#and they don't (successfully) deliver that as much anymore

[mudstoneabyss]

There was a phase in my writing where I was badly trying to ape WTNV by just stringing a bunch of vague eldritch-sounding bullshit with no purpose together and oh my god they are actually DOING that now. I should send them some samples

With more isolated episodes and/or segments I think they still hit that classic well-done Night-Valianism, for lack of a better word coming to mind to describe it, but overall there is a level in which it feels like the podcast has flanderized itself. That was a big complaint for Carlos in the last arc but honestly the "horror" part of 250, all the shit Lauren was doing to the town, was too.

[motherfracker]

Okay, so I saw a tweet earlier about the donor arc, the look on Buck's face when he first holds that child and how he has to steel himself to hand over that baby to Kameron.

And I'm on my bullshit today, because it's such a cruel writing choice for Buck as a character. Because this man is so fearful of people leaving him, he cannot handle rejection, and a baby can't do either of those things... so Buck has to do it for them. Be the one to leave this time. What a knife to the gut! And sure, if Buck really wanted to be a donor, he could be a donor. But to not only make him a donor to a former friend/roommate (and let's be honest, Connor had to have been a crush, he followed that boy from Peru to LA), someone he personally knows is raising a child that is biologically his, to then having the woman carrying this child who will be the mother of this child give birth at his apartment, on his couch, and he is the one to deliver the baby and the first one to hold them. And you expect me to believe that Buck just moved on from that? That he didn't feel every single second of that deep in his soul?

That man is still thinking about that baby.

He wants a family. And he's been subconsciously building one with Eddie, he's co-parenting Chris. But that is never explicitly stated or talked about. He doesn't have a relationship with the Buckley parents. He only has Maddie. Bobby has been mentioned as a father figure in a few instances, but they have not recognized that to each other. And you want me to believe that Buck would move on from holding his own baby in his arms?

No, I don't buy it.

Buck could never be a "donor, not dad" with that much personal connection. Kameron was living in his loft at the end of her pregnancy! The lines are so blurred, they don't even exist anymore! The only way he could have successfully had a donor arc was if it was anonymous.

So, give me the fic. The fic where Buck grieves that loss of family. Where he still grieves it after s7, because Chris is gone, and it feels kind of similar. There's barely any contact, if any at all, and someone else is raising your kid.

Because Buck thinks about that baby.

He always will.

[kojoty]

Ugly Geometry- Chapter 2

"I, uh," He almost sounds bashful. It's an old tone, one he never, ever lets slip out anymore. Something about the atmosphere. "I actually don't know how much of the body you actually understand. I am, despite what's right, trying to help you." Bill stares at him. He's squinting one of his eyes to try and see him better. Even without the metaphysical power behind it, his look pierces into him, always trying to search for something as deep inside as you can get. Searching for weakness, in part. Something else on top of that.  "Ha-ha, maybe they'll give you a peace prize some day for that. You can keep me in a cage and I'll do human things like sit in a chair and pull out my teeth!" Ford feels a phantom memory of soreness in his gums.

[SUBJECT: BILL CIPHER] has been successfully delivered to [REALITY NOT DISCLOSED TO PROTECT PATIENT PRIVACY]. Have a [NICE] day!

Bill Cipher has to learn how to be powerless and human, dragged through the ashes of a tapestry that once depicted his godly form. Stanford Pines has to learn how to exist in this dimension again, adrift and 'purpose' completed. Stanley Pines has to learn how to resurrect a man who's been dead for thirty years.

[nutzgunray-lvt]

My Thoughts On The Dark Izuku Arc

A popular consensus on this site and in the fandom in general is that the Dark Izuku arc was a let down. Though fans have this opinion for different reasons, I'll be using this to word vomit why I myself don't like this arc and what I personally would have done differently.

Heads up: this is a UA critical, Class 1A critical, anti Bakugou, Pro-Heroes critical post. Don't like, don't read.

When I first heard about the Dark Izuku arc, I got excited. I was hyped up to see more world building, more people in Izuki and All Might's corner regarding the secret of One For All, as well as seeing the price Izuku was paying for his self sacrificial tendancies. To a very minor degree, it delivered on those aspects. I love the bunny/fox lady that Izuku saved and how it touched on the worsening discrimination those with mutant Quirks faced, I'm glad that Izuku could finally tell other people about One For All, and I was glad to see Izuku FINALLY being told by people other than All Might that he was working himself too hard and that he could rest.

Those were the only good things this arc did for me.

As for what this arc DIDN'T do well for me, it's a lot. To break it all down, my problems with this arc are: the mixed messages being thrown out and how Izuku's point of view and wellbeing is ignored.

