done. His work is his life, and he is willing to do pretty much anything in order to obtain the role of Boss one day. Jihoon also knows when he can test his limits and when he shouldn't. I think S.Coups also discusses almost every aspect of his "business" with Jihoon. S.Coups knows that whenever he decides to leave the business, Jihoon will take good care of everything.

Jihoon keeps his nose clean for the most part. However, if S.Coups is busy and something big is to be handled Jeonghan is given orders to allow Jihoon to handle it.

And he does.

The8: Associate

I think Minghao handles the finances for S.Coups. That is the only tie to S.Coups he has. He also works at his own pace, and very rarely gets his hands dirty. But that doesn't mean he won't (don't try to steal from him- those martial arts skills will pulverise you )

I think like only a select few have even lived to tale the tale of what would happen if Minghao caught you trying to steal. And those few would only be kept alive just to make sure no one was dumb enough to try. Of course...there is always someone dumb enough to try.

Dk: Capo

Now hear me out on this one. He is our sunshine, but I know he would handle himself very well when it came to managing his own team

Seokmin for the most part would be a fun, loving, typical sunshine person and a great boss. However, his soldiers know not to push him, because he can be dark. He can be cold-hearted and will be if pushed to that point. He does not like it when people try to walk over him, because they think they can. And he is quick to put them in their place-verbally or physically.

Mingyu: Associate

Assassin.

Mingyu is highly sought after, but he works only for a selected few. S.Coups being one of them. Mingyu is picky and high priced with his jobs. But if given a task, he will accomplish it and depending on the request it will either be the quietest death or the most brutal.

Definitely is given another name in the papers and on the streets...something like Kuro Neko (I am pretty sure that means black cat in Japanese).

I also think Mingyu would keep this side of him well hidden. And would use his bubbly personality to get close to his targets and keep up a solid public persona. Probably runs a clothing shop with a basement full of assassin equipment.

Seungkwan: Spy

Seungkwan has an outgoing personality. He probably would have some type of traveling job on the outside. But he is usually planting some type of bug that allows S.Coups intel on people that he is suspicious of.

Seungkwan also gets invites to parties for people of high status. This allows him access and plant more bugs on celebrities without any second glances. After all who would believe someone like Seungkwan would be involved with the mafia.

Vernon: Associate

Vernon works with Seungkwan.

(lovers pt.2)

Vernon is the new bartender (or bouncer of some sort depending where Seungkwan is planting the bugs-probably is housekeeping at some point). I think Vernon has a thousand costumes his closet because he basically either gets Seungkwan in (like if Seungkwan needs into a hotel room, Vernon will play housekeeper and role Seungkwan in the housekeeping cart) or out.

Vernon knows about S.Coups and but Vernon works more for Seungkwan and prefers it that way. However, he still receives a pay out from S.Coups for his work.

Dino: Spy/Assassin

Chan has a job that combines Seungkwans and Mingyus, but for a special purpose. Chan spies on the people he aims to assassinate, and unlike Mingyu who works for a selected few, Chan works only for S.Coups.

Chan targets people whose loved ones have not repaid their debts to S.Coups. Chan gets close to them and as soon as he is given the green light (from Jeonghan or Jihoon) he assassinates them.

He either sends invites to the debts owners so that they find the body or he moves the body to a place where he knows they will find it.

He leaves a symbol to let that person know it was him-like a black rose or something.

Is will come to be known as the angel of death.

