#I still cannot fucking believe this happened

[croatoancassiel]

huge rant from my privtwt, it was in reply to supernatural "hot takes" and im petty as hell

sam and cas in the show were best friends, they loved each other, cas said MULTIPLE times he loved and cared for BOTH sam and dean!! BOTH!!! BOTH WINCHESTERS!!!!!! he threw away everything for the TWO OF THEM!!! and as lovers sastiel is a harmless ship,,, especially where destiel fell off a bit in middle seasons and sam and cas got to spend more time... they could have very well been in love PLUS i would have loved to have seen them fall in love with the way their characters are and how much they can relate to each other, they fit together so perfectly it would have been sweet!!

and sabriel to my knowledge is a silly fun ship??? like its not that serious but also how the fuck can you take gabriel seriously he think everything a fuckin joke, the weirdo... but seriously, i feel like they can also relate to each other, plus i heard they bond a lot more in s13. AS FOR MYSTERY SPOT. it was a lesson, sense gabriel is an archangel he doesnt fully understand how much this hurts sam. cas said in one episode that hes been on earth for years and he STILL struggles to grasp human emotions. i believe gabriel genuinely thought this would nudge sam in the right direction so that deans death wouldnt hurt him as much. clearly it backfired and holy fuck it was a shitty thing to do but SAM FORGAVE GABRIEL!! DEAN WAS THE ONE THAT HELD THE MYSTERY SPOT OVER GABRIELS HEAD NOT SAM!!!!!! sam moved on and dean stayed mad dude!!!!

holy shit i hate ruby, you guys have GOT to understand that sam was manipulated. ruby manipulated him, ruby drugged him and ruby was there for him when dean died, SO YES hes going to rely heavily on ruby. BECAUSE HE WAS MANIPULATED. OHMY GOD thefucking victim blaming in this fandom ESPECIALLY towards sam pisses me offffff god...

im sick of people blaming sam when he was legit just?? high?? all the time he did NOT understand anything that was happening. yes he trusted ruby, ruby was really good at manipulation and the reason he trusted ruby over dean is because he could relate to ruby in a sense?? sam always said how unclean and unpure and gross he felt because of his demon blood and ruby was a demon so they could relate to each other in that way, dean could not relate. dean never lived with demon blood like sam has, sam thought by drinking demon blood and getting high or whatever he was doing the right thing because RUBY the DEMON said it was working so he was like okay! it was just manipulation after manipulation and yes sam fell for it. for one manipulation is hard to spot, even when dean said to sam thats what was happening its hard to believe youre being manipulated and used and two sam was hopped up on the demon blood CONSTANTLY, it clearly clouded his judgement because it messed with his head and body and that made it easier for ruby to trap him. i feel so icky when people blame s4 sam for things he COULDNT CONTROL... he had an addiction, he was being manipulated and he didnt have his brother's support through any of it.

everything after s5 is canon dude im sorry its in the fucking show bad writing or not and you cannot change that. the characters did bad things after s5!! i personally enjoyed everything after s5 idk☹️

we crazy on my priv

[thesaltyace]

omfg y'all am I insane or is this healthcare professional a fucking nutjob

(Spoiler: I know she's a fucking nutjob but would deeply appreciate others chiming in because I still feel crazy 😭)

Okay, so I am still reeling from this provider interaction and feel like I'm going crazy. To sum up, she downplayed covid in general, suggested that antivirals were more dangerous than covid itself, and I believe she tried to scare me and my partner into not asking for Paxlovid at all.

Background info:

My partner and I are both mid-30s. We both have health conditions that place us in the high risk category for serious covid complications (asthma, CKD, overweight/obese, etc.).

Because we have several high risk factors, we have been super careful for the past 3+ years, and fortunately haven't caught covid at all before now (to our knowledge).

We are primarily concerned about long term damage and possible long covid. We are aware that even though omicron has lower risk of long covid, it's still around 10-14% risk. Especially considering our high risk health conditions, we want to do everything we can to prevent long covid.

We are aware that Paxlovid is an oral antiviral that received full approval a couple of months ago for high risk groups.

What happened:

My partner and I both tested positive for covid today using an at-home test, so we decided to go to the local clinic. They offered to see us together and we agreed, so we're in the same exam room.