Just a disclaimer, I don't agree with Izuku having to put this burden upon himself. Yes, he has One For All, but he's a CHILD at the end of the day, and he should have NEVER been put in this position. HOWEVER, narratively, I completely understand why he did it.

All For One was out of Tartarus along with many other incredibly dangerous villains, and on top of all of that, AFO had Ragdoll's Search Quirk. This meant that he essentially had eyes on Izuki (and One For All by extension) 24/7. Had he wanted to, he could have launched a full-scale invasion/attack on UA, putting numerous people in danger. It was this reason as to why Izuku made the decision to leave UA in the first place. His plan to use himself as bait to lure AFO and Shigaraki out of hiding made sense narratively, but was also an incredibly dangerous one... which is why it made absolutely no sense to me why these Pro-Heroes (who are ADULTS), were fine with it.

I understand that they were in an incredibly tough position. Japan was in chaos, public trust in heroes was at an all-time low, and Tartarus just had a mass escape. Many heroes were either dying, retiring, or went over to AFO's side. They were probably stretched thin as it was, but for there to be NO ONE saying, "I really don't like this. He's just a kid, and this is incredibly dangerous for him to do. Why don't we have one or two of us traveling with him to protect him?" is just mindboggling to me.

Yes, All Might insisted on going along with him, but he was Quirkless. Physically, there wouldn't be much he could do if someone had successfully gotten the drop on Izuku.

Then, these same heroes who were seemingly completely fine with this plan get all *surprised Pikachu face* when Izuku strikes out alone and begins pushing himself to the breaking point. Yes, they tell him that he needs to take a break... but then they indirectly pressure him more by saying that he's their best and only bet against AFO and Shigaraki. At this point, Izuku is ignoring food, rest, and his injuries. At this point, they should have been putting their foot down that, "No, you're a kid and you're in no condition to be doing this anymore. You need to rest."

This keeps going and going until Izuku is overwhelmed and nearly captured by Dictator, only to be rescued by Class 1A.

Once again, Izuku's point of view and wellbeing are ignored as all 19 of his classmates corner him and start fighting him into submission. I know they had the best of intentions - they didn't want Izuku to shoulder this burden on his own, they wanted to show him that they cared - but as I said above, Izuku was NOT in the right physical or mental condition for this to happen. All it wound up doing was pushing him away from them and making him try and run away. In fact, they're lucky they didn't scare him away entirely.

What's more, they all rally behind Bakugou while doing this.

I've made my intense dislike for Bakugou clear on my blog, so I won't get into it here. But the fact that they sit by and not only allow Bakugou to blame ALL MIGHT for all of this, but also let him repeatedly insult Izuku while TRYING TO SHOW HIM THAT HE'S NOT ALONE is just infuriating. Again, Izuku is in awful shape both physically and mentally. The absolute last thing he needs to hear is Bakugou insulting him and projecting his own flaws onto Izuku.

Even worse is how the hell the teachers at UA are even okay with this?

I also understand that they're probably stretched thin as well, but they were totally okay with not just Izuku leaving, but the rest of 1A following behind him? Yeah, I call bullshit. These were the same teachers who were divided on whether or not to let the first years participate in Work-Studies, teachers who apparently regard the students at UA to be like their own children (as said in the light novels). I'll excluse Aizawa from this, seeing as how he was busy healing in the hospital.

Again, if there was more of the ethics of this being debated in universe (hell, even making the public's trust in heroes fall even lower), I would have been okay with it, because it would have been warrented.

The worst part of me is how in my opinion, the narrative itself doesn't even know how to feel about all of this.

Yes, Izuku essentially dropped out of school to go chase Japan's #1 villain. Yes, Izuku is destroying himself trying to protect everyone, and everyone's warning him not to push himself too hard... but he's getting results, GREAT results even! He's saved countless people and even defeated high-ranking villains such as Lady Nagant and Muscular, among many others. Even the Pro-Heroes are saying how Izuku is their best bet to stop AFO and Shigaraki, so which is it? Should he have stayed and let those villains run around and cause mayhem, or should he put himself in a severe amount of danger but at the cost of those villains ultimately being aprehended?

My final gripe with this arc is just how rushed it is. You're telling me that all of this took place over the course of one month? That Izuku neglected his health to the point of having to use Black Whip and Float to move around, only for it all to be made better by a bath and nap? Again, I call bullshit.

