#House without a way of getting out of there because Scott doesn't want him to lose control which good intentions still kidnapping

[ooooo-mcyt]

It's such a shame the Secret Soulmates thing is so often portrayed as Grian being selfish or vindictive for no reason because I think the actual events leading up to Grian's decision to seek out BigB are way more interesting than just "Grian's a selfish cheater". So like, because it's not covered much, I'm just going to detail the entire narrative from Grian's pov leading up to his decision to go to BigB.

For the first part of the first episode, Grian actually really seems to be romanticizing the idea of soulmates. Multiple times, he describes his search for his soulmate as "looking for love" and he hits everyone he meets with almost excited anticipation.

The moment Grian and BigB first look at each other is surprisingly romantic? I mean, it feels like what you'd expect from someone meeting their soulmate, from someone who just knows.

BigB and Scott finish testing if they're soulmates, and BigB is mid sentence when he turns around and look at Grian, and BigB just stops mid sentence and goes "Oh", which Grian echos (also when bigb looks at grian, grian holds his shield up for a good few seconds which just gives me the image of him hiding behind it and peering over the top which is uncharacteristically shy for grian but also really cute). "Are you ready?", BigB asks, and he waits for Grian to give him the go ahead before hitting him.

And..nothing. They aren't soulmates. BigB sounds disappointed. Grian sounds almost distraught, "I was so sure- I've never had such a broken heart in my life."

Shortly after Grian's soulmate takes significant damage. Everyone present rushes to give him food, though Grian would later credit BigB specifically with the very warm sentiment of having "saved" him.

And Grian's first meeting with Scar is..different.

Grian already doesn't seem to want to be Scar's soulmate, doesn't want to be teamed again, for one reason or another. And Scar..doesn't make it easier. Grian tries to talk to him, as the realization sets in, tries to say it, that they're soulmates. Grian does say it. But Scar isn't listening. Scar actively talks over Grian to brush Grian off, walking away while Grian is trying to grapple with the fact that they're soulmates.

Scar doesn't notice. Grian said it, mind you, in plain English- "Scar I think we're soulmates"- and Scar heard him, Scar responded to him, Scar just wasn't listening. Scar doesn't look for his soulmate, and he doesn't figure it out either for the rest of the episode. Grian tries to tell him twice more, and twice more Scar isn't listening. The first time, Grian calls after Scar twice as he's running off, "Scar I need to tell you something", but Scar doesn't turn around. The final time, Grian literally forces Scar to look at him and drops dripstone on their heads. Scar somehow still doesn't see him. Grian demands Scar look at him, actually look, this time, and finally, with great effort, he manages to get the point across.

One of Scar's first questions is "do we have to live together?", and Grian responds that it would be nice to, a sentiment Scar doesn't immediately echo. Grian pulls Scar along, back to the base Grian got working on by himself earlier.

At the start of the next episode, they have a disagreement. Scar brings home some pandas without consulting Grian, and Grian reacts very negatively, making a no pandas in the house rule and prompting Scar to help him with work instead. Grian specifically delegates the job of getting oak wood to Scar while Grian continues working on..everything else..himself. And after a bit of procrastinating from Scar, he does go to do his "chores" as Scar describes them.

Except that Scar doesn't actually.

Well, I mean, he does do the "chore" Grian gave him, but while he's out, he takes a break to think of a way to punish Grian, coming up with the idea of using powdered snow to hurt Grian as a punishment for Grian not letting the animals in the house and making Scar do a "chore". Grian doesn't technically know Scar did this on purpose, but with tick damage being a very distinctive type of damage that you usually would have to do on purpose to take as much as Scar did, I wouldn't be surprised if Grian figured it out.

It's at this point, that Grian decides to go to BigB. And it doesn't feel like he's just doing it for shallow reasons or to be mean, it fully checks out.

Because Grian's not happy with Scar at this point!

Partially because Scar himself doesn't seem interested in Grian at all, wouldn't listen to Grian to the point of talking over and brushing him off when Grian tried to tell him, and didn't want to live together after finding out. For Grian, who genuinely did seem to have a rather romantic view of soulmates at the start of the first episode, it probably kinda sucked to have his soulmate look past him like that. I can't fault Scar for not being particularly interested, but just because Scar didn't do anything technically wrong doesn't mean Grian's not allowed to be unhappy.

And then there's the other problem. The one I see surprisingly few fans talk about in regards to Scar and Grian. "Why does everyone else get a real partner except me?", Grian asked shortly before deciding to go to BigB. It's a sentiment we get from Grian multiple times. He says being Scar's partner is like babysitting, like having a toddler, Scar doesn't feel like a partner, he feels like a source of emotional labor who has no interest in lessening the burden for Grian. And. Yeah. Grian has good reason to feel like Scar makes him do all the labor in their relationship. I mean, Grian needed to get very pushy to even get Scar to agree to help build their shared base, Grian had to do the job of managing Scar on what specific task to do, Grian gave Scar a very small job comparative to the work Grian was doing around the house, and Scar still complained and found a way to punish Grian (the powdered snow) for "making" him do "chores" and not wanting animals in the house.

Which isn't to say Scar is bad or malicious or something, I love Scar, hell, I love Desert Duo, I think they work very well together in a lot of cases, but I think there is very much a labor imbalance- both in actual work and in emotional labor- here and it's understandably upsetting for Grian.

And in comparison, BigB looks..wonderful, to Grian?

BigB wanted him, for starters. They both felt it, the previous day. Scar kept looking through Grian, but BigB's eyes met Grian's and they both felt something. BigB seems considerate too. Grian feels like he has to pull teeth to get Scar to help him with the house (and then gets punished for it), meanwhile BigB is the one who "saved" Grian the previous day, jumping to give him food, not to mention the considerate gesture of BigB checking in to make sure Grian is ready before hitting him for the soulmate check. And, well, Grian clearly likes BigB.

Grian wasn't just going to someone else to be mean to Scar, and he didn't go for BigB just because he wanted someone, Grian was- validly!- unhappy with Scar (who didn't seem to want to be together much either) and actively liked BigB and thought he'd be a good partner.

Also, Grian very notably announces that he's defying destiny and asserts that he has a choice in who to be with, which adds a thematic layer of personal agency to the whole thing too. You get the impression Grian was mostly with Scar because he felt like he had to be, because the universe tied them together. But here Grian considers, for the first time, the thought that maybe it's okay to be with someone he wants, and who makes him happy, instead of resigning himself to be with the one he's 'supposed' to be with just because he's 'supposed' to.

(this idea of agency in who you love is relevant to double life as a whole, as i've made many posts about, but also is relevant to desert duo specifically. as much as i think they really cared about each other in third life, grian was also with scar because he was supposed to be for most of the season. being with scar had always, up to that point, been something grian was obligated to do, something grian didn't feel he had much choice in. so grian finally asserting here to the audience that he has a choice feels very relevant thematically.)

[ivys-garden]

Wild Life Spoilers: Session 2 Alliance Report:

Teams:

The Spanners - (Mumbo, Grian, Skizz) - formerly the Sub One Club, immediately forget their idea of using crawl mode and lament that they can't be sub one anymore. Mumbo then decides they are “The Floaters” due to them becoming obsessed with the levitation ability. Luckily this doesn't stick because I could not handle an alliance that changes name every session. Mumbo and Skizz built their “base” as a series of bridges, leading to Mumbo calling them “The Spanners” since “they span things”.

Speaking of levitation, they died from that. And starvation. This was not Mumbo or Skizzes session, with Mumbo losing two life's and Skizz losing 3, halfing his amount of lives in one session. If Skizz loses one next week he will be yellow. Seems Grian's curse of outlining his alliance has started early.

The Bam-Boozelers - (Scar, Lizzie, Jimmy)

I normally have a lot of faith in all life series teams. I think anyone can make it to the end. I think this so long as it is not abundantly clear that they're doomed. I never say someone is Doomed from the star-

This team is doomed from the start. Immediately they decide that the Wild Card is that he can't heal from hunger, now this is a good first thought and is shared by other teams, though those other teams immediately realised that if that were the Wild Card everyone would die of hunger and started looking for other options.

These 3? They stuck with that idea and started making boats to travel. When they realised that their hunger reduced passively, they panicked until Grian saved them by telling everyone in chat that they could eat anything. Now, armed with this knowledge they just have to find a good and easy to use food source.

They chose stone shovels. An item that cannot be stacked and required way more effort and resources to make than was worth it. And they stuck by this even as others told them about better foods. They only stopped using shovels because of the randomisation.

How is Jimmy the most confident member on his team?

In other news, they're theme park is going well and Lizzie's Parrot is cute. Jimmy also apparently has “Big Mascot Energy”.