The tech who was taking our info asked, "You tested positive with an at-home test? When?" "Yes. We took the tests about an hour ago." She seemed confused. "So why are you here?" "To…. confirm with a PCR I guess? Or to get antivirals?" She seemed annoyed and quickly left.

[Edited to add - the LVN and tech discussed between themselves, before they left the room, that the provider said a PCR wasn't necessary since we had a positive home test and symptoms.]

When the provider (CNP) came in, she started off with the same question. "Okay, so I understand that you tested positive with at-home tests. So... why are you here?" We gave her the same answer: "To get Paxlovid? ...I guess?"

She scoffed and said, "I'll prescribe you Paxlovid if that's what you want, but I don't recommend it." Well, that wasn't what we expected to hear. She explained that she doesn't recommend it because it's only authorized for emergency use and "doesn't really do as much for you as you'd like to think." She went on to explain that it interacts with "a ton of really common medications" so it can be very risky to use anyway, possibly even more risky than covid itself. My partner spoke up to say, "Yes, we saw that the only medication of mine that appears to have an interaction is amlodipine but that it isn't a contraindication." and she quickly said, "Right, but Paxlovid is just very risky if you have anything cardiovascular going on."

O…kay….

She then explained that Paxlovid isn't really for mild cases anyway, it's really just for people who are at high, high risk for severe covid symptoms and would, like, die in 24 hours without treatment. We found this odd (and in fact blatantly wrong) based on our own knowledge of Paxlovid and covid, so we didn't quite know what to say. I felt very put off and like I couldn't trust what she was telling us. It's at this point that I suspected this woman was trying to dissuade us from taking Paxlovid for… I have no idea what reason. But we live in West Texas and it's extremely red here, so… draw your own conclusion. (I did.)

She then started talking down to us (IMO) by explaining that we would still have to deal with the coughs and sniffles even if we took the antivirals. As though we were only there for a quick fix, because our little stuffy noses were so annoying. I finally spoke up and explained that we're less concerned about acute symptoms and more concerned about long-term effects and possible long covid.

This really made my blood boil. She proceeded to tell me that 1) Paxlovid won't help with preventing long covid, 2) omicron doesn't really cause long covid, that's just the original covid strain that does that, so no one is really seeing new cases of long covid, and 3) no one's getting severely sick from covid anymore anyway, and we appear to have a mild case, so I shouldn't really be concerned. You know, folks, based on my own knowledge, those are some pretty sweeping unsupported statements. So the more she talks, the more concerned I get.

She then starts telling us about how there's all sorts of adverse reactions that can happen with Paxlovid. Horrible reactions that could totally ruin your life! Worse than long covid! But no specific reactions mentioned at this point - just general "Oh, it's so bad" pearl-clutching statements. We sat silently through this -- I think wondering if this was actually happening.

Our continued silence finally caught her attention. "Oh, I know, most people don't expect to hear all this!" "Uh huh." At this point, I'm trying to not to pinch the bridge of my nose and sigh. "So what are the risk factors for these reactions?" "Well, they're far-reaching effects that can ruin your health and your life! It can happen to anyone. Things like hemorrhagic stroke--" I am extremely annoyed and cut her off. "Okay, fine, but that doesn't answer my question. What are the RISK FACTORS for these reactions?" "There are none." "None? No risk factors. No correlations. For any of these reactions." "No. It affects everyone equally. Age, sex, race, doesn't matter. You aren't safe because you're young." "No specific health conditions that would put one at higher risk of these bad reactions?" "No, it affects EVERYONE the same."

^^ If y'all don't see why that kind of claim is absolute bullshit I don't know what to tell you. I'm not 100% sure, but I don't think I've ever heard of any condition/reaction that that has zero identifiable risk factors or correlations, that just somehow affects everyone equally. She pulled that out of her ass, full stop.

Anyway, we just stared at her again because what else do you say to that kind of fearmongering bullshit? She followed up with, "And this drug is only approved for emergency use, so you know, you're taking a big risk if you choose to take Paxlovid. Like, I have to confirm in our system when I send the prescription that you understand the risks. And it is a risk."