Anyways I hope you guys enjoyed this silly little writing of mine. I hope to write on here more often so follow for more :)

[nalyra-dreaming]

Hi there! I keep seeing this notion that Louis is so out of his mind possessive over Lestat that he would kill Lestat before he lets him be with others. I was wondering where that notion stems from because I don’t recall seeing that indicated in the show at all besides the line I wanted him dead, I wanted him to myself. This line could have been referring to the conflicting feelings within Louis and was a more eloquent way of saying I hate you but I love you and not literal because he was telling Claudia they shouldn't kill Lestat shortly after this scene. I love the notion of Louis being possessive over Lestat to an unhinged degree, we do know he was jealous, but wasn't part of the struggle between Loustat that Louis feigned indifference by refusing to verbalize how much the ongoing “relationship” with Antoinette bothered him? He dug his heels in so deep that he refused to demand Lestat stop seeing her, and he refused to kill her or request Lestat kill her as well, so I'm genuinely confused on where the idea that Louis would kill him just so no one else could have him but Lestat would die for him in the fandom. I never perceived their dynamic to be this way in the books either that I can recall. Quite the opposite, actually. I'm aware he did “kill” him in the show, but that was solely to appease Claudia and not out of possessiveness or jealousy. Am I missing something other than fanon? Thank you for answering!

Hey!

(Is this bc of this post?^^)

I do think the "I wanted him dead, I wanted him to myself." carries more weight than you give it here. Yes, he is trying to stop what is already in motion, but this is not the only indication of Louis being possessive of Lestat after all, which the expression ultimately indicates. Possessiveness.

Otherwise "Come To Me" would not have worked the way it did. And it would not have resulted in the situation it did. Tongue first and all.

Louis expresses this possessiveness often in more subtle ways - looks, initiating kisses in front of audiences -

and sometimes in not so subtle ones - hate sex, open jealousy, revenge cheating, screaming matches.

... Taking his annoying husband by the waist and away from soldiers.

But does that make it less?

Also I strongly disagree that he "killed him to appease Claudia"... I don't think that at all. If the scene holds (and I am not 100% sure since Claudia's diary does not match the shown scene, and they said they would revisit Murder Night and that has not happened yet) - then Louis did it because he had to do it - because it was "until death do us part" for Louis, and very personal. But that might change with s3 still, as said. As such... this is definitely a take born from the show, granted.

Louis is a much more passive character in the books - until he snaps of course. But even there he is the one who goes to hold Lestat's hand through the procedure to disconnect, for example.

When Louis gives Lestat the promise to come and stay with him he uses Ruth1:16, a very powerful and famous passage, one of commitment. It is a statement, also - not a question.

Louis knows that he can literally lay down this commitment when he is ready to do it.

For me that might not spell "possessiveness" in the first impression of the word... but then again, he knew he could. You know?

It's a level of possession of each other that surpasses simple... jealousy or possessiveness. Imho.

The book Louis does not make a show of his possessiveness - because he does not need to. Lestat returns to him, again and again (anyways).

However, that does not mean it doesn't bleed through, imho, in the way Louis fights for Lestat, especially when Lestat himself can not. Louis, begging Maharet in Memnoch at the locked doors, to get in. Armand, telling of how Louis neglects his hunger, seems thin and emaciated because he is guarding Lestat instead.

As per Lestat dying for Louis if need be - yeah. I second that.

He would.

I mean, he goes to the trial and takes to take the blame even in the version we already saw in the show. And he goes, broken and weak to Armand to plead for them in the book. He tries.

And you know how he tries to/accepts to sacrifice his own life later for the other vampires in Blood Communion, and that wasn't even Louis directly.

If it had been necessary for Louis?

Absolutely. Not even a question.

[lunarw0rks]

Hurt/Comfort Alphabet | Simon Riley

A/N: I hope this isn't redundant, because I was trying to be realistic based on his past & the way he interacts with other characters. got this template from @thathcwriter

Warning(s): mentions of Ghost's childhood, insecurities, substance abuse, injury, angst | Word Count: 1.6k

꒦꒷ MAIN MASTERLIST ꒷꒦ GHOST MASTERLIST ⋆ ⚘ 🕊 ˚✧ ₊˚ʚ have a request? | ao3 ver. ❀

A: Alleviate - How do they go about relieving persistent physical pain?

·˚ ༘₊· ͟͟͞͞꒰➳ Let’s be honest. He self-medicates with alcohol or cigarettes if it’s a persistent enough injury. Either that, or he’ll just find a way to tune it out—something he’s very skilled at by now.