Renwood - (Martyn, Ren)

These dogs are just vibing. They each lose a life each, no big deal. A far cry from previous seasons, Ren is just chilling, Not going after anyone unless they go after them first and trying to get Martyn to do the same. And he actually does, not attacking anyone this session at all. He even gives up going after Jimmy for stealing their cows (an action which was by every account deserved.)

The Tuff Guys (Tango, Etho, Bdubs) (not technically together (?))

Ah yes, Team B.E.S.T without Skizz …. Considering Skizz was the only person keeping Team B.E.S.T from imploding, this can only go well!

Yeah this team is not staying together. Technically they're already breaking up, with Bdubs saying they should only look out for themselves and insisting they live in different houses. Bdubs even cements this mentality by fully encouraging Scar to help kill Tango for no reason.

As for the “Tuff” part, Etho has decided that they need to be tougher and take what they want from people. You know, not to be nice or polite.

Luckily we can see how this works in practice, as Gem encourages him to go be tough to the Final Girls, let's see how Etho is an not being nice:

● he greets Scott and Cleo

● makes small talk

● politely asks for copper

● tries to stop Pearl stealing from them since he doesn't know she's on they're team

● takes more of the stuff he was told he could have

● gives them obsidian in return anyway

● and still feels bad about it.

Yeah not only was this the least tough Etho had ever been, the Girls almost certainly didn't notice and probably won't even care when they do. Great job Etho.

The Fast And The Furious (Gem, Joel)

This session, Gem announced her plan to make friends so people don't judge them based on 5 seasons worth of going insane every time they go red. This lasts for 3 minutes before other people arrive, Scar misunderstands instructions, Etho lets the cops out and the Final Girls partake in their favourite pastime of miscommunication and insisting their own teammates are doing something they aren't.

Other attempts to make friends do go better, with Gem arguably being on good terms with everyone except two people. So that's good.

Gem also builds a cute little Bard that I give a session before it's burnt down or has a Creeper hole in it. Joel spends all session building a car. Everyone on the server thinks it's hideous, mainly because it is hideous.

The Final Girls - (Scott, Pearl, Cleo, Impulse, Bigb)

Somehow the most stable team here, even if it is mostly out of spite. Yeah this team will stay together, the core four have never betrayed anyone unless an outside faction is involved. They're safe. Even if they continue the tradition of forgetting all the bad stuff they did and only reimbursing bad stuff their teammates did (what do you mean Pearl doesn't trust people based on what happened in previous seasons? That was you, Cleo!)

Oh Bigb also joined this session. Though I imagine this will be a Heart Foundation situation where he bases alone despite being on the team.

Scott and Cleo spend a lot of time this session fixing the mistakes Pearl and Impulse make by acting how they always do. A house and wall are built and Pearl and Impulse prepare revenge plans on Grian and Martyn. Pearl encourages Impulse not to tell the others, seemingly forgetting that Cleo and Bigb are addicted to revenge and would have no problem with this.

Alliances and Friendships:

Lizzie and Gem

these two agree to team up if their teammates die. Since their teammates are idiots.

Remember, Lizzie is the one who made the stone shovel plan.

Spanners Vs Bammers

The Bam-Boozelers still hate the Spanners, dropping their reputation all the way to zero. Mumbo and Skizz either don't realise this or don't care. Grian was gone almost all session mining so can't really say what his thoughts on the situation are.

The Family - (Joel, Etho, Gem)

Etho is indoctrinated into yet another family, though he seems more willing to be present for this one. When Tuff Guys breaks up like 5 minutes into session 3, we all know where he's going.

Also Scar might also be part of the family though every else seems to just ignore this.

Spanners Vs Tango

The Spanners are really angry at Tango for accidentally killing Skizz. They seem satisfied with manifesting his death through belief, but it seems they haven't let him off the hook yet. We all know Bdubs won't help him

Joel might also be mad at Tango since he ate the wheels of his ugly car.

Mumbo & Jimmy still hate Renwood

Mumbo still doesn't trust Martyn after the enchanter fiasco and Jimmy attempts to get revenge for the cow theft. Ren and Martyn have chosen to ignore this, Mumbo seems to have forgotten he was angry, and Jimmy is satisfied that he got revenge.

Ren buys his friends

Ren bought Gem and Tangos friendship through iron. Will this hold up? No.

Gem has beef with team oblivious

Gem hates Pearl and Impulse this season. They are at the top of her inevitable murder list.

● The Final Girls came round for a visit

● Impulse was accused of stealing

● He said he wouldt stela since he knows what it's like to be stolen from

● Gem took this as him amusing her of stealing

● Scott cut him off before he could explain himself by saying he was purposely antagonising them

● Gem cut both of them off by ranting about how much she doesn't trust them

Stellar miscommunication guys, great job as always. Please never change, the series would be way less funny if you did.

Pearl also made it worse by trying to Poison Gem 30 minutes later. Woopsie.

Neither Pearl nor Impulse notice that Gem hates them and the others refuse to tell them.

[wonderinqrache]

So I was reading some reincarnated villainess stories and got an idea for a fic. It's like Empires s1 but set in an academy. The life series members are also there. And the Hermits.

I'm calling this the reincarnated villain au.

The life series winners (Grian, Scott, Pearl, Martyn, Scar) are part of the student council with Grian as the Student Council President.

Grian is only the Student Council President on account of being the one to think of a way to elect council members without it being a popularity contest (the life series)(idk how it works yet, plz give ideas). He has as much power as the Headmaster.

Grian hates his job and leaves everything for the other members to do. The only thing he actually does is sign whatever papers they tell him to because they need his authority as President to do anything. But he doesn't bother reading what he's signing. This leads to chaos and problems that Watcher 1 and 2, the Headmaster and Vice, have to fix.

Cleo is not an official member of the student council, but hangs out with Scott and Pearl in the student council room so much that she's become an honorary member. Everyone is a lot more scared of her than the actual student council members.

Joel and Lizzie are betrothed. Despite this, Joel ends up getting a harem. Somehow. And Jimmy is part of this. Somehow.

Xornoth isn't a demon, they're just Scott's overprotective twin but kind of like Loki (marvel). Sausage is his best friend and Joey is his betrothed.

Xornoth wants Jimmy and Tango dead. Why? Because Jimmy and Scott were betrothed since they were children, but Jimmy falls in love with Tango and accidentally humiliates Scott by calling off the engagement in front of all the students and their parents at a House Blossom Ball.

But now that Scott is no longer betrothed, other people are trying to win his hand in marriage.

Meanwhile, Jimmy is trying to make amends (while Xornoth chases him around with a Very Big Sword) because he never meant any harm but his stunt has caused Very Big Problems (Bigger than the sword Xornoth is chasing him with).

This entire thing is an excuse for Scott rarepairs.

[doodlelesbians]

My self indulgent Flower Husbands headcanon is that Scott's weird epilogue is actually the parts of them that love each other ripped out by the watchers and put in storage. The tragedy of Flower Husbands to me is never that the love wasn't there but that it wasn't made for a death game.

Flower Husbands works pretty well, Jimmy likes being doted on. He likes when someone is afraid for him, helps him build his house, is a little possessive over him. He even likes the bullying, he preens under the attention. Scott likes that Jimmy needs help because he likes feeling in control, of being able to do things for others. He likes that he can needle and show the uglier crueler parts of himself but still be loved because Jimmy doesn't mind. He's a romantic, he likes the idea of a happy domestic ending. Their relationship just doesn't work in the confines of a death game. Jimmy plays rough, he puts himself in unnecessary danger, he wants to get involved in the main skirmishes, he tries to negotiate as equals without the technical skill or resources to back it up. Scott is afraid. He's so aware of the danger and so focused on his own ideas of what the best path forward is. He stifles Jimmy, trying to force him to be comfortable in their little corner. Jimmy chafes even further against this attempt at controlling him, born from Scott's need to have some power over something in a situation they're all pawns in. And they end up hurting each other so much, both by living and by dying, and then they're dead. I think their love is tucked away in that little sliver, a version of the world built exactly in a way Scott can control and Jimmy can do what he wants without the sword of damocles hanging over him. And then in the real world, in the future games, they just have this pit inside them where their love used to be and no matter what they can't feel it anymore. They're aware it once existed. They know it once meant a lot but all they can actually still feel is the hurt.

Jimmy moves on. He finds other things to care about. His emotions burn hot and fast like his lifespan and he's adept at moving on from alliances season after season.

Scott keeps trying to find it. He offers flowers and says I love you and chases Jimmy down because he refuses to obey the game's rules. He never liked the lack of control and choice, didn't kill as the boogeyman, left his soulmate behind. And now, he refuses to let go and accept that the love is gone.