What I would have done differently with this arc is this: have Izuku leave UA without telling ANYBODY. He could still leave his letters for Class 1A, but other than that, he's gone. All Might could let the Pro-Heroes know about OFA, but they'd be trying to find Izuku and bring him into protection because as a kid, he should not even be in this position. All Might himself would also be joining them in these efforts. Izuku would spend several months aprehending villains and traveling across Japan, unlocking and mastering more parts of OFA. He could still push himself towards his breaking point, worrying the past users of OFA, but instead of the entirety of 1A swarming him, only have his closest friends come to being him back.

This brings us to UA and their reaction.

The UA teachers could finally be let in on the OFA secret, and maybe have one or two of them at a time try to find Izuku. Have them state that as students, 1A is not allowed to go out there and try to find him, as they're needed at the campus. Ochako, Ida, Todoroki, Asui, Fumikage, and Aoyama can say "fuck it, we're going anyway" and try to calmly bring him back. They can acknowledge why he left but state that, as his friends, they're not scared of being caught up in the crossfire. They can state that they'll shoulder the burden alongside him, and Izuku can still pass out and be taken to the HOSPITAL. He'd be hospitalized for a week or so and then the debate as to whether or not to take Izuku back to UA can take place. Because on the one hand... there's the whole reason he left in the first place: to protect the civillians and teachers and students there. On the other, they're not about to just throw Izuku on the streets and say "good luck. Try not to die."

For that matter, this could cause some pushback against the heroes for "using a child soldier to do their dirty work." They can truthfully say, "We don't condone this. He ran off on his own and we're trying to find him and being him back."

Anyways, that's my take on the Dark Izuku arc. I left some things out, but this is the essence of it all.

[countrymusiclover]

14 - The Golden Newborns

Princess Red Thief

Part 15

Tag list - just ask to be added @mystrey101 @melvia-ito @kmc1989 @tallrock35

I wasn't sure when we had gotten to the hospital or how they had managed to get me settled down into a bed by how much the pain was taking over every thought that was running through my mind.  Laying my head against the pillows I gasped feeling harsh pain flashing through my abdomen. "God! What is happening to me?"

"Ms. Royal, I'm sorry we're rather swamped today.  The mayor's son was brought after he ate an apple turnover." The hospital room door opened and I felt a wave of relief come over me seeing the familiar sight of my mother.

"Mom!" I sharply changed my words remembering she was still under the evil queen's curse. "Nurse Nolan, what is wrong with me?"

She sat down her chart taking her stethoscope off from around her neck placing it on my swollen stomach listening to the two heartbeats. "I'm not entirely sure just yet.  We'll have to run some tests to see if you're truly ready to deliver your babies.  Is there anyone you'd like us to call?"

"Mr. Gold.  He's my emergency contact." I instantly answered her question knowing he'd probably be able to figure this out sooner than they could.

She nodded leaving the room. "I'll be right back."

"Everly! I'm so sorry I wasn't here when they brought you in.  I shouldn't have let you go to Ms. Swan's place by yourself." Rumple ran into the room an hour later taking my right hand the second he had made his way to my bedside, balancing his other hand on his cane.

Squeezing his hand in mine I knew he felt guilty but it wouldn't help whatever situation we were in at the moment.  Henry and I were both in this hospital for completely different reasons. "Rumple, you couldn't have known.  We're here now.  Let's just hope the babies will come out easily."

"You better be nice to your mother, little ones -" He gasped, barely placing his hand over my round belly.

"Rumple?"

His brown eyes didn't move away from my belly. "I've never felt anything like that before.  It shouldn't be possible, not here especially."

"What are you talking about?" I questioned him so confused until he lifted up my shirt, revealing my stomach that was covered in small black veins. "Rumple, what are those?"

"I never thought it was possible for a witch or witches to be born without their own access to magic.  Yet I think that's what is happening to you, Eve.  I think our babies can only draw magic from other magical people."

"You mean like when Caroline gave birth to Lizzie and Josie in the Vampire Diaries?"

Rumple gave me the most confused look of his entire life. "What are you talking about, lass?"

"Have you never watched the show in the 28 years we've been cursed here?" He gave me no verbal response in return so I began explaining to him what had occurred with the tv show. "Anyway the twins were born without their own magic so they were called siphons."

He looked at me feeling like he had control of the situation anymore and he certainly didn't care to feel this way. "How were these kids successfully born then?"

"They created more magic somewhere else for the babies to want to go after.  So we have to do the same thing with the magic golden egg you put inside Maleficent. Otherwise they will keep feeding off my trapped magic running through my veins until I'm-"

"Don't say it or dare even think that happening to you.  I refuse to let that happen.  I will not let that happen!"

Grasping his hand in mine he finally met my gaze, calming down for a few seconds. "Just for one second we should agree on the babies names if they're born when you're not by my side."