B: Bedridden - How do they behave when they’re sick?

·˚ ༘₊· ͟͟͞͞꒰➳ Sick, but not “injured”? He wouldn’t even let it show. His voice is deep and raspy enough already (LMAO) so if he had a cold, would anyone even notice?

C: Cling - Whose physical touch is considered most welcome in their minds when they are in need? Is there a specific type of touch they respond well to?

·˚ ༘₊· ͟͟͞͞꒰➳ Being realistic, Simon probably despises physical touch because of his past. Unless it’s someone he’s known or been serious with for a while, physical touch would be null and void. That being said, playing with his hands, or a kiss on his knuckle would probably make him crumble.

D: Deathbed - How would they react if they realized they may not recover from their injuries?

·˚ ༘₊· ͟͟͞͞꒰➳ He’s well acquainted with the prospect of not making it home someday, or sustaining an injury too severe to overcome. He would accept it because he thinks that’s what he deserves :(

▹ He’d fight it as much as he could, and wouldn’t want anyone to see him that way. Conversations would be shorter, coarser, and even more depressive than his usual way of engaging with others.

E: Emergency - What is their gut reaction when someone they care about is hurt?

·˚ ༘₊· ͟͟͞͞꒰➳ He jumps to the worst conclusions if he got wind of something happening to you. Too many of his loved ones/colleagues have ended up dead for him not to.

▹ Remember how he reacted when Soap got shot in the arm? Yeah… multiply that by ten and add some fury to the mix. ▹ Especially if it pertained to his work, he’d think it’s his fault (in the case of Civilian S/O). If you were also a soldier, he’d take a more frustrated/protective route, lecturing you on your “carelessness”.

F: Fight - Are there circumstances under which they would not accept treatment or care? If so, what are they? 

·˚ ༘₊· ͟͟͞͞꒰➳ If it was in the middle of a mission, or minor enough that it felt ridiculous to tend to. If someone on his team/or his S/O was in worse condition, he wouldn’t even let the medic touch him.

G: Ghosts - How has their past shaped the kind of comfort they respond to best? 

·˚ ༘₊· ͟͟͞͞꒰➳ Being mocked and trained to not show vulnerability is his entire being, and he hates himself more for that. He doesn’t want to brood or miss out on things because of his childhood, but the ghost of his father looms heavy on every decision he makes—like a constant, sinister devil on his shoulder.

▹ He’s felt that way so long that he’s grown used to it, and doesn’t know who he is even when he takes the mask off at the end of the day.

H: Home - What things (objects, sensations, or people) remind them they’re safe after a scary situation?

·˚ ༘₊· ͟͟͞͞꒰➳ His colleagues, if anything. Soap being his ride-or-die, and a S/O that knows every reason for why he’s so walled up. If he has a picture of that person tucked away in his wallet, or an object they gave them (bracelet, card, etc.) he’d keep it in his desk drawer for safekeeping.

I: Isolation - How do they soothe themselves when no one is around to soothe them?

·˚ ༘₊· ͟͟͞͞꒰➳ Just like the response on “A” —he self-medicates with substances, or boxing in the training room until his fists are raw.

J: Joy - When was the first time they were truly happy after going through something terrible?

·˚ ༘₊· ͟͟͞͞꒰➳ For many years, he wasn’t “happy” at all, didn’t even know what that felt like. There were moments where he was distracted enough to not be thinking about his past experiences, but not permanent ignorance.

▹ Seeing his S/O after an injury that forced him on medical leave would be the only exception. He hates being away from work, but the silver lining is getting to be home with that person for (X) amount of recovery time.

K: Kindness - Do they believe they deserve the comfort they receive? Why or why not? 

·˚ ༘₊· ͟͟͞͞꒰➳ Hell no. Simon doesn’t for a minute think he deserves comfort, even though deep down he’s craved it for so long. Even if the person he’s with told him a thousand times, he would never believe it. He accepts it as more of a service to his S/O, rather than to soothe himself.

L: Levity - What or who helps them take their mind off of the circumstances? 