[ladiestbug]

After the bathroom Lawrence and Scott seek each other out, they're the only people in the world who knew Adam the way they did and it'd be a disservice to his memory for them not to. Maybe Scott cleans up, or Lawrence learns to handle the mess, maybe Lawrence can't stand it still, but doesn't mention Scott's mess anyways. However it happens, they get used to each other, Scott handles fluorescent lights and the near constant onslaught of hospital staff popping in just to have lunch with Larry. Larry stomachs the smell that comes along with Scott's shows, he never has to be invited, he's always just there, camera in hand, smile on his face. The photos he takes aren't particularly good, but Scott appreciates the gesture, the few seconds Adam is there when he catches a glimpse of the lense. Lawrence begins to stink of developer, it's heavy and consumes everyone who comes into contact with it, sometimes Scott curls up against him, the smell envelopes him, fries his nose hairs off and feels like home.

Lawrence continues to work late, and Scott meets him in the parking lot after his shift, always. Scott drives them home, no matter how much Larry swears he wants to work this much he's always too tired after work, in the shower later he'll sit on the side of the tub and let Scott take care of him. He'll use him as a crutch back to their room because his stump just cannot take anymore time in his prosthetic and he'll fall asleep before his pajamas are even on. He'll wake up dressed in them anyways, roll onto or off of Scott and apologize for the trouble he caused the night before, Scott won't let him, he'll kiss Lawrence and when the doctor tells him how gross it is he'll lick the leftover drool off his face before returning for a second kiss. Lawrence would never let Scott apologize for needing him, so why would Scott start letting Lawrence?

Scott is not a cook, when Larry is working he orders pizzas and picks up fast food, as soon as Larry realizes this he is determined to teach Scott. No matter how often Scott complains, everyday Lawrence has off is spent on their feet in the kitchen. Larry isn't the greatest cook either, and their food doesn't always taste good but they have fun, they dance around the kitchen together and try to cook things they surely aren't ready to cook. Scott taste tests every ingredient, reminding Lawrence that he's just doing poison control when he starts making that face. Scott doesn't cook alone, sure he'll burn the house down without Lawrence's supervision, but the more they practice the more often they have leftovers for him to eat. The days Lawrence doesn't work late often end with the duo on their couch, their kitchen a mess (that won't be there when Scott wakes up – Lawrence will wake up early to do dishes), and their bellies full of something quite honestly mediocre, but they'll both eat seconds and it'll be gone when Larry's home tomorrow, Scott will be convinced it's the best thing they've ever cooked just like he is with everything they've ever cooked.

[wheredidhiseyebrowsgo]

Hellooo! Can you please help me find some fics where Derek Bullies Stiles but has a happy ending? I need zhe angstt

For sure.

Mark me by SterekLirryOmega

(1/1 I 3,537 I Teen)

"Mate?" Stiles sounded a bit breathless and when Derek looked up he saw the whiskey coloured eyes big with shock

"It's that ok? You'll be my mate?" And damn he sounded pleading but he didn't care he needed Stiles to say yes to this, to be his forever

Or

The one were Derek is a bully, stiles is oblivious and Jackson still an asshole.

Oh everyone is in High School.

A Serendipitous Occurance by DominikaDecember

(11/11 I 29,529 I Mature)

Derek is living at home with his two annoying siblings, his mother who is killing herself at work and he's stuck in a crappy job with friends who are just as lost as him. Nothing really changes. Especially not when Derek realizes that he has a crush on his little brother's best friend

You Don't Always Get What You Want by deadly_nightshade, Nerdy_fangirl_57

(7/? I 63,150 I Mature)

Stiles doesn't understand what he could have done to deserve this. Not only has the entire student body been out to get him since he first stepped foot into Beacon Hills High, but now he has to endure the constant bullying without his best friend Scott by his side. All in all school is survivable, even with all the harassment. That is until he finds out that Derek Hale, basketball superstar and Stiles' most persistent bully, is apparently his soulmate. Fan-fucking-tastic.

Derek can't believe this. It has to be a joke, it has to, because there is no way in hell that a freak like Stilinski could ever be his soulmate. He despises him more than anyone in the universe. So what if Derek thinks he has a cute nose, no one needs to know. Besides it doesn't matter anyway, he still hates Stilinski with every fiber of his being, his cute nose doesn't change a thing.

He's My Best Friend; Also My Tormentor by TheRoaringWolf

(31/? I 88,526 I Explicit)

Stiles and Derek were best friends. Growing up next door neighbours to each other they did everything together. They watched their first R rated movie together, drank their first stolen beer together, they were always at each others side. Then out of blue Derek turned on Stiles. He shut him out of his life and began to torment him; shoved him against the lockers in the hall, spread humiliating lies about him to the school, Derek made it his mission to make Stiles' life a living Hell.

Why? Stiles would ask himself that question everyday for the last three years. He had done nothing to cause this. He had loved Derek when all of a sudden he was pushed out of his life.

One night, years later, Stiles is sitting by his bedroom window watching Derek's silent house, remembering the days of their friendship, when one mistake will cause everything in Stiles' life to be turned upside down and can only watch helplessly as everything falls apart.

Blue Monday by ExpectNothingGainEverything

(18/? I 511,316 I Explicit)

Stiles would have never guessed that the star player of the lacrosse team and presumably the hottest guy in school who everyone wanted a piece of and one of his most hated bullies would turn out to be his soulmate.

Derek would never have dreamed that fate would be so cruel to pair him up with a freak like Stilinski.

[goatcheesecak3]

Adam's diary

Adolescent Adam stanheight x adolescent Scott tibbs (platonic)

Fic type: diary entry, angst

Warnings: domestic abuse, underage drinking

Summary: a diary entry written by adolescent Adam Stanheight, detailing the weekend he spent with his best friend, Scott Tibbs

A/n: absolutely no one asked for this but it came to me like a prophetic vision, and I live for rustynail angst

Scott just left. He stays here sometimes when his mom's boyfriend gets mad, and I stay with him when my dad drinks. Scott says I'm lucky to have a real dad, but I disagree. At least Scott only gets hit by some chump who's banging his mom,  I think it's way worse when the beating comes from someone who's meant to love you. But that's whatever, because someday me and Scott are gonna be famous!! He's gonna be in a band, and I'm gonna do all their artwork and be their personal photographer. We'll be rich and we'll never speak to our families again.

Well, maybe I'll speak to mom. She's nice to me for the most part, she even hid enough money from dad to buy me this awesome camera for Christmas last year. I'm not allowed to use it when dad's around though, he can't know mom spent that much money on me. He doesn't have a clue where that money really went, he still thinks mom got robbed by one of the baseheads in our neighbourhood LOL!

I'd like to get rich enough to buy mom a house and take her away from dad, but even if I could afford it someday I don't think she'd go. She's scared of him, but she says she loves him and that she won't leave. It sucks because part of me wants to protect her, but the other part of me is really pissed that she doesn't protect me. I've gotten into fights with that asshole plenty of times, just to make sure he doesn't hurt her, but she's happy to sit back and watch him kick my ass.

Anyways, back to me and Scott. Scott stole some spray paint from his older brother, so this weekend we went and painted a mural on the old bridge downtown. You're not really allowed to get onto the bridge since it isn't used anymore, but me and Scott aren't scared of a little climbing LOL!!

I painted this cool design of a pole with skulls stuck to it, Scott says he wants to use it as an album cover for his band someday, which I think is pretty cool. After that we went to the corner store and brought some 40s to drink. The guy at the store is so old he thinks we're 21! Scott says one day we should try and walk out without paying, but I don't want to push our luck, plus, the guy seems nice, even if he isn't really all there.

There's a big football game on next weekend, so I'll probably stay at Scott's House, because dad will probably be drinking. We're gonna go back to the mural and add some finishing touches, and I'll bring my camera to get some cool shots of us in front of our masterpiece.

Life is better since I've found ways to avoid my dad. Anyways, that's all for now. I'm going to bed.

[eepwtf]

Stiles who gets paranoid and thinks the world is falling apart when werecat! user and Scott (or any wolf) suddenly gets along and actually work together without arguing over anything. Is the sky falling? Is everybody alive? Does he have to do wellness checks? Something bad is on the horizon, has to be.

User who tries to dip out when things get scary because "This is way above my pay grade. I was only promised chicken tenders and fries and now I actually might die before i get to eat any of it!"

[TW: Death, Blood, Grief]

User who sacrifices theirself to protect the pack and Stiles is devastated as he holds them in his arms, frantically trying to stop the bleeding. He can hear them choke on their own fluids as he tries to reassure them, his voice shaky as he yells for Scott to do something - for someone to do anything. Stiles who can feel the dread build in his stomach when User grabs his hand weakly when he cups their face. He pleas, mumbling how he can fix this, how everything's gonna be alright, denial evident in his voice as their eyes droop and become still.