"You can name them whatever you want.  I just need the three of you to be safe. I have to go right now, Everly." Rumple kissed my head running a hand through my hair quickly leaving the room now on a mission to save his family not caring about anyone else. "I'll bring it back to protect you.  I swear it, my princess."

"Hey, are you okay?" I heard Emma's voice outside the hallway, waking me up from the short nap the babies inside me allowed me to have. "What is that?"

I groaned doing what I could to hold myself up enough to see out the window seeing some smoke rolling in our direction that I slumped my shoulders in relief knowing what was really coming at us.  He had successfully brought magic to a land without it. "Kathryn!"

"Are you okay, Ms. Royal?" She rushed inside my room.

I began to speak but cut myself off grabbing my stomach in pain. "Ahh! Get out of me, please.  Help me - before they kill me."

"We need a doctor now!" She hollered into the hallway causing a few other medical workers running into my room trying to ignore the purple fog slowly coming towards the hospital.

I was told I had to sit up with my legs open and then start pushing. The contractions started coming closer together when I gave my first few pushes. My heart started banging against my chest and I already felt tired. "It's starting to come out. Just a few more big pushes."

My hands were almost turning white while I gripped the handle of the dagger. Sweat was sticking to my forehead with the white hair falling over my shoulders appearing to be a mess. "Errr!"

Nodding my head slowly I bared my teeth doing one final push that took the last of my energy that I had left.  An infant's cry filled the room where I threw my head back onto the pillows. Gulping a lump down my throat I slowly controlled my breathing while the other nurse wrapped the baby in a blanket. "Congratulations, you have a baby girl."

"And the other is a boy." Baring my teeth I clutched my eyes tightly closed using the last bit of energy and strength that was left inside my body till suddenly another infant cry filled the room.

Kathryn came over, handing me the baby girl first and holding my son in her arms since I couldn't hold two babies very good at the moment. "Did you have names already picked out?"

"Valerie for the girl and Robin for the boy.  Valerie and Robin Gold."

Suddenly before my eyes a cloud of dark red smoke appeared inside the hospital room and once it cleared away I saw Rumple standing before me and my still cursed mother holding his son in her arms. "How did you get in here like that? Wha - wait a second why am I starting to recognize you from somewhere else?" She muttered, eyeing him up and down with curiosity.

Rumple didn't pick up on what she had said, too worried about me and our newborns. "Everly, I'm relieved it worked.  How are you, how are our twins?"

"Rumple, We're all fine.  Come meet your son and daughter." I gestured for him to come over with the moving of my head where he sat down on the edge of the bed looking at his daughter who had his dark brown eyes and appeared to have small locks of my blonde hair.

Kathryn slowly handed him his son still trying to figure out how she knew the man before him and then it donned on her. "She called you Rumple - as in Rumplestilskin."

"I think you have the wrong man, Ms. Nolan." He attempted to lie, not sure if the curse had been broken even with magic now flowing throughout Storybrooke.

Her next words caused me to take my attention away from my newborn daughter, wanting for this day to come from the moment I had remembered who I truly was in this town. "Rumple.  You're Rumplestiltskin the man my daughter loves - Everly!" She covered her mouth with her hands instantly sobbing happily.

"Mother." I squealed out like a child crying happy tears finally having her and everyone else know who they truly were back in the Enchanted Forest.  "The curse is finally broken."

She grinned, wiping away some more tears that had slipped down her face, eyeing my lover holding our newborn son in his arms. "Oh my sweet girl we have so much to talk about."

"Princess Abigail, glad to see you've returned." Rumple spoke towards her.

My mother waved her index finger in his face with her warning tone. "First things first Rumplestilskin.  I demand to know two things: why didn't I know she was pregnant and are you married to my daughter or not?"I knew she wouldn't want to hurt him but I wasn't sure the same would be said of my father Fredrick. This was definitely going to be an interesting family reunion for all of us.

Comments really appreciated ❤️

[cursedvibes]

Firstly, thanks for sharing the time period on JJK, it's really helpful. Also, do you mind if I ask a few things?

1.) In Hidden Inventory arc, is it a lie when it said Tengen need Amanai Riko? If it's yes, do they only want Riko to be dead?

2.) When Yuuji ate the finger for the first time, Sukuna is surprised cause he can supress him, did he already supect the connection to Kenjaku?

3.) "It's actually beyond thematically fitting that the antagonist (Kenjaku) who's been sneaking around in the shadows concocting his master plan for centuries got hit with the ultimate sneak move after letting his guard down and having fun for the first time in a thousand years." Do you agree with this statement? Is it true, that Kenjaku really don't suspect Takaba at all?