Here's the thing. I remembered seeing a couple of months ago that Paxlovid was now fully approved for high risk groups. You know, like me and my partner. She's trying to tell us that Paxlovid is somehow more dangerous than covid/the risk of developing long covid. As best I can tell based on current data, risk of developing long covid from omicron is around 10-14%. Is this woman seriously trying to tell me that Paxlovid has greater than a 10-14% chance of causing severe issues with no known correlations/risk factors, and was somehow still fully approved for high risk patients a couple of months ago? Something is seriously off here.

If I had to listen to any more of this bullshit I think I was going to lose my absolute mind and verbally rip into her. She already said she'd prescribe it if we wanted it, and I didn't want to risk that changing by pissing her off, so finally I was like, "Okay, I guess can we have a moment to discuss this together, then?" I figured we'd be able to exchange a quick, "This woman is crazy. Yes, let's ask for the Paxlovid", but she goes, "Oh, no, I'll just go ahead and submit the prescription. None of the pharmacies are open until tomorrow morning anyway, so that'll give you plenty of time to consider it. And if you decide you don't want it, just don't fill it. But if you decide you do, the prescription is already submitted."

O....kay... then...

So she leaves and soon the LVN comes in with the appointment summary printoffs. The LVN asks us if the provider discussed with us the cardiovascular risks associated with Paxlovid.

"No...? I mean, she said it can interact with blood pressure medication but that's it."

"Well, it can have some pretty nasty cardiovascular side effects. I used to work in cardio at the peak of covid and we got calls all the time about whether or not this cardio patient could take Paxlovid."

No mention about what the answer actually was for all those phone calls -- just the vague implication that it's terrifying to take Paxlovid because it might hurt your heart. Again, this just didn't match what we knew about Paxlovid, but we also aren't confident enough to call them on it ourselves.

We got out of there as quickly as we could and agreed in the car that we would look up more info online when we got home; however, our inclination was already to fill the prescription and take the Paxlovid. We tried looking up these adverse effects she warned us about. All we can find is info about medication interactions, which we already knew. We found studies stating that cardiac patients benefited more than most groups from taking Paxlovid. We found ample information suggesting, as we already knew, that with our health conditions we are absolutely recommended to take Paxlovid and that we personally have no contraindications.

It occurred to us after we got home that the provider never told my partner what to do in terms of adjusting the amlodipine while taking Paxlovid. They'll have to ask the pharmacist tomorrow and may skip the amlodepine tomorrow until they can ask their regular doctor about it on Monday. Sucks that this is happening over a weekend and the only medical professionals available will be the same folks we just saw, because they sound absolutely INSANE.

In case anyone is wondering, uh, yeah, as best I can tell, current data suggests Paxlovid helps reduce the acute illness period AND may reduce the risk of long covid. And I couldn't find a single goddamn thing about severe reactions like hemorrhagic stroke. So I don't know what the actual fuck these people were doing trying to blow smoke up our asses, but it PISSES ME THE FUCK OFF. They have done this to other people. And even if we complain, I'm sure they will be allowed to continue doing this to other people because covid deniers and downplayers are the norm here, not the outliers.

[nothingbutvultures]

some pete images from madison square garden <3

[hamable]

He might as well have said I’m Kacchan “Sugoi” Midoriya bitch and you will refer to me as such that’s right I’m marrying him now you fucking asshole

[clownhonkbonk]

how was s2 real.

i made crowley less stressed bc they deserve a break

[kanronotatsu]

something something noh sangcheol, a complete outsider, a cop with serious anger management issues and prejudice against criminals, who never knew high schooler golden boy goh jeongwoo and has met him twice before learning he's a murderer still noticing that something is *wrong* and working through his bias to come out on jeongwoo's side

vs

jeongwoo's father's closest friends & jeongwoo's closest friends, who have all known him since childhood, some of them probably even held him as a baby, and has known him more than anyone else apart from his parents not only betraying his trust and destroying his life completely, but also doing everything to divert blame back to jeongwoo by all means necessary

i think about this dichotomy a lot

[sapphire-weapon]

modern fandom's perception: a bunch of DEGENERATES have INVADED resident evil fandom and FLOODED the previously INNOCENT AND WHOLESOME fandom with DARK CONTENT and it is WORRYING to me. INCEST and RAPE have no place in RE fandom won't someone think of the CHILDREN???