[Im... So sorry.]

Stiles who can barely function after the incident. He can't even bring himself to eat or even look at their favorite foods.

Stiles who's afraid to go to sleep, knowing if he close his eyes for too long his mind will torment him with nightmares of that day.

Stiles whose heart falls everytime he comes home, knowing User won't be there to greet him in their cat form.

And Stiles who thinks he might need to be admitted to eichen house when he sees User on his bed eating snacks a week later. He considers throwing himself out the nearest window when they greet him like nothing happened and even had the audacity to offer him a fry.

Stiles who's just so done with everything, but is still relieved that User is back. User who feels bad for forgetting to tell him they had nine lives, and made him go a week grieving their death.

Stiles who can't stop embracing them, because even if they did 'come back', their death was real and he doesn't want to lose them like that ever again.

Stiles who still finds it hard to sleep when they're not by his side. He checks their pulse and breaths every now and then when they're asleep, just to remind himself that they're alive. (Stiles who also comforts user from their own nightmares about dying). Stiles who's so much more protective, especially with user being weak after coming back. Stiles who over-caters to their every need partially to cope with his guilt over their death- user who's a bit overwhelmed and concerned by all the attention and stuff he gives them.

User who reminds him that what happened wasn't his fault, that he doesn't need smother them with gifts and food or "make the most of the time they still have together". That they miss the Stiles who scolded them and complained when they stole his food.

Stiles who tries to go back to normal, and does eventually, but enters a new crisis when he realizes how deeply he cares about user, how throughout everything, they were a constant in his life no matter how sticky things got. Stiles who finds himself admiring them fondly whenever they talked, ate, slept, or breathed. Stiles who feels completely doomed when he realizes he might like User more than he thought.

I feel like a lot of trauma and grief was quickly glossed over in teen wolf. Why did this take a dark turn 😭 I'm so sorry. I need to stop thinking about this man. my stiles I'm sorry you can never know peace.

- 🫐

[do0zy-artz]

Cleo looks out her window. She doesn't know why she does so, it's just another action she does without thinking. And the zombie wishes they hadn't done so, really. Out there, sitting on his ugly little bastion, is her soulmate. Martyn himself, in all his annoying glory. And he looks.....sad about something. For some reason.

And for some other reason, Cleo finds herself feeling the smallest bit of sympathy for him. Maybe it's because, if they focus really hard, Cleo can feel the smallest amount of pain that is not hers. His pain, the emtional kind. Not that the zombie will ever admit to that.

Cleo sighs, and stops what she's doing. Which had been making bread. She'd been making bread with some wheat that they'd stolen from the Ranch. Cleo sighs and opens her door, with hands that still have the slightest bit of dough on them, and walks out towards the bastion. They hope they don't regret this, and that Martyn is too sad to try and bite her head off today.

"Hey." Cleo says, once she has walked across the bridge between her and Scott’s houses. Because that's the side Martyn was on, and the cliff was closer to his house on that side. Startled, Martyn looks up, and Cleo thinks that small prick of pain in their shared heart gets worse.

"Hi." Martyn says, looking at them rather suspiciously. "Did you come to make fun of my house again?" His voice is thick with distaste, his mind no doubt full of their friends prior jabs at his house. Cleo just rolls their eyes.

"No. I came to sit." She says, and looks at the gap between the cliff and the bastions edge. Martyn stands, seeming to hold back a sigh.

"I guess you can sit with me." He says, walking closer to her. "Over here. You can get up here from this part of the cliff." Martyn motions to where he is now standing, and offers out a hand. Cleo takes it with a nod, and tries not to think of the feeling of his hand in hers. Once she is on the bastion, Martyn let's go of her, and sits back on his previous spot with a huff.

"Why're you here?" He asks, eyeing the zombie when she sits down next to him. Two pairs of legs hang dangerously off the bastions edge, like the fools they were. If one of them slips, that's two lives lost. So Marytn better not slip again.

Cleo just shrugs. "You looked sad. Felt sad too, if I focused enough." They state it simply, not being good with all the emotional stiff. It's not their forte, but Cleo will try. Just this once. For the two of them.

Martyn sighs, and places his hand on his cheek. "You're not gonna leave until I talk about it, are you?" He grumbles, gaze fixed on the water below. The water still with a warden in it. Right. Cleo had forgotten about that thing. She apologizes to Reggie in her head for forgetting about him, depsite the spectacle it had casued a few days prior. And the constant clicking sounds it made, which were horribly annoying once you tuned into them.

"Nope. And you know I'm willing to sit here for a while." The zombie responds, briefly hoping the warden can't hear the from all the way up here. Getting sonic blasted wouldn't be very fun.

Martyn says nothing for a few minutes, his eyes still fixed on the water. They look troubled too. Cleo says nothing, and idly kicks her legs off the edge of the bastion, waiting for him to speak first.

"I....want another soulmate." Martyn admits after a moment, doing so hesitantly. He sounds like he feels bad about it. "Not a chosen one, a.....real one ya know? Not that chosen soulmates aren't-"

Cleo cuts him off with a small laugh at his rambling. "I know what you mean. I get it." He turns to look at her, and there is lingering curiosity in those yellow eyes. Both their eyes are yellow, because of him. The zombie frowns, and tries not to think about that.

"I wish I bad someone else too. Bdubs, maybe." She admits, wistfully thinking of a time they cannot have back. Of a castle with a stupid bubble elevator and a mote around it.

Martyn hums in agreement, and they know he's thinking of the same time as she is. They also know what he's going to say before he even says it. "I wish I was bound to Ren." Martyn murmurs, looking back at the water for a second. There's a blush already spreading across his face, because he is still so gone for that man. Even after all this time.

Cleo has to hold back a laugh. "I knew you were gonna say that." She teases, going to nudge his side playfully. Marytn makes another huff, and blushes more.

"You're not that bad of a soulmate, though. But I still want Ren." He continues, looking back at her. Cleo finds she agrees with him, on the first part that is. Martyn isn't that bad of a soulmate, they just had some rough patches. Maybe....if those hadn't happened....they could've....

Nevermind all that. This was about Ren and Martyn, not her and whatever feeling they had for the blonde next to her.

"Yeah." Cleo agrees, holding back a smile. "Maybe if those cheating rumors are true, Ren will come to his senses."

"And what?" Martyn snorts, the pain in their shared heart feeling a little lighter. Like it was starting to mend. "Choose me over BigB?"

"Maybe~" Cleo hums, and the both of them burst into a small fit of giggles. This isn't like either of them, to be so open and emotional with each other. But it's nice, the zombie decides. And she wouldn't mind doing it again, as long as Marytn remains civil about it.

He leans on her after a minute, head resting on the zombies shoulder. Cleo says nothing, just lets him, and remembers their height difference. And the fact that she's stupidly tall. Cleo says nothing about the contact (because secretly, the touch feels really nice,) and listens as Martyn starts to complain about the warden below, and how it akways keeps him up at night. It might be Jimmy and Tango's baby, but the man next to her wants Ranchers Revenge dead. For the whole server and not his own convenience, of course.

Cleo listens, and stops fighting a smile. The rest of the day can be theirs. Even if it's not going to be her and Martyn in the end. It's going to be Martyn and Ren, when all this is said and done. It always is. But just for today, it can be Cleo and Marytn. Just for a little bit.

She'll give him back, because she couldn't keep him if she tried. If Cleo tried to keep Martyn, he'd just fight until they freed him. Maybe that was why she seemed to care so much, because he fought and fought like a warrior if he truly loved someone. A rather endearing trait.

Its why Ren loved him, that was for certain. Maybe not why Cleo cared for him, but it's why Ren did. And that was enough. That was enough for her to be comfortable letting him go back home.