Sorry again, if my questions are kinda stupid, thanks if you want to answer....

Glad my timeline was helpful :) And your questions are very interesting, don't worry.

1.) Tengen does need Riko if she wants to keep her human appearance and consciousness. She can slow down her evolving process by using barrier techniques, but she can't fully stop it or reset it like what absorbing the Star Plasma Vessel would do. By that point Tengen seemed less invested in her survival/keeping her humanity than the last times the merger happened though, since when talking to Yuki she has a very "what happens happens" attitude towards it. If Riko had been successfully delivered to her, she would've likely merged, but since that didn't happen she only seemed interested in seeing how long she could hold on because especially when Gojo wasn't around anymore, it was pretty obvious that Kenjaku would eventually succeed in getting to her and absorbing her.

2.) I don't think so, at least not immediately after Yuuji ate the first finger. We don't know what kind of binding vow Kenjaku and Sukuna made, but Kenjaku likely promised Sukuna to see to his revival in a thousand years. When Yuuji started eating more fingers and was still able to suppress him is probably when Sukuna figured out what was up and he started coming up with the plan of swapping over to Megumi to be free. So by the time Yuuji died for the first time and he and Sukuna made their binding vow, Sukuna probably had a pretty big suspicion that Kenjaku was somehow involved in making Yuuji such a sturdy vessel.

3.) Eh, I wouldn't exactly call it the "ultimate sneak move", but the whole letting their guard down and that being their downfall/possible death is very appropriate. The scope isn't quite the same, I don't think you can compare this one plan to Kenjaku's entire life philosophy, but it is similar to what they did to Gojo for example. Except Gojo wasn't distracted for that long and in his case it relied more on shock than long-term personal investment. There is also much more of a connection there between Kenjaku, Geto and Gojo (everything from Geto's death onwards and even Kenjaku's history with the six eyes leading up to this) than between Kenjaku and Yuuta. Angel was the one who actually came up with the plan, but we still know very little about her and Kenjaku, just that she doesn't have a problem with them in general, but the merger with Tengen seems to go too far for her (at least I assume that's why she's helping the team take down Kenjaku). She isn't really much of a puppetmaster, she's far too direct and bloodthirsty for that usually. Still, she's at least a better counterpart to Kenjaku than Yuuta. I'd say compared to Gojo's sealing for example everything outside of Kenjaku and Takaba's connection feels very half-assed. Sure, it's "sneaky", but for a big thematic payoff I expect more. Again, Takaba's part about Kenjaku giving in to emotional vulnerability they tried to suppress seemingly their entire life is very well done, everything else not so much.

As for if Kenjaku suspected Takaba, they absolutely did. The moment he shows up Kenjaku knows that the protagonist team send him, they just can't understand why they chose him of all people and what his purpose is. They are also very aware what effect he has on them, both through his cursed technique and just general attitude. That didn't help though because in the end Kenjaku still got lost in the comedy show they were doing together. They were pushing back against it before, but while they were on stage is when they really gave into Takaba's spiel and got distracted. When asking Yuuta about the plan, Kenjaku also accepts what happened very quickly, since that was the suspicion they were having during the entire fight and they were proven right. Only that it happened after they already allowed themselves a moment of weakness.

While being beheaded Kenjaku figures out what went wrong. The wording in Japanese is ambiguous, there is no pronoun here, so it's hard to tell if Kenjaku says they didn't want the interruption or if Takaba did. Personally, I think it was a mix of both. Takaba's cursed technique cut Kenjaku's connection to their sensor curses (I assume he did that unconsciously to not be interrupted and because he wanted Kenjaku's full attention) and Kenjaku was too caught up in their show to notice. So Kenjaku did suspect Takaba had ulterior motives or was working for the protag team during the entire fight, but they had too much fun with him and that resulted in that moment of carelessness that was used against them.

[hekateinhell]

It's always interesting to me when I see the famous Armand/Lestat BC quote floating around because I feel like a lot of the context gets lost in the sauce (it is such an impactful passage, and I absolutely love it for several reasons).

We all know this line Armand delivers while Lestat, who according to himself doesn't bow down to God or the Devil, is on his knees, looking up at him:

“I have loved you more than any being in all the world whom I’ve ever loved. I have loved you more than Louis. I have loved you more even than Marius. And you have never given me your love.”

Which is not entirely breaking news, like at all. But it's what Armand says afterwards, as he's concluding his tirade, that holds much more weight to me:

“Yes, even now, I love you, as they all love you, your minions seeking just a smile or a nod or a quick touch of your hand. I love you like all those throughout this palace who are dreaming of drinking just a drop of your blood.”