RE fandom's actual reality: almost all of the porn in RE fandom prior to RE5 was zombies and/or dogs and/or lickers and/or plagas raping the girls and in fact one of the very first pieces of RE porn art ever passed around fandom back in the late 90s was zombie chris raping claire and it's still incredibly easy to find

[quiet-longing]

Fellow Devil's Minioners

I have solved the mystery of Rolin and Assad's answers (aside from absolute nonsense trolling, that is) and made them make sense.

To wit:

Armand turned him out of spite?

Make's perfect sense. It was to spite Parkinson's for thinking it was going to be what killed Daniel. If anyone is killing Daniel, it's Armand and it's in a sexy-vampire-marrying way. He called dibs a long time ago.

A pure rage kill?

But of course. Who would not feel pure rage at Parkinson's for daring to try to take his beloved from him? What is a mediocre star to a 514 year-old vampire? What is a human disease? Does Parkinson's truly believe itself to be a match for The Vampire Armand, an immortal who walks in the sun? HA! His blood will obliterate its existence!

See? Now it makes perfect sense. Parkinson's disease said 'I'll be killing the love of your life slowly while you sit there and watch. What are you gonna do about?

Parkinson's disease fucked around and found out.

I made it make sense.

[timetravellingkitty]

peeks out cause it's safe now you guys were really weird about Depp v Heard

[softquietsteadylove]

Helloo, how are you?

So its halloween and i have a little request for something scary. Maybe the eternals somehow end up in this very old and problaby haunted house, and then the ghost in said house take a liking for Thena, so they start to hide her and make the others see her when she is not there. And poor Gil is more scared that he would like.

(Also thank you for answering to my asks🩷😭)

"This place really is massive," Gil commented mildly as he moved the flashlight around the walls. It was just the sound of their steps and their breathing. The halls of this old asylum were oppressively quiet.

"It's easily the largest space we've ever been in," Thena agreed as she too moved moved her light to examine their surroundings. "Its a good thing the others agreed to come with us to man the equipment."

Their friends were being good sports about it, whether or not they were present as true believers or because if half of their group was already in, they might as well all come.

"I hope they don't hate me for dragging them out here all Halloween night," he gulped as they turned a corner down - what a surprise - another pitch black hallway.

Thena scoffed at the idea, though, allowing him to walk even closer to her, all but clinging to her arm. "Please, all they would be doing is loitering at Phastos' anyway. He and Ben would be watching something, Makkari and Druig would be pretending not to make out in the corner and Ikaris would be trying - and failing - to hold Sersi's hand during the whole movie."

Gil snickered beside her. Thena's observations could seem cutting at times, but they were never all that inaccurate. And they could be pretty funny, in that way. "I'm sure he'd get there eventually."

"I have yet to see it," she drawled about their mutual friend, more frenemy when it came to her and Ikaris in particular. "Speaking of, when did they last check in?"

Gil pulled pulled out his walkie-talkie. "Ground floor, do you copy?"

"Ugh, Gil--aye, we're still 'ere. You don't have to go all air traffic control for it."

Well, if he was going to be such a stick in the mud. Gil huffed, "roger that, Party-Pooper."

"Oi!"

Thena took his hand and pulled the walkie closer to her. "Sersi, tell us if he holds onto you too tight and we'll switch floors."

"Watch it!"

The constant radio static of the channel clicked again and Sersi laughed. "He's really quite all right, you two. Anything up there?"

"Nothing, so far," Thena sighed before remembering to add, "over and out."

Gil smiled as he put the walkie back in his pocket. Thena probably thought it was silly too, but she would never actually say anything. It was one of the many ways in which she indulged him on these ghost hunts. "Hey."

She looked at him, wondering what had caught his attention. Once she saw him wiggling his hand at her, her smiled turned a little bit shy as she slipped her hand into his. "Do you think they'll know what to look for?"

"I told them about what all the equipment does, they should be able to tell if they get any activity," Gil murmured as they turned down a hall into a more residential looking area. "Whoa, this looks like an actual house."