[no-name-for-me]

I got this prompt idea from a show I watched and I wanted to fix it a bit and make it Sterek, so what if Laura and Scott where dating but no one knew. And Scott sends a letter to Laura telling her its over and that he's going to marry someone else, it could be Allison, signing the letter with just an S.S. The reason he is marrying Allison is because her family is rich. Due to the letter Laura is so heartbroken that she commits suicide. Stiles and Scott are stepbrothers because their parents married of course. Anyway when Peter and Derek, the only other Hales alive, find out about Laura's death they have different reactions. Derek isolates himself, but Peter looks for Revenge. Somehow he is able to discern that either Stiles or Scott are the boyfriend but because Stiles is the only one whos last name starts with an S he thinks its Stiles. Trying to make sure he is right, he asks Scott if he knew if Stiles dated someone, Scott having seen a picture of Peter in Laura's apartment before says that Stiles dated someone named Laura but didn't know more. Peter sets himself out to make Stiles fall in love with him to break his heart, and he achieves it, and they marry. Derek doesn't know about the marriage. Peter takes Stiles to a ranch in a town that is really isolated and starts to ignore and neglect him breaking Stiles heart. Derek goes to live in a small house in the ranch, and one day Stiles and Derek bump into each other, without knowing who the other person is. Derek sees Stiles sad and they start talking, Stiles not having anyone care for him for a while breaks down and tells Derek about his husband, without mentioning his name, and about everything that has been happening and not knowing what he did wrong. They keep talking to eachother, falling in love with eachother but not doing anything about it. Derek tries to find out who Stiles is married to so he can help him, but Stiles refuses because he thinks he is somehow at fault. After some time passes Derek finds out that Peter is Stiles husband and when he confronts Peter about his mistreatmentz, Peter tells him his "reasons". Derek unable to believe Stiles would do something like that leaves searching for the truth and after he finds it he brings Stiles dad, Scott's mom, Scott, and Allison to the ranch under the impression that they are only going to visit Stiles, but in reality he is going to reveal Scott's lies and the truth in Peter's mistreatment. Stiles dad and Scotts mom apolagize to Stiles for not trying harder to see him. Allison tells Scott that she is going to divorce him. Peter breaksdown apolagizing for how he treated Stiles and tells him that he had fallen in love with him, even tough he tried not to and to please forgive him and to give him another chance but Stiles denies him telling him that he had fallen out of love with Peter for a while but had been unable to ask for divorce due to how secluded he was and thinking he was at fault. Stiles confesses his feelings to Derek even though he doesnt think Derek feels the same way about him, but not wanting there to be anything left unsaid. Derek admits to Stiles that he in love with him as well. After a few years pass they get married and live happy for the rest of their years.

[catboy-sinister]

Currently rotting, so I present:

The Quiet Council playing Minecraft

Charles: Tries to establish a community with order and rules, fails horribly. Forgets that it's just a game and gets way too involved in Minecraft Server Politics. Eventually just closes the server.

Erik: Hangs out with Ororo. Illyana or Beto probably showed him the game so he knows what he's doing, but he's here to relax. Way too sick of Charles to help him.

Apocalypse: Uses his Celestial tech to play because his hands are too large for normal human tech. Still can't run shaders.

Irene: Sits by Raven and tells her what she needs to do. Just happy to lay her head on her wife's shoulder, and to ruin Charles's day.

Raven: Gets competitive, immediately wants the best gear. Keeps stealing Charles's stuff when Irene tells her he won't notice. Describes the beautiful things she sees in detail to Irene and builds a flower garden for them both.

Nathaniel: Spends the entire time making his skin. When he does get into the game, he griefs Charles's house and then harrasses Apocalypse with TNT. Eventually gets bored, sets his game to creative, and blows up everything.

Emma: Collects all the types of cats and spends time building a beautiful base with Kate. As in, Kate gets the resources and builds the base, while Emma gives directions and adds details

Kate: Pretty good at the game. Harrasses Shaw and griefs his village. Loves resource gathering and mining.

Sebastian: Spends his time levelling up villagers and turning them to zombies + curing them so he gets the best deals.

Selene: Doesn't understand the villagers are NPCs, so she sets up a cult in a village to worship her. Secretly, she gets a little attached to them. She also builds plenty of Iron Golems.

Hope: Probably a Minecraft pro. Basically speedruns the best gear and farms while dragging Bennet along with her. At first, she tells Bennet to get her resources, but after he keeps getting lost/dying she just does it herself.

Bennet: Has no idea what's going on, but follows Hope around and does what she says. Easily gets lost without her. He likes the armor and weapons, he feels like a knight again.

Piotr: Collects a bunch of animals, and has an army of dogs. I imagine he names them after flowers and dyes their collars to match. Of course sets up large farms.

Kurt: Doesn't really know how to play the game. Tries to help Charles at first, but eventually goes out on his own or helps Piotr on his farms.

Ororo: Hangs out with Erik. Charles kept asking her to help him build a community but she was more interested in building and mining with Erik.

Jean: Knows how to play through Rachel and Teen Cable. Probably tries to sneak Scott onto the server but he says no. Also tries to help Charles but gets sick of him.

Doug: Secretly competing with Hope. Failing miserably, but he's still having a great time.

Krakoa: Asking Doug questions about the game. Eventually tries to recreate Minecraft biomes on the island. It becomes a major emergency because suddenly skeletons and zombies are appearing at night and attacking mutants.

[starry-mist]

S5e15 and s5e16 thoughts:

Obviously I need to do these ones together. I'm also going to try to do this as sort of a review rather than general thoughts...it's my first time trying this so be nice, LOL.

I have a few thoughts before I jump into the episodes.

One of the main reasons (other than the obvious one of having these additional characters with their own storyline that initially seems separate from what the series regulars are doing) that this initially felt like a backdoor pilot is because one of the titular characters is noticeably absent. And we know this was because John and Meghan were expecting their third child to be born right around the time this was scheduled to film, so he wasn't available. I'm not saying it couldn't still be a backdoor pilot, but I think it's unlikely for the moment.

The story we got was very different from the original synopsis in the article about the Ontario government funding production in Northern Ontario (https://www.nugget.ca/news/five-film-tv-productions-receive-funding) which again, is likely because John was unavailable so they launched Sarah and Jesse into the spotlight for this one.

I know Jesse fans have a lot of feelings about his glasses, and I agree that the explanation for why he no longer wears them is pretty weak. Fans of this show do have a tendency to fixate on changes in character appearances (see also: much controversy on Facebook about Charlie's season 6 hair.) Anyway, characters evolve, people change, I'm just going to leave it at that. Maybe Justin was just sick of wearing them.

Without further ado:

We open with a lovely aerial shot of “Webster Bay,” which I’m sure is 100% a real place and totally not North Bay, Ontario. (It's absolutely not a real place.) A couple is having a romantic moment by the side of the road. Very sweet. Until it turns out the man is there to rob the house across the street. That's...perhaps a little less sweet.

The home invasion/robbery hits a little snag when the homeowner is, well, home, and goes at the would-be robber with a sizeable pair of scissors. He accidentally knocks her out trying to disarm her, and it's time for the happy couple to GTFO.

Roll credits.

Back in St. John's, the Major Crimes team has ordered lunch. Jesse gets an ominous phone call from his previously-never-mentioned sister.

It's the season of new family members coming out of the woodwork. Sigh.

Anyway, Jesse's sister is in Northern Ontario, as far as he knows (which is apparently where they both grew up...look I'm just going to keep rolling my eyes at all of these things that could have been mentioned IN FOUR PREVIOUS SEASONS) and is in trouble. Come quick. No cops. Doesn't sound sketchy at all...

Jesse's ready to go to her rescue, but Charlie doesn't think he should go alone.

Sarah: You want to go with him?

Charlie: I was thinking you. And Rex.

(Yeah, remember those establishing moments I mentioned in the previous two episodes? Those are now relevant.)

Apparently Charlie has some important stuff he has to take care of.

(Please remind me I need to someday write a fic about Charlie’s guilt at sending the trio into harms way.)

This whole scene is a little forced, IMHO, but anyway, off they go.

Cut to Ontario, where we now have MEGAN FREAKING FOLLOWS, OMG, BE STILL MY ANNE OF GREEN GABLES-LOVING HEART. At this point, I should note that I do love these fleshed-out original characters and their stories, which initially feel strange given we've never seen them before, but will make sense later.

(Pause for my usual commentary of same actor, different character: Cihang Ma previously played Holly in s3’s Seeing is Deceiving. Here they play Detective Kai Huang, and let me just express my appreciation for a non-binary actor playing a non-binary role.)

Anyway, Detective Anne of Green Gables Sidney Scott is on scene and having flashbacks. It looks like she lost someone close to her. Kai thinks the people who broke in were addicts. Sidney has other ideas. She talks to the victim's husband, Tim Cooper, who apparently worked with her husband as well. But she makes it clear that she's definitely off work and totally not on the case.

Right...

Back to St. John’s, Charlie is having someone dig up Constable Charlie Hudson’s incident reports from October 30, 2009. Okay first off, I would have appreciated some flashbacks to a younger Charlie, but I don't always get what I want (rarely, in fact.) And we find out that Charlie is investigating his "white whale" of a child abduction case that has haunted him for 14 years, which has of course been foreshadowed in prior seasons because this show is so amazing at continuity. /s

Cut to Charlie's house, with him taping up a makeshift "murder board" on the wall. My dude, you're going to need to repaint...

Meanwhile in Ontario, we have lovely wide shots of fall colours. So pretty. We also have rapid-fire voiceover exposition from Sarah and Jesse on their arrival, where they're going, how long it's taken them to get there, and honestly, this is yet another of those "show, don't tell" moments that this show struggles with.