·˚ ༘₊· ͟͟͞͞꒰➳ 90% of it is his work because when you’re being shot at, you’re only thinking about not getting shot. The other 10% would be working out, drinking, etc… Not exactly taking his mind off things completely, but enough to do it temporarily.

M: Music - Is there a song that comforts them? Why is it comforting to them?

·˚ ༘₊· ͟͟͞͞꒰➳ He only listens to music to fill his ears when he’s stressed, or doing paperwork. For comfort? Nothing he listens to would give that to him, let’s be real.

N: Nostalgia - What things that comforted them as a kid still work today? Does anyone know that? 

·˚ ༘₊· ͟͟͞͞꒰➳ Much like his adolescent years, his comfort is everyone else’s silence. He doesn’t like being fussed over or poked at. The concept of “comfort” just isn’t something he knows. With the right person, he might find comfort in them—their quirks, their sense of humor, etc.

O: Overworked - Who or what tells them to stop working and take care of themselves?

·˚ ༘₊· ͟͟͞͞꒰➳ Price has probably tried, or has to at least once a week.

▹ Something along the lines of: “Get some rest, Simon”—most likely met with a blank stare as he continues working through the night. Simon only rests when he needs to refuel, or something more important happens.

P: Please - Have they ever begged someone to comfort or stay with them? What was that incident like?

·˚ ༘₊· ͟͟͞͞꒰➳ Before he met his S/O? Never in a million years. After? Probably only when he’s inebriated and needs someone to be with him, just until the problem passes, or you give your attempt at comforting him.

Q: Questions - Are they eager to talk about what or why they’re hurting? Why or why not?

·˚ ༘₊· ͟͟͞͞꒰➳ No - he’d jump off a cliff before he talks about his past with just anyone. It would take years before he tells someone what happened to him. In the back of his mind, he’s expecting the person to laugh at him, or reveal his insecurities :(

R: Relief - How do they react to the realization that they will soon be fully recovered? 

·˚ ༘₊· ͟͟͞͞꒰➳ He’s practically pacing back and forth until his medical leave is lifted—the medical leave he most likely bickered about placing him on at all.

S: Scared - What would it take for them to admit that they’re scared? 

·˚ ༘₊· ͟͟͞͞꒰➳ If something serious enough happened, or a near-death experience with either himself or you that gives him a wakeup call. One of the hardest things for him to do would be to admit he’s frightened, especially with how much loss he’s already experienced.

T: Time - How long does it take for them to feel better after an ordeal or illness? Do they tend to lie about how soon they feel better?

·˚ ༘₊· ͟͟͞͞꒰➳ As soon as he’s mobile, he’s back to work (if it was something disabling). If not, he’d push his way through it and keep working. Surely, to his S/O’s disapproval, but he feels like he’s damned to constant punishment.

U: Ugly - What part of their recovery process are they ashamed of, if any?

·˚ ༘₊· ͟͟͞͞꒰➳ Being reliant on another person physically, if necessary. Injuries come with the job, he knows that, but he would absolutely hate it.

V: Valiant - Has anyone told them they were brave for facing what they did? How would they react if someone did? 

·˚ ༘₊· ͟͟͞͞꒰➳ Let’s be real—most of us want to reassure him and his bravery, as has Price and Soap a million times (although they’re doing it in more of a “that was badass” kinda way). To be able to go through so much, and still be so resilient is almost unsettling. But brave, nonetheless.

▹ He would brush it off and likely change the subject :((

W: Why? - How did they process what happened to them?

·˚ ༘₊· ͟͟͞͞꒰➳ He never fully processes an injury, including physical pain—especially if it’s a stray bullet or knife wound. Unless it was something especially gruesome, he’s got a high pain tolerance.

X: Xenas - Do they see anyone as an inspiration in their recovery? Does their inspiration know about this? 

·˚ ༘₊· ͟͟͞͞꒰➳ (N/A - I don’t think it fits Simon if I’m being honest).