"This must have been an area for those in a palliative sort of care, like a true hospice," she muttered, pressing closer to him. It was still old floors and concrete walls, but there were now rooms with more than nothing, some even still had an old metal bed frame in them. There was a dresser or two, even a mirror.

Gil winced as their flashlights both hit it head on. He lowered his, but he blinked and rubbed his eyes after the fact. "Can't believe something like that is still standing in a place like this in one piece."

Thena had no comment on it, apparently.

"Kinda freaky, right?" he sighed as he rubbed at his eyes again before shaking it off. "Thena?"

He looked around.

"Thena?" he called out with a little more urgency. He moved the flashlight around, plenty of the room doors were open, but he would have heard her. He would have felt her, wouldn't he? "Thena?!"

He rushed to check each of the rooms, forgetting how creepy everything was. His stomping feet were echoing all over the place, but that didn't matter. "Thena, where are you?!"

All that came back was his own voice bouncing around. He was starting to panic.

"Thena, please, answer me!" he panted, even moving the creaky, old doors to make sure she wasn't hiding somewhere. How could she have just vanished into this air?

He shouldn't have let go of her hand.

"Thena, please!" he shouted, retracing their steps, shining his flashlight down every hall he passed. He knew most of them led to dead ends. Where could she have gone? His hand pulled out the walkie-talkie again, fumbling with it a little. "G-Guys?!"

"Gil, what's wrong?"

"Th-Thena!" he gulped, knowing they needed more information than that. "She was right next to me and-and now-"

"Whoa, Gil, slow down. Nothing's happened to Thena, I'm sure she just went to look at something that caught her eye," Sersi attempted to diffuse his worry.

"Why the hell weren't you keeping an eye on her?" Ikaris snapped at him in sharp contrast.

"Oi," Druig chimed in on his set. "You all need to calm down, I just saw 'er."

"What?" Gil frowned. Druig and Makkari were on the second level, although most of it was sectioned off thanks to a fire from the last century. He rushed to the stairs, "you're sure?"

"Yeah, I saw her walk clear through that light grid you put up, actually," Druig narrated. He paused and then continued, "Kari saw'er goin' down the far stairwell."

"You mean the one to your left?" Gil asked, rushing down the main stairs so quickly he almost tripped at the very bottom. But he took off, full on sprinting.

"Yeah?"

Based on where they had set up, there was no way Thena could be on the stairwell to their left, because it led to absolutely nowhere, just a collapsed hallway downstairs and a boarded up room at the top. Whatever they had seen wasn't Thena.

"Keep your nightvision cam on, okay? And you two stay there--and stay close together!"

"Gil, man, you okay?" Ikaris asked a little more sympathetically, obviously hearing the urgency in his voice over the loud and static-y walkies. "Like Sersi said, I'm sure Thena's just fine."

"I'm on my way to you, just sit tight," Gil huffed. His chest felt tight, like it was on fire. He looked around, only now on the second floor. This place was such a massive hell hole, who knew what kind of malevolent spirits were in here. "Guys?!"

"Hold yer bloody horses, man, hell," Druig flashed his light at him from within the main hallway of the floor. As soon as Gil rounded the corner, though, Druig was already on his feet. Despite his words, his face was dead serious, "she really not with you?"

Gil gulped. Tears sprang to his eyes, although he knew this wasn't the time. He shook his head, trying to catch his breath. The light grid they had set up to pick up any kind of movement was still shining into the closed off areas ahead.

He jumped, but Makkari rubbed his back with a reassuring smile. Druig shone the light a little closer to them to illuminate her words. This place is like a maze, I'm sure she's looking for you too.

That was actually what worried him. He had screamed for her, at the very top of his lungs. And not only had he not heard anything back, but apparently none of their friends had heard him either, which seemed impossible.

And if he couldn't hear Thena, then how would he know if she needed his help?

"Where did you see her?" he asked, shining his own light closer to his face for Kari to read his lips.

She pointed. I swear I saw her walk through the grid. I thought she saw something in the window.

Thena would never walk through the light grid herself; it would compromise any evidence they got of a spectral figure. Still, Gil moved closer to it. He shone the flashlight into the corridor, through the propped open door. It was hard to tell with the light in the window reflection, but he was pretty sure it was just a boarded up, empty room through there.