The trio arrive at “an old Cold War missile site” where Jesse and Crystal came when they were kids, riding their bikes down from his uncle’s place. Questions abound about who actually raised Jesse, who has mentioned his mom (in a throwaway line in s2) and a deceased father. Now there was apparently an uncle? Okay we'll go with it. Anyway, Jesse and Crystal used to hang out here and build camps in abandoned buildings.

Sarah and Rex are the third wheels (actually fourth and fifth, I suppose) in the Jesse/Crystal/random sketchy boyfriend scene as they head into an abandoned hangar. Sketchy boyfriend (who has a name that I'm not bothering to look it up given he won't be around that long) wants to know if these new additions are cool.

Sarah: Dr. Sarah Truong, hi. We’re cool.

(I don't know why I find that line so amusing.)

Rex senses danger. Looks like it's time to GTFO of the hangar.

This is where I point out that two of these characters are weapons-trained cops, one of whom we have seen is basically a sharpshooter…And none of this apparently matters as neither of them have a weapon on hand that they can use. Oops.

Going to have to suspend disbelief at the fact that the sniper can instantly kill the bf, shoot out the tires on Sarah and Jesse's rental car (that's going to be a hefty repair bill,) but then they're all just able to run out in the open and magically escape…right.

This is pretty elaborate for a scene that is essentially just a setup for the plane crash.

Sidney Scott visits a man named Elvis Migwan outside the local hospital. We learn that there is a local Indigenous community whose water has apparently been affected by runoff from a mining operation. Elvis's daughter is sick. And this is a really relevant topic given how many Indigenous communities in Canada lack access to clean water.

Back to the airfield, and I'm just going to speculate that they blew the budget on this next scene and on the plane crash.

Apparently flight simulator games have taught Jesse enough that he can figure out how to fly a plane...again, suspending disbelief. The team take to the skies and are promptly shot down by the sniper, as my anxiety begins to ratchet up.

The remote lake where they crash would be a pretty place to camp in any other circumstance.

Anne of Green Gables Sidney has a nice, large house. It's actually pretty big for one person. Hey, Sidney has that in common with Charlie. They should hang out. Inspector Yousef Ali stops by and brings Sidney dinner. It's a salad. She's displeased. I start to ship them.

Charlie and Joe have a scene at Charlie’s house and it's just not working for me. I can't help it. The whole Alison case appearing out of the blue feels forced.

(However, Joe is totally checking out the new, shall we say, feminine touches in Charlie’s house.)

At the crash site, Jesse manages to smash open his door when there were two perfectly good open ones on the other side of the plane, because reasons? Crystal’s wrist is probably broken, Jesse’s got some cracked ribs…but at least they have a doctor with them who’s totally in one piece and definitely not injured.

Sarah asks for a first aid kit, presumably to do, you know, actual first aid...oh wait, no, instead she scribbles some notes on a piece of paper, which she rolls into a little case that she attaches to Rex's collar. With a tearful hug, she sends Rex off into the wilderness.

Cue “The Littlest Hobo” theme.

Rex wanders the woods.

Sidney Scott decides to go back to work.

Back at the crash site, we find out Crystal’s a pretty big screwup, and Jesse chastises her for her messing up her life. Not super helpful at the moment, Jesse.

Sarah starts to look disoriented and possibly in pain. This is going to get worse before it gets better.

Rex encounters some sort of bird of prey (I think it's a hawk, but I'm not an expert.) No worries, he'll just hide under a bridge for a moment.

Another "same actor different character" moment: the actor playing Bertrand Boyle previously appeared as Tucker Moore in s4’s No Man is an Island.

Rex is under a sky full of stars, which I'm sure he'd pause to appreciate if there weren't a pack of wolves nearby. I believe I read somewhere that Sherri Davis who trains the dogs actually trained all the animals that appeared in this one. I’m in awe of her talent.

Morning at the crash site. Crystal is about to peace out. Jesse talks her into staying. And Sarah wakes up in rough shape.

And here is where I state that Mayko Nguyen is the best actor on this show, fight me. She completely nailed that subtle shift when Sarah realizes that she's injured, and more seriously than she initially thought.

(Side note: I love that Mayko is wearing her trademark huge puffy warm coat. She is apparently always cold.)

So anyway, Sarah has realized that she's bleeding internally, and tells Jesse that he'll need to operate.

Right…

Sarah: You can do anything you put your mind to, Jesse Mills. You just flew a plane!

I really hope they submitted this episode for this year's Canadian Screen Awards.

On his continued trek through the wilderness, Rex encounters the most fearsome of woodland creatures: a skunk. Oh no! What if he ends up smelly?!! Anyway, Rex wins the territorial battle, and over the log bridge he goes.

Oh look, an owl.

So many critters.

There's a road! And with a short swim, Rex has officially made it back to civilization where he is promptly picked up by some sinister characters in a truck.

I'm not going into the gory details of Jesse doing field surgery on Sarah, because I still find it hard to watch, but anyway, give Mayko an Emmy. Hell, give her an Oscar. Give her all the things.

...right now, because I’m not watching these separately.

Ugh. Field surgery. I feel very much the same way as Jesse does when it comes to blood.

Cut to the Ontario Police Service (or whatever they’re calling their version of Ontario Provincial Police) HQ building, which I’m pretty sure is part of Nipissing University, as is the “hospital” we see later.

Detective Scott, meet Rex. He'll keep you on your toes.

See you later, sketchbags in the pickup truck. Nobody messes with our boy Rex.

Oh hey, it’s Charlie Hudson. Kind of forgot about that guy for a moment. Anyway Charlie and Joe get a call from Sidney about the plane crash. Charlie holds back...really any emotion whatsoever.

Sidney! Rex! Helicopter!

Sidney sends Charlie a photo of the note that Rex brought her, and Charlie recognizes Sarah’s handwriting. Joe tries to be reassuring. Okay, now they're showing a little bit of worry at the unknown fate of their friends.

Sarah is now semi-conscious and making last requests.

Sarah: If I don’t make it you have to find Rex…tell Charlie…

Jesse: No, you’re gonna tell him yourself…

Me: Tell him what, exactly? Because you've been a couple more than long enough that I refuse to believe there have been no "I love yous" exchanged, even if we've yet to see it said on screen.

Anyway Sarah passes back out, while I continue to hyperventilate.

Cut to St. John's. Charlie feels guilty for not going. Joe steers him back into his B plot. It still feels forced.

Sidney chatting "with" Rex as he leads her through the woods cracks me up.

At the crash site, Sarah wakes up feverish. She knows she probably an infection. So she should totally drink the unfiltered lake water Crystal brings her, because what’s a little E. coli going to do? Anyway apparently it’s all good as long as the paramedics push IV antibiotics…whatever. Sidney and Rex of course arrive at exactly the right time!

Rex lays protectively on his “mom.”

And the look Sidney gives Crystal tells us her shit is officially about to hit the fan.

Jesse has a phone call with Joe and Charlie to fill them in on all the nitty-gritty. Charlie wants to talk to Sarah, who is now in actual surgery. Jesse goes to check on his sister, who is now under arrest.

Crystal: I just watched my boyfriend get shot and killed and was pretty sure we were all gonna die in a plane crash. It’s been a lot.

Sarah Swire's deadpan delivery of the above lines is just so good.

Sidney questions Crystal, and it become clear that she definitely has a personal stake in this. Crystal swears there was no gun at the house her boyfriend robbed. She wants Jesse to cover for her by taking the backpack full of money, which of course he does. For now.

Sidney: Are you here as a cop or a brother?

Jesse: I have to be both.

Rex wants to help Sidney track the shooter. This could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship!

In Sarah's hospital room, she's sitting up in bed and talking to Charlie, albeit briefly. That conversation should have been longer and more emotional.

Tracking the shooter leads to more amusing Sidney and Rex "conversation." They find the type of gun that was used to kill Sidney’s husband. Suddenly Sidney's personal stake in the case makes sense.

Jesse and Sarah chat in her hospital room where she's looking pretty well recovered considering she just had two abdominal surgeries...and then she’s up and at it looking over forensics with Kai. It turns out Kai had the wrong time of death.

Joe reassures Charlie, who is feeling stuck on the Alison case, that he’s a great cop, great detective, blah blah. Says he needs to figure out how to move on so he can be ready for the next people who need his help. So clearly we’re done with this case and it definitely won’t reappear in a future episode...*eyes the next episode on the list*

The totally-not-the-shooter guy whose name I can’t be bothered to learn thinks Sidney’s husband would want her to move on and enjoy the life she has left. Okay then.