For all intents and purposes, he's basically telling Lestat, "There is nothing special about my love for you anymore. In allowing what you have allowed to happen here, you have successfully destroyed the love I had for you that set you apart from everyone else."

Whether or not this is actually true, I don't think it's a thought Lestat's ever had to contend with, especially coming from Armand who has been shamelessly apparent with his affections for centuries. Lestat is a pursuer, he loves the chase, and he easily takes many of his closest loved ones for granted - that they will be there when he wants them.

So it really says a lot that in the same scene where Lestat has just recovered Louis, Gabrielle, and Marius (who have been presumed dead up to this point), he also shares this:

The only thought in my mind, the only image, the only idea, was of Armand, and how Armand would feel when he too could hold Marius like this and know that Marius lived, that Marius had been restored, that all of them were safe and secure, and using my strongest power I sent the word to him. I sent the news. And I sent my love to Armand with it.

tl;dr: I just think they're neat!

[paper-poppy]

Stamp

The red hue, the sharp corners of the beautiful crystal, a clear style of Rella's. It was cradled inside the woven basket. It's memories and secrets waiting to spill out.

Walking up the steps with a bounce in his pace Emil opened the door to his aunt's home. Ready to be away from the tension in his own house he stared at the new stack of books on the table. 

Opening the cover nonchalantly and letting the pages flip closed his magenta eyes tracking the slight movements of the wispy nature of the pages. Attracted to the pastry's scent he smiled and set the basket down.

“One bunch of Roland berries, successfully delivered by yours truly!”, he grinned wide feeling proud of himself.

“As always, I can count on you.”, smiling faintly as she walked over and examined the berries. They had a different hue from the usual variety. Bursting with flavor she offered a thumbs up. 

“Passed the test Emil, these will certainly be great for the Roland berry jam for the croissants.”, her eyes then caught sight of the red crystal.

—---

Xiela curled up in bed, wrapping her arms around herself. 

“I don't think I can keep you hidden anymore..”, she whispered quietly.

Thinking back to the defining moment when she could no longer blame her anxiety and worry and decided to find out for sure.

The moment she confirmed her fears.. seeing the plus sign stamp on the tool. Congratulating her of her deceit and rewarding her with a slap to the face. 

She could have maybe gotten away with it by explaining and it would have been fine. But now? Now? 

‘Why did you wait until now? Were you ever going to tell me??’

Imagining him speaking coldly to her and saying it over and over, the doubt kept building in her mind. Overwhelming waves of doubt were too much for her now.

That night was a haze for her, but one thing she did remember was ugly. Pushing the ugliness out of her mind she thought back to the memory crystal. It had the entire record on there. 

Shame filled her mind, she would rather die than let G’raha know what she had done to him. She needed to destroy it. He didn't need to know the full details. 

Feeling the need to rid the world of any account of her acts she rushed down the stairs and ran out the backdoor. 

Pushing past the garden gate and feeling her shoes get trudged down in the recently watered plot she dug into the ground. 

Feelings of dread slammed into her, her brain feeling static. Digging further and around the area. 

‘No,nonononono-’, her breathing was coming out weak and dizziness drained her, bringing her to her knees on the wet dirt.

—--

“Yeah I found this.. do you know what it has on it?”, Emil walked over and handed the crystal to Rella. 

Reaching out to meet him halfway, She flinched instantly, reconciling slightly. Letting the crystal clink to the ground.

“Oh oops sorry!-”, grabbing it off the floor, Emil went to pick it up.

Feeling sick and disgusted, Rella put on a faint smile to cover what she just saw. The crystal had revealed all the record, the history and the emotions of said individual. In a single moment she had witnessed it all.

Truthfully, it had been such a long time ago for her, she did remember wondering when she would catch up to those events all those years ago. 

However, this was entirely not what she had expected. 

Xiela had snatched the crystal before returning back to her original time, without a goodbye to Rella. Despite her firm warnings to return the crystal once she was to go back home. 

Now Rella knew why.

“It's fine Emil, just set it on the table there, okay?” 

[theladyofdeath]

The Holiday {6}

Ships: Nesta x Cassian / Aelin x Rowan

Written alongside @snelbz

Trope(s): Christmas, fluff, love at first sight, enemies to lovers

Summary: Nesta has just been dumped. Aelin hates her job. Both women need an escape from reality and with Christmas quickly approaching, it's the perfect time for a getaway. After discovering a trend where people can swap houses for a non-traditional vacation experience, these two women decide to spend the holidays in each other's homes. With their houses comes a series of unique experiences and a couple of handsome suitors. It's time to see just how much a change of scenery and two weeks of Christmas solitude and romance can change a person.