Druig took the liberty of packing up the light grid and putting it back in his bag. "Take a look."

Gil slid closer to the darkened hallway. Despite never having been on one of these hunts before, all their friends were far less scared than he was. Maybe because they definitely didn't believe in ghosts. His heart hammered as he entered the suffocating dark of the hallway. He pressed his flashlight to the window of the door that was boarded closed. If something jumped up at him he might have a heart attack.

It was just a closed up room, full of evidence of fire damage. He angled the light around as best he could without giving himself nothing but reflection to look at. He jumped as some kind of movement caught his eye. He tried to follow it but it was gone as soon as he saw it. But he knew it moved towards the other door to the room.

And it looked blonde.

Druig and Makkari made room for him as he started running towards the main stairs again. "Come on!"

"If she's messin' with us she's makin' us go through a hell of a workout," Druig felt the need to chime in, following him down the stairs.

But Gil knew that wasn't the case. Maybe - maybe - she might mess with Ikaris a little, possibly Druig, all in good fun. But she would never make him worry about her like this, she just wouldn't. She would never scare him like this, not when it was always her calming him down on these hunts.

It really was like a labyrinth in this place. Gil leapt down the last two stairs and whipped open the doors to the main floor. "Did you see her?!"

Ikaris and Sersi both jumped off the bench of the entrance hallway. They looked at each other and then at him. They still had most of the equipment set up around them, and a floodlight pointed at the ceiling for a little more illumination of the area.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Ikaris growled at him for storming in the way he did. "Didn't you see her on your level?"

Druig shrugged, "thought we did."

But Gil rushed past all of them, taking a right and pulling open the doors. This place was so massive, it was hard to keep track. But if the figure he had seen in the other room had been Thena, or worse, something else, it would have ended up in here. "Thena!"

Still, nothing but his own voice. It didn't echo like it did upstairs, though. He moved his flashlight around, seeing all the junk that was pushed into this empty but undamaged area of the building. He moved more slowly.

His heart was still hammering, but he made himself take each next step. He couldn't stop until Thena's hand was in his again. "Thena, are you in here?"

He could have sworn a voice whispered back to him. It would have been great potential evidence if he had any equipment or was recording anything. But for now, he took the potential whisper of 'she's mine' and scowled. "No, she's not."

Whatever whispered at him didn't have another reply to that.

Gil slid around a corner constructed of old office furniture, flashing his light in every nook and cranny. "She's my girlfriend! Whatever you are, find someone on your own plain of existence!"

Something rattled in a far corner. He really was going to have a heart attack in here. But he gulped, re-grasping his flashlight in his sweaty palm. No ghost was getting his precious Thena--not tonight.

He moved closer to the rattling. It was a doorknob turning. Okay, so he might die in here tonight. He hoped his friends would escape, at least. But if he did die, then maybe he could be with Thena. If she had died alone in here, he would never forgive himself.

There was a door, and the doorknob was turning.

Gil let out a breath and steeled his resolve again. He could do this. He would do this! He could do anything if it was for Thena. Thena, he repeated to himself as he reached for the doorknob, Thena, Thena, Thena.

As soon as he touched the doorknob, it was no longer locked, and flew open. Thena tumbled into the room, straight into his chest as he caught her. Both of their flashlights fell and rattled on the ground as they held onto each other.

"Gil!" Thena gasped into his shirt, burying her face in it as soon as she knew it was him. "I-I-I didn't--I-I thought-!"

"It's okay, it's okay," he gulped, holding her as tight as he could without hurting her. It was really Thena in his arms, small and warm, blonde hair under his chin. His tears came again, and he didn't force them away, "you're really here."

Thena held onto him just as tightly, clawing at the back of his shirt so she could hold fistfuls of it. "I-I turned around and you were gone--just gone! And I tried shouting for you but I couldn't hear anything around me but silence. And then I thought I saw this--th-this thing-!"

"It's okay, I'm here," he whispered. He couldn't process any of what she was saying right now. All he could think about was the comfort of having his Thena in his arms again.

Slowly, they released one another. Thena sniffled, laughing as she put her hands on his cheeks. "I'm supposed to be the one here for you."