Y: Yearn - What gesture, person, or thing do they desperately want, but would never actually ask for? 

·˚ ༘₊· ͟͟͞͞꒰➳ This will probably hurt some feelings… He wants his mother, more than anything he wants his mom. He only got so much time with her, and those years were the worst of his childhood. She’s probably the only person he knows he truly wants, but can’t have.

▹ As I mentioned before, if he was serious about someone he was dating, he might want some comfort, but he would almost never explicitly ask for it.

Z: Zero - What is the best way to comfort them without touching them?

·˚ ༘₊· ͟͟͞͞꒰➳ Words of affirmation would be your best bet.

▹ Physical touch is iffy, and he’d only allow it if he truly trusted the person. If you give the man praise, he’d hide his feelings until he was alone, and would probably think about it for the rest of the week—even if it was just an offhand compliment.

[zmediaoutlet]

spn20rewatch, 1.10: "Do we need to talk about this?"

Possession is the bread-and-butter of Supernatural. Whether it's demons or ghosts or just real bad vibes, seems like there's always something willing to creep into a host like rot and start in on cracking foundations. A favorite line is that demons, in particular, always lie unless they're telling the truth, and really it seems to be that the possessions in general trend toward: what would hurt most? What if it's a truth that could be excused as a lie, but at a deep level there's a truth there that can't ever be told because it would break everything apart?

Asylum is part of a critical episode run in season 1 that reveals tons of details about the Winchester family -- how they operate, the roles they have and what's expected of them, etc., but more importantly how they'll operate into the future. Sam and Dean are brothers and they love each other, but even with their immediate return to a kind of young bro-bantz partnership in the early episode of s1, they aren't truly partners yet in a way that will actually be functional through to the future. There are some old resentments here that haven't been exorcised; more importantly, there's some testing of the relationship that hasn't been done. It's one thing to settle back into your old patterns of boys yoked together and working for your dad -- it's another when that yoke is shattered, and you have to choose what to do about that. Bugs to Home to Asylum to Scarecrow to Faith will really test Sam and Dean and make them into the hunting partners they'll need to be in order to survive what'll come.

Unfortunately, Asylum is the nadir of that testing. Ellicot's insidious work inflates anger and makes people violent and turns things as dark as can be -- but, actually, we don't get any real indication that he makes people feel or say things they don't actually mean. They're just things that have been put away or smoothed over, because saying them would be too awful. Later, soulless!Sam will operate in a similar way to how "Asylum"!Sam operates now -- the filters over the worst hardest truths are just gone, and everyone in his path gets to take them at full force. Dean gets the brunt of it here, first with rock salt to the chest and then with much, much more painful words to follow. He's under no illusions that Sam doesn't mean what he's saying, as we can tell from how flatly he takes Sam's non-apology at the end of the episode. He knows Sam doesn't respect him for being "daddy's good little soldier," and we see from other examples (notably in s3) that Dean doesn't even respect himself for that -- why would Sam feel any differently. It hurts either way, though, especially when we think of a line of dialogue from much, much later -- I thought you'd tell me to get lost, or get dead.

SAM: That's the difference between you and me. I have a mind of my own. I'm not pathetic, like you. DEAN: So what are you gonna do, huh? Are you gonna kill me? [...] SAM pulls the trigger.

Always a delight to have your worst fears be realized. But it's the kind of thing that's needed, structurally, so that when a break happens the bone can be reset cleanly and heal up strong -- which they'll get, eventually. It's just not very much fun, in the meantime.

[oneatlatime]

The Earth King

As always, commentary off.

No. Sokka. No. Stop. This is your stupidest idea yet. I want to LEAVE Ba Sing Se.

Sokka. Listen to your sister. And your other sister.

Toph embodying my will manifested on screen.

What makes you think the Earth King is going to listen to four teens and their fluffy dog? When I put it that way, this is Scooby Doo. Scooby Doo plus Momo. Does that make Momo Scrappy Doo?

We're going back to Ba Sing Se. Great. Yay. I'm so excited.