It seems that Crystal did in fact know that there would be money in the house. Also she knows about the contaminated runoff situation from the mine. Working as a cleaner, she managed to overhear all kinds of things, and through creative use of french fries, casually explains to Jesse how the mine’s money laundering scheme worked.

Incoming sniper. Again. Rex attempts a takedown but the sniper nearly runs him over with his car. Well, at least they should have a license plate now, assuming Jesse can actually see it without his glasses.

Seeing that it's time to come clean, the Mills siblings take the backpack full of money to Sidney. Crystal reveals how she knew the money was at the Cooper house by basically rehashing everything she just told Jesse. And maintains that her brush with law-breaking was "just one time."

Jesse to Crystal: Rex is really disappointed in you.

Sidney goes back to Elvis Migwan and asks how he knew about the mine runoff. And we now know that her husband faked the reports that said the water was clean.

Back at home, Sidney rips down her wall murder board. She's coming to terms with who her husband really was. He was killed in order to keep him quiet, but he knew a lot more than he let on.

Sidney goes off to question Tim Cooper, who is the actual mastermind behind all of this. Inspector Ali tells her she needs backup. It looks like she rolls up with just Rex, who stays in the car.

Sniper dude is on the scene. Oh, apparently his name is Wayne.

Rex takes him down.

Sidney gets a confession from Cooper.

And the rest of the backup team comes out of hiding.

Sidney, needing to make amends, takes a USB with proof of the falsified mine records to Elvis Migwan. It's everything he will need for his lawsuit against the mining company.

Jesse and Crystal chat as he is ready to head back home. Maybe she'll visit St. John's someday. (Here’s hoping.)

Sid puts away a photo of her and her husband. Ali shows up. Sidney tells him she's planning to sell the house, and that she doesn’t like salad. He's brought her a burger this time.

Could be love.

Sidney swears she's getting groceries tomorrow, and will be back at work on Monday. She's picking up the pieces. She also wants to choose her own partner. Say hello to Little Rex.

Sarah, Jesse and Rex head for the plane.

Jesse: You know, second time's the charm flying the plane.

Sarah: Too soon!

Charlie pulls the pictures of Alison off his wall. He's letting it go.

The door opens, and we get probably my favourite Charah scene ever. The clinging hug. The concern for each other. The intimacy of their foreheads pressed together as they gently sway.

Swoon.

Best episodes ever.

[fountainpenguin]

"But I am even more than the two of them; everything they care about is what I am- I am their fury; I am their patience..." (x)

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New Dog's Life chapter today! ~ 3rd Life series fan-season

Chapter 16 - “Flare (Sniff, Scott)”

❤️ Read on AO3

💛 Start from Chapter 1

💚 More Pixels Imperfect fics

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While the Dog's Life server plays Session 2, SnifferMyFeet fights the offline Etho for control of his body... Scott and Lizzie recover from the shock of a wild caving adventure, Grian and Bdubs pay the Sushi Boys a visit, and Sniff and Jellie spend some quality time together.

(First 1,200 words under the cut)

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SnifferMyFeet - Player (Unthreaded)

Quarry: Debatable

Hunter: Frequently himself

Allegiance: Whatever this is

🖤  🖤  🖤

"So I guess that's the story," Sniff says, pressing the last piece of gingerbread roof into place. He melds it tight with a flicker of his crafting ability. None of the houses in the ConVex storage room are decorated with sugarcane, frosting, or chocolate chips, but maybe that comes later. The agent simply wanders to the corner and pulls out more cookie pieces so it can work on the next rustic cabin in line. The fact that it's dark doesn't seem to be a problem. Sniff doesn't mind it either. "I don't know, Weird Grian Agent… The cuddles are nice and all, but let's be real… I don't have a chance with Scar or Etho. I mean, Etho called me 'Joel' when we were snuggled up… I don't know if we're coming back from that. Maybe I'm afraid to express my true feelings because I worry that he'll never see me for who I really am."

The agent beeps a few times, not even looking at him. Sniff rolls his eyes.

"Gee… Thanks for that vote of confidence. You don't have to be so snippy."

This time the agent turns full around, growling low in the back of its transmitters. Sniff watches idly, wondering how hard he'd have to punch the thing to knock it on its back. The agent bleeps once more, then turns away as though it scoffed.

"Yeah, all right… I just don't know where to go from here. I mean, look at me. Right now, I'm a charity case just getting by on the kindness Etho, Cub, and Scar have shown me. Oh, yeah- and Grian, I guess. Beef… I'm not in the system. I don't have my own flat. Maybe Pig will let me share, but he always said he lives in a really cramped studio. I haven't even seen him yet since I came to Between… and surely he would've asked around for me, right? I mean, he's usually come home at least once by now. But if I go looking for Pig, I might get answers to questions about his private life I really don't want to have. Like about whatever's going on between him and TwoMuchGrian. You look like you know Grian. D'you know if Pig and Two are married?"

The agent ignores him, kneeling down. It starts setting up the first wall on a cardboard foundation. Sniff runs his fingers through the back curls of his hair, sighing through his teeth.

"I guess deep down, what I really want is for everything to go back to the way it used to be. I want my husbands back, but I can't just say it to their faces… I mean, if they liked me, wouldn't they already be dating me? Err… Grian and Joel."

No response. Maybe a stifled beep. Only one.

"This is just a lot to take in. I mean, I probably shouldn't be worrying about it right now. I guess I should take my time to get used to Between and let the rest fall into place, but if there's any chance, I don't want to lose them, y'know? So it feels weird breaking up with them if it's not hopeless yet. Plus, I'm bored… I miss Etho and Scar. It used to be that I barely went anywhere without one of them hanging around me. When they were gone, I always knew they'd come back- I built our bases or whatever. But now they might never come back, and I'm probably about to get dumped twice back to back by two people I really like who've maybe kind of sort of been leading me on, and that's really gonna hurt…"

The agent starts work on the second gingerbread wall.

"And I already know that if Pig had to choose between spending time with me or all his cam account friends, I'd never win. I mean, I've never won him over in that regard. I guess he's got Two? I think that was implied. I'm pretty sure he only came home when all his friends were at work and he was off. And I guess I'm grateful, because he could've just left me on that server forever… but, like, he never mentioned unthreading to me as an option? What's up with that?"

And that's a hard pill to swallow (emphasis on the 'aha'). Sniff flops back against the doorframe, draping an arm across his eyes. It helps a little. It almost makes it silly, and then it doesn't sting so badly.

I mean, when Etho told me about unthreading, I jumped right up. Why didn't Pig ever…?

It would've been nice. If when Joel went under for surgery reasons, Etho knocked politely at the door of his and Pig's flat.

I guess if one of my lookalikes ever needs my code again, Etho will be back. Maybe someone should "accidentally" bump Joel or Grian off a cliff.

"Things seem pretty good in Between, and there are all these other servers out here. Pig can go have fun with his friends any time he wants. I don't know if he visited because he liked me? I think it was just duty, boredom, and pity. Like, geez… I'm not as interesting as a thousand worlds to explore. And we're not dating; Pig knew how I felt about my husbands, so he didn't make moves on me, I think. Or he's not interested, but I don't care about that as I like fighting him.

"Although, it is a bit messed up that he never told me they were off the market… Well, I guess I don't know if they're off the market, but you know what I mean. I really miss them, though. Scar's snuggles are the best, but Etho really makes you feel special when he's affectionate. I really liked their hugs. And our old bases. I loved The Relation ship… and the Red Velvet Keep. I actually do miss those pandas… not that I'd ever tell him that; he'd get such a smug look on his face. I miss chasing pillagers with Etho. And the carroting. The way he used to take me apart…"

He trails off, cradling his cheek against his knuckles. He never did carrot with Scar (Too scared; too stressed; reasons unclear), but he did carrot with Etho. A little. Mind your own blummin' business. He sniffs then, pathetically, which is miserable in the sense that it grounds him to his name (like a boot heel twisting him into the dirt).

He exhales. "I know breaking up's the right thing to do… because even if they want to date me, we'd be building that relationship on memories that only I have. Mine are wrong, apparently. I don't know what's up with that; Etho said I probably have roleplay memories without the context that it wasn't real, so my brain invented its own context, though that still leaves me with a dozen questions… My sneaking around the hub hasn't yet led me to some memory erasing business. I'm just not ready to get double dumped. They might not think I'm worth hanging out with anymore…"

They're experienced players. They don't want some oblivious newbie sniffing at their feet.

[Full chapter on AO3 - Link at top]

[redrikki]

Teen Wolf 1.10 Co-captains

The team wins semi-finals and Scott goes from frantically calling out for Stiles to awkwardly flirting with Allison. The kid chanting state and Scott glaring him down really pulled the whole thing together. Why was Scott passing to Danny when he's the goally? Who needs to be consistent about who plays what spot?