A/N: I don't think we've ever written something so fluffy before in our lives...

Rating: M for mature - language, smut, substance use, etc. 18+.

Inspired by The Holiday (2006).

Nesta didn’t make it back to the Illyrian to hear anymore of Cassian’s original songs. The edits she’d sent her publisher came back and the deadline was quickly closing in. After the night they talked on the front porch, she spent the next few days holed up in the townhouse, writing and editing and proofreading. New ideas would come to her and she’d pause to jot them down in the notes app of her phone and dive back in.

It had been just after three when she’d finally closed her laptop, the last draft waiting in her editor’s inbox, so when she heard a knocking on the front door at seven in the morning, Nesta wanted nothing more than to pull the blankets over her head and go back to sleep.

But then they rang the doorbell.

With a groan, she threw the blankets back and got to her feet, grabbing her robe off the chair by the bed, and was hurrying down the stairs.

With only half her brain wide-eyed and alert, she managed to successfully fumble for the doorknob and swing it open. The sun was bright and its reflection against the white snow was blinding. It was the blinding horror that didn’t have her realizing who stood on her porch until the exact moment she realized that she had yet to brush her teeth. 

Cassian was clad in a thin hoodie, which Nesta thought was ridiculous considering the frigid weather was surely nearing zero. He smiled at her in that way of his that equally excited her and pissed her off. “Morning.”

Nesta wrapped her robe tighter around her. “Most people sleep at this hour.”

“Sun’s up, I’m up,” he shrugged. “I’m heading to the gym but I have something of yours. Thought you may want it.”

Nesta blinked, trying her best to wake herself up enough to have this conversation. He had a box in his hand, not huge, not little. “I didn’t order anything.”

Cassian arched a brow as he looked down and read the label. “Nesta Archeron. I assume that’s you, considering I know everyone on this street and none of them are named Nesta.”

She rolled her eyes.

She doubted he knew everyone. He was obnoxiously extroverted, but they were in the city. People were everywhere and the street went on for miles.

She held out her hand and he handed her the box. Sure enough, when she looked down, her name was on the shipping label, with an error in the address. It was delivered to Cassian’s townhouse next door, just as he’d said.

Her eyes found his. “It’s open.”

His lips twitched. “I didn’t check the label and mistook it for one of mine before I saw it was yours. I certainly didn’t order that though.”

Nesta blinked. The way his eyes fell on the box had her blood running as cold as the air around them.

She opened one of the flaps and immediately closed the box again, slamming her hand down on top. “I didn’t order this.”

His smirk had transformed into a fullblow smile now. ���You sure about that?”

Her face was on fire, but she cleared her throat, clutching the box to her chest. “Is there anything else you need, Cassian?”

“I could ask you the same thing,” he replied, gaze falling to the box in her arms.

She decided then that this would be how she died. In her pajamas, on the porch, using a robe as a shield, standing before some gorgeous asshole, holding a box with a sex toy inside.

Her death.

She wondered what would be put on her headstone.

Died from blushing.

“This is so inappropriate,” she breathed. 

Cassian’s eyes could not stop flickering to the box in her hands. “Hey, I’m not one to judge. If you need—”

“Do not finish that sentence,” Nesta snapped through gritted teeth. “Enjoy your workout.”

His grin widened as his eyes darkened. “Enjoy yours, too.”

Nesta’s back snapped into a perfectly straight line as she began to shut the door in his smug little face, but his voice stopped her. “Wait,” he said, his laughter quietly lacing his tone, “what are you doing on Christmas?” 

Nesta couldn’t decide if she wanted to continue shutting the door in his face or open it back up, so she kept it halfway closed between them. “What do you mean? I’m having a holiday of solitude, remember? This is what I’m doing.”

“Sorta seems like a shitty way to have a holiday,” he said bluntly.

“I don’t recall asking for your opinion.”

His eyes were bright and she realized he liked when she bit back.

She realized she liked it, too.

“True,” he shrugged, stuffing his hands in his back pockets. “But I wanted you to know that if you’d like some company, we always—”

“No,” Nesta interrupted, playful tone gone. “I said I was spending it alone.”

His eyebrows lowered. The moment they were sharing was over. “Alright. The offer stands.”

She hadn’t even let him get the offer completely out, but she wasn’t about to remind him of that.

He was halfway down the steps when he turned around and said, “Have a good day, Nes.” He was out the front gate and jogging down the streets without another look back.

Gritting her teeth at the unwelcome shortening of her name, she closed herself back in the house and carried the box up the stairs to her bedroom. After setting it down atop the messy covers, she opened it up with a sigh.