It is rapidly becoming apparent that Sokka has lost his mind.

Surface to air rocks is funny. I'll give it to them, that's good.

This fight scene music is fantastic.

Aang took a level in badass at some point without my noticing.

I know these hats are inspired by real historical hats, and so I really shouldn't make fun, but these look like the lovechild of a toilet brush and a feather duster.

This fight is majority Toph and Katara. RIP the egos of these several hundred Earth Kingdom soldiers.

Please ensure your fluffy little butt is securely stored in the overhead bins before takeoff.

There's no way these guys are still alive. This is what was done to Jet, doubled. They dead.

The girl who doesn't even want to be here is doing all the work. Typical.

My congratulations to Toph, Katara, and Aang for demolishing an army without breaking a sweat. If only season 1 Katara could see you guys now.

I said in my previous write up that Zuko doing something good always comes back to bite him. I didn't mean it this literally. Did he have to take the jug out with him, or was that for the drama?

Good job guys!

Soka steals my job and points out the fulfillment of the Beat Up Sokka quota.

His earthiness has an interesting set of priorities.

So... is this episode just going to be talking?

He brainwashed your friend? Did you miss that he killed him too?

I said in my last write up that Long Feng was Avatar's first competent villain, but the tone he takes with the Earth King is so unsubtle that I'm thinking of rescinding that claim. Unless the King is so dumb that subtlety isn't required?

Toothprints. Sokka the idea guy coming in clutch. Too bad his brain wasn't engaged at the start of the episode.

Appa is a herbivore. Confirmed. Although he should have fangs for aesthetic reasons. Fanged Appa would be metal.

This king is a confusing mixture of endearing and infuriating.

No mere fever will prevent me from doing mundane actions in the most dramatic way possible!

Way back in the 90s there was a print ad for Chevy trucks that I remember seeing in magazines. It had a shirtless guy in jeans sitting on the bed of his truck in a field, pouring a bucket of water over himself. It was kind of at sunset and had a very late summer vibe. I had completely forgotten about it until I saw Zuko's bucket shenanigans in this scene, at which point I was abruptly -ABRUPTLY- reminded of how much time little me spent staring at that ad.

OH MY GOD. The King doesn't know about trains!!! BLASPHEMY.

Huh. So the King isn't stupid, he's just horrifically naive.

Positive attitude Sokka is kind of frightening. I do not like.

If I told this King that I had a bunch of puppies in my windowless van, he would totally fall for it. So much about the Earth Kingdom suddenly makes sense.

That one guard is having a doozy of a day.

Did the King just show a smidge of self-awareness? Wasn't expecting that.

Who is this? I have no idea who this is. I didn't realise how integral the scar was to the character's design. Give it back.

Yikes. A bunch of shmymbolism. I suck epically at decoding shmymbolism unless it's really spoon fed to me, so I'm not even going to try to understand this dream beyond 'poor guy has a really bad fever.'

Has anyone seen the Spencer Tracy movie Father of the Bride? There's a bit where he has a dream that the floor on the way to the altar does pretty much exactly this. Hungry floors must be a common dream experience.

Pretty.

If the King is really this completely ignorant of the war, who's been directing the army?

It's pretty neat that Sokka is the spokesperson of Team Avatar, and that no one disputes that.

Aang says "there's a comet coming this summer," but I heard "comic" and I know they made tie in comics for the show, so I was like "ooh a crossover episode!"

"You're already vulnerable. The Fire Nation won't stop until the Southern Water Tribe falls. You can either sit back and wait for that to happen, or take the offensive, and give yourself a fighting chance." -Sokka's dad speaking to the men of the Southern Water Tribe, while his son listens perhaps a bit too closely.

If the King really was completely in the dark about the war, how does he even know who the General is? Did Long Feng have the power to keep the General from mentioning the war?

"Your majesty I'm General How, head of the Council of Five." "What's that?" "It's in charge of your army." "Right. And what's the army up to these days?" ... " ...I planted a lovely tomato garden this year."