He laughed as well, just as watery and tearful. He put his hands on her cheeks as well, "I can be here for you, just this once."

She leaned into him again as he kissed her.

"You two okay?!"

Thena pulled back and picked her flashlight up first. She shone it around the room, "where are we?"

Gil frowned as she handed him his flashlight as well. "We're on the ground floor, in that side room we checked out first thing tonight."

"The ground floor?" she repeated, looking completely baffled. "We were on the third floor. I-I felt something pull me and I thought it was you, then I was in this completely other room. I was trying to find my way back to you in the hall."

Nice try, ghost creep; Gil took her hand, weaving their fingers together. He could carry his flashlight in his mouth if he had to.

"Gil," Thena continued to frown as he guided them back towards the entrance, "I didn't go down any stairs. We can't possibly be downstairs again."

"It's okay, Thena," he reassured her blindly. It didn't matter. None of it mattered, now that his fear was lifting. He waved as a flashlight circled from where the door was. "I got her!"

Collective sighs of relief were had. Ikaris was the first to bark at them, "what the hell, Thena?! You nearly scared the big guy half to death--that's not funny!"

"Shush," Sersi soothed the beast beside her, as she always did. "We're just glad you're both okay."

Druig and Makkari gave them both more curious looks, "where the hell were did you go?"

"I-" Thena looked at each of them, seeming completely stunned. "I don't know."

"Doesn't matter," Gil spoke up, more sure of this now than he had been about anything all night. "We're getting out of here--now."

He pushed through them, pulling Thena to the door to the outside, hand in hand. He could hear their friends packing up all the equipment behind them.

"Yappin' orders at us now, is he?" he could hear Ikaris gripe behind them.

"Stop it, they've been through enough." How did Sersi put up with him?

Finally outside, Gil took a deep breath. He put his hands on Thena's cheek again, urging her to do the same. She did, but she looked up at him. "Really Gil, I thought I was making my way back to you. I didn't even see any stairs, there's no way I could have-"

"We'll figure it out later," he resolved. They could do that in a safe place, where there was overhead lighting, and a warm mug of her favourite tea. Maybe he'd even have a blanket around her shoulders and massage her feet. "All that matters is you're safe."

Thena's face shifted to something like guilt. She looked down at their joined hands. "I thought I saw you."

"What?"

"What lured me away," she admitted quietly, and maybe with the first bit of true fear he had heard her voice all night. "I thought I saw you in one of those other rooms. That was what made me follow...whatever it was in there."

It had lured him the same way. But, again, that could wait until they were in a brightly lit space with firmly locked doors.

Gil kissed her forehead and pulled her into his arms. "I found you again, so it doesn't really matter."

"Hm," she sighed, nuzzling her face into his chest again. "I knew I'd find you, I guess you finding me is okay, too."

Ah, his invincible Thena. She was the truly unshaken of the two of them. But he had to admit, he was assured by tonight that he had what it took to square up if he really needed to. If it was for the woman he loved, at least.

[lalalychee]

happy homestuck day to those who celebrate

[jestroer]

Today proved once again that Bdubs is the funniest motherfucker out there

[violottie]

"Violent raids on Rafah in the south of the Gaza Strip" from MahmouD Bassam, 06/May/2024:

[quietwingsinthesky]

you ever just think about. “You are diseased, albeit a disease of our own making. No more.” you ever just. oh, they made him and they discarded him. it’s never going to be quiet again for him, and that’s just collateral. they let the sound rot through his whole life, his whole timeline. because that’s the kind of easy sacrifice you can make when you want to save yourself above everything else, one that doesn’t ask anything of you. you dig open a child’s mind and you bury your survival inside him and when he follows the noise back home, when he does exactly what you groomed him for, you call him ruined for it. that’s. you ever just think about that.

[raayllum]

Cube Hostage Exchange Theory - S1 to S5 edition

After the initial feeling of hopelessness that the journey had taken him far from the Banther Lodge, Callum realized his stepdad was writing to him about the rune cube Rayla had rescued. He’d always known that cube was important. Maybe now Rayla would start listening to him… and maybe now he could find out how he could use the mysterious cube.

Book Two Novelization

[josecariohca]

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