Peter and Derek ambush Scott in the locker room to monologue about sports and implant memories. Interesting blend of the fire, what the aftermath felt like, killing Laura, and Scott 's memories of digging up Laura.

Allison overheard her dad and aunt arguing about her training and decided to dig. Kate clearly trying to engineer her learning. Their conversation in the Hale house about how much she hates feelings helpless and wants to get strong/powerful. Power and the pursuit thereof is a big theme in the series overall and it's always bad. Everyone who pursues power for any reason is either already evil or gets what they want in a way that's actually a punishment. Allison wants to get strong to protect herself, but ends up hurting others and opening herself up to exploitation. Jackson wants power and thinks because he already has the power that comes with being rich, hot, and popular he can handle it without it fucking up his life the way it did Scott. Spoiler alert: he's wrong!

Allison knows Lydia made out with Scott. I do not get their friendship. Lydia picked her as a new accessory and Allison just went with it and now they're besties who shop and talk about clothes and boys. Alan Are there any female writers on this show because the female friendships feel hollow compared the male ones.

Stiles and his dad talking about the case once Stiles gets his dad drunk. Later we learn that Noah had/has a drinking problem. Does he have a history of over sharing about work while drunk that Stiles knew this would work? Anyway, exposition is helpful and the bit about Noah missing his relationship with his son and also his dead wife and then Stiles stopping drinking more was heartbreaking!

Scott being happy for his mom on her date was sweet and adorable. Then Peter had to go and be a creepy, sassy bitch. Stiles causes the car accident that breaks up the date, but Peter praises Scott and also reveals the plan for Jackson. Scott runs off to save him, ditching Allison in the middle of their heart to heart. Man, do you ever think about where their relationship would be if he'd actually taken Stiles' advice from episode 2 to just tell her the truth?

Derek threatens Jackson with a great monologue. When the hunters start shooting, he sacrifices himself for Scott. How did the hunters already have a fully equipped torture chamber under his house without him noticing? Kate is just so excited to show it off to her niece. God, she's so messed up!

Scott is shot with wolfsbane, but Deaton saves him. He doesn't need another bullet like they did in episode four cause he's just that awesome! He's been in the know the entire time, but screw actually using his knowledge to stop murders or whatever. Another running theme in the show is that people who start off with power don't always know how to use it right and must be taught via their relationship with Scott how to use it for the greater good. That's certainly the case with Deaton who goes from doing nothing when werewolves are murdering people in season 1 to putting it all on the line to help Scott contain the threat of the week from season 3 onwards.

[folanoflimbo]

ship hc meme for < illyatticus 3

Who makes the first move and how?

What two songs, two books and two luxury items do they take to a desert island?

What do they hide from one another?

When the zombie apocalypse comes, how do they cope together?

Why do they fight?

Why do they need to have a serious chat?

When one has a cold, what does the other do?

When they fight, how do they make up?

What first changes when it starts getting serious?

ooh these are good ones, thank you for the ask! answers below:

Who makes the first move and how?

It was Illyana's idea to go to the concert where they had their first kiss, but Atticus was the one who kissed her in the heat of the moment. They mutually agree the answer was 'both of them'.

What two songs, two books and two luxury items do they take to a deserted island?

Atticus: All I Want is You by Ball Park Music, House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski (he finds it relatable... for some reason) and probably a nice pair of shoes or something.

Illyana: Master of Puppets by Metallica, The Collected Poems by Sergei Yesenin (she genuinely likes Russian poetry) and very, very fancy booze.

What do they hide from each other?

They both have an extremely bad habit of hiding emotional and mental distress from each other. They want to be each others rock, even when it means being deceptive about their own problems. More comedically Illyana hides her collection of Dazzler records from Atticus to preserve her 'image'.

When the zombie apocalypse comes, how do they cope together?

Illyana drags poor Atti into magic stuff so often that zombie apocalypses are basically old hat. Illyana loves getting to chop through things guilt-free, and Atticus knows he's probably going to be fine with her (plus The Garden can always serve as a hideaway anyway).

Why do they fight?

These are two people who can both be very stubborn and very self-sacrificing. They argue about everything. It's normally good-natured, but if it's serious it's usually because one of them has done something dangerous and foolish without telling the other. Atticus also over-worries about Illyana when she's on missions, and that can cause plenty of arguments (including the one right before the Phoenix Five incident.), it doesn't help that Illyana is very close to Scott and Atticus doesn't particularly like the guy.

Why do they need to have a serious chat?

Even though it's been three years and affected her so deeply, Illyana Will Not talk about Atticus' death. Any attempt by Atticus to talk about it is shut down instantly, and if it's brought up by others she gets particularly nasty. It doesn't help that they were coming out of a rough patch right before it happened and Illyana couldn't do anything to save him.

When one has a cold, what does the other do?

Butler Atticus, at your service. This man will drop everything to look after Illyana; blankets, pillows, snacks, anything to make her feel better. Illyana doesn't go quite that far, since she's usually pretty busy, but she does check in on him all the time.

When they fight, how do they make up?

They will usually try and hash it out after a few hours. Atticus is usually the one to apologize first, since Illyana can stay irritated for longer periods of time and it'll make Atticus feel bad.

What first changes when it starts getting serious?

The other New Mutants noticed that Illyana was A. Being way less grouchy and B. Constantly hovering around Atticus when she wasn't with Kitty. More seriously is that Illyana starts going to Atticus for support more often, and once he leaves the team she visits and stays with him constantly it becomes a poorly-kept secrets between students at Xavier's that they're together.

[probablyaseamonster]

Secret Life hot take kinda?

I really didn't like the merch. Felt cheap as hell. Also, I felt like there were so many ways it could've been more creative, you know?

I was hesitant to put this out there because 1) it's a complete asshole move to say "your thing sucks, here's some of MY ideas" and 2) I heard that Grian tries really hard to come up with new ideas for each season's theme ON HIS OWN and he doesn't want to be inspired or influenced by any suggestions he recieves.

But well. I have decided to share my ideas anyway, because i want to. Hope you guys like them?

- Pizza on everything. I want him on tee-shirts, phone cases, keychains, stickers - he's one of the most iconic pets in the Life Series and he deserves his own merch! Also it'd be fun to draw actual pizza next to him if whatever way

Similarly: edgy red wolf-moon shirt with the line "til death do us part" with the letters L and Y drawn over the first word in a different font so it looks like Scott handwrote on top of a line from a book

Graphic design of Scarlet Pearl looking scary, either with the moon behind her or the moon-shaped scythes the fandom likes to draw her with poised and ready, and the line "something wicked this way comes" in distinct typography

Dogwarts banner as a poster. This one would be really simple I think and it's subtle enough to have people outside the fandom not even be able to GUESS what it's a reference to

Similarly, the Cherry Blossom shield pattern as a banner. I know they weren't as interesting as Dogwarts but they're like one of the only alliances who had something akin to a flag and their colours were aesthetic anyway, similar reason as Dogwarts

Fake band poster of Gem and the Scotts

Beanie designed to look like a mound of dirt, representing the Mounders

Cute design of an upside down house with the words "YES I KNOW IT'S UPSIDE DOWN" underneath. To anyone not in the fandom it reads as one of those "don't ask me blank" shirts

Cute design of an angry yorkshire terrier with a bone in its mouth with the words "the hound of hell" underneath in bloody gorey print to contrast

Stickers that come in quartets for BEST and TIES - bonus points if the B is green, the E is white-blue, the S is red, the T is orange, and the I is yellow, bonus BONUS points if the B has a mossy pattern, E has a snowflake pattern, T has a flame pattern, S has a halo, and I has demon horns

Cute ghast with puppy-dog eyes saying "We can still be friends!" Again, has a different vibe without context but isn't totally incomprehensible

Cute cartoon clock-people standing tough with the phrase "don't mess with the family" underneath in some font that makes you think of mafias or crime lords

Bread wearing sunglasses - "Bad Boys love bread, Bad Boys get bread"

Shirt with canary wings on the back

Cactus circle - "what happens in the cactus circle stays in the cactus circle" THIS one is incomprehensible to non-fans

Turtleneck with a bleeding pattern on the neck (meant to invoke images of beheading), very edgy but also works for a variety of situations

Pufferfish and poppies together somehow

Simplified flower valley with the words "hobbits invented gay people". Might get sued by whoever has the rights to Lord of the Rings.

Red shirt with snowflake pattern - "Red winter is coming!" Also might get sued by someone

Chonky Jellie with the phrase "frick you, my soulmate is my cat"

Okay! That's 20 of them! I actually have a lot more ideas but I'm stopping here because I have no clue if anyone's actually gonna read down this far! I hope you guys like these ideas (I say to my like 10 mutuals, love you guys)!