I love that earthbenders don't wear shoes, and that it's culturally normal. Makes an intriguing visual contrast to their fancy duds.

I have GOT to know what Mushi the teamaker's secret file says.

Toph can't read guys.

Sokka, Katara, I get it. You miss home too. But how would anyone at all from your tribe know to send a message for you to Ba Sing Se? Last time you all touched base, you were headed to the Northern Water Tribe. And those guys sent you off to Omashu, not Ba Sing Se.

Nitpick time! Katara starts reading the text of this letter out loud before she unrolls it.

Katara's voice acting while she's reading the letter is sweet. She's so excited.

Iroh. Priorities. Tea can wait.

"Huh? What's happening?" "You huffed a bit too much cave slime under Lake Laogai. Just ride it out."

This vase is lit like a main character.

"You're going through a metamorphosis my nephew." Iroh, he's a bit too old for that talk. Hang on I just realised that Zuko went through puberty on that ship. I bet that was rough.

I don't trust this. This news is all too good.

Aang referring to them all as "the family" hurts a little bit.

It is unbearably sweet to let Sokka go see their dad while Katara helps the Earth Kingdom plan, but Katara sucks at planning. Then again, the Earth Kingdom sucks in general, so maybe having a sucky planner will be a net improvement?

Either way it's good little sister content.

But there are six Kyoshi warriors. I counted in Appa's Lost Days.

Oh they didn't

Attack hug!

Airbender Zuko is a very effective jumpscare. Don't blame him for freaking out.

You know it's bad when finding the scar intact comes as a relief.

Nope. Don't trust it.

Fuck this guy.

Long Feng even eats rocks maliciously.

Fuck these guys.

Oh they did. Fuck these guys.

Final Thoughts

And just like that, it all went to shit. Or it will.

I was braced to be annoyed by how conveniently quickly the Earth King got with the program, but it actually fits well into the rest of the episode. Instead of a thing that goes improbably well, it's the one thing that goes right in episode filled with set up for everything falling apart. That bothers me less.

This episode was actually fun. At least until the end. It was mostly talking and Zuko on a bad trip. But it was win after win for everyone but my Ba Sing Se hating self, and it's always good to see your favourites having a good day. But! I have a glimmer of hope! So long as Sokka and Aang aren't completely written out until they return to Ba Sing Se, at some point I'll get some episodes outside of the city. And I have Appa back, so things aren't too bad in the grand scheme of things. I wonder that Appa wasn't upset at having all his people back for five minutes then having them split up again.

I do not like positive thinking Sokka, and I especially don't like that I have no idea where he came from. That point wasn't set up at all. I want my baby cynic back.

If letting Appa go was enough to trigger Zuko's morality crisis to the point of physical illness, why didn't letting Aang go in The Blue Spirit, or choosing to chase after Iroh rather than the Gaang in The Winter Solstice Part 1, cause a similar illness? What is different about this time?

Toph was once again the voice of reason in this episode, or rather my personal audience insert. Although it did surprise me how excited she was to see her mom. I thought that sending bounty hunters after their own daughter was kind of unforgivable, but either Toph doesn't know, or she's a more forgiving person than I am.

I realise now that this should have occurred to me when I watched Appa's Lost Days, but what idiot didn't take the Danger Ladies into custody when the Drill was stopped? btw I keep calling them the PowerPuff Girls in my head.

This episode was simultaneously a finale to a lot of threads and an introduction to a lot more. It was a chance to breathe between crossing the finish line of the 'find Appa' quest and starting the 'season finale' quest. It was also structured backwards. The big fight was like six minutes in. The 'what are we doing this episode?' was one of the last scenes. But it still works. I'll be interested to see what I think of this one when I rewatch it. It was such an info dump that I wonder if my opinion of it will be different once I watch it with all of the relevant facts known to me already. Either I'll appreciate the episode's other parts like the comedy, or I'll be bored. We'll see.

Two episodes left this season! I don't think I'll be getting to those before next year. See you all in 2024! (time needs to slow way down)