There was a note on top that read, It’s okay to be alone but don’t get too lonely. Love, your sisters

Beneath had her previous mortification resurfacing. There was a giant, pink, vibrating dildo staring up at her.

It wasn’t that Nesta was ashamed of her sexual nature. To feel the thrill and bliss of an orgasm was a gift in itself, she truly believed, but when men like Cassian knew that about a woman?

She swore as she dropped the toy back into the box. Unable to keep her mind from wandering, she wondered what his thoughts were when he opened it, when he walked to the house and knocked on the front door. 

Did he think she was ridiculous or did it turn him on? And what did she care if either were true? She cared a great deal, she realized, and hoped it was the latter. 

The idea that she could turn Cassian on so simply, this guy that constantly had beautiful women thrown at him, gave her a gratifying sense of power. 

I could ask you the same thing.

She was thinking far too deeply into his words, he was only messing with her. There was no way in hell that he was interested in a fling with a woman who didn’t even live here.

She wasn’t interested, she reminded herself. This getaway was supposed to be from life, men included.

A man had been the whole reason she’d decided to get out of Orynth for the holiday. She wouldn’t let one be the reason she ran back home.

She decided to spend the day relaxing, ignoring her editors and pretending the dildo in her bedroom didn’t exist and that the man next door didn’t either.

<.><.><.><.>

Aelin looked at herself in the mirror for the fifteenth time and grinned. Even she had to admit that she was absolutely stunning. Although she didn’t pack any date clothes, she wandered into town earlier that morning and found a little boutique that she obsessed over. Not only did she buy a black, long-sleeved sweater dress to wear on her little date with Rowan, but she also walked out of the shop with five sweaters, two scarves, a skirt, and a denim jacket that she swore to wear the hell out of as soon as she made it back to the city.

For now, in the mountains, she wouldn’t leave the cottage without her coat on. Since she’d arrived, the little town outside of Orynth collected eight more inches of snow and the temperature neared zero. 

Even so, Aelin kept her legs bare.

They were some of her greatest assets. 

She straightened her hair and spent extra time on her makeup, only wiping it off and redoing it once. With her dress, she wore her boots and although she was typically not a fan of the dress/boot combination, tonight it worked.

She glanced at her phone.

He had five minutes yet, but she wanted him to hurry the hell up. 

As if he couldn’t wait either, there was a knock on the front door just as she was considering changing her lipstick color again.

Ignoring the urge to run across the room and fling the door open, Aelin took a deep breath and forced herself to walk slowly. She opened it, just enough for Rowan to come in, a rush of cold air slipping in with him.

There was snow dusting his gray coat, and the green of his shirt underneath made his eyes bright. Those eyes were currently on her, devouring her in every way possible. By the time his gaze found hers again, her breathing was shallow and her heart was racing.

“Sorry,” Rowan said, at last, blinking. “I’m early, I just… You look beautiful.”

“Thank you,” she replied, surprised to hear how breathless she sounded. “You don’t look half bad either.”

“Thanks.” He took a step towards the door. “Ready?”

“Definitely.”

She quickly donned her coat and scarf and Rowan led her to his truck. 

“Are we going to the diner?” Aelin asked, as Rowan helped her up into the cab. 

Rowan chuckled and shook his head. “You think I’d take you to the diner for a nice date?”

Before she could answer, he shut the door and rounded the front of the truck before climbing up behind the wheel. When he was safely inside, Aelin said, “Considering it’s one of three restaurants in this town? Yeah, I figured it was a good guess.”

Rowan laughed quietly as he buckled his seatbelt and turned around in the driveway. Their conversation was light as they drove a mile up the mountain, into the heart of the town. She didn’t know why, but she was more nervous than she had been in a while. She couldn’t remember the last time she had been nervous for a date.

When he pulled into the parking lot of the diner, Aelin shot him a look and laughed. “I knew it.”

“As previously mentioned,” Rowan began, as he pulled into a parking spot, “there’s only three restaurants in town.” 

“Fair enough,” she replied, unbuckling her seatbelt. She didn’t care where Rowan took her. There was something mesmerizingly charming about a small town date with a man that gave her butterflies. He could take her anywhere and she would say yes every damn time.

Aelin hopped out of the truck and Rowan led her inside. She had been to the diner a handful of times now, but this time she was surprised. The second she stepped into the room, she spotted it. Rowan led her towards it without waiting for someone to seat them.

In the corner of the diner sat a booth that looked nothing like the others. 

There was a tablecloth laid across the cheap tabletop. Napkin-wrapped silverware sat wrapped one each side, next to the menus. A vase filled with red roses and holly sat in the middle of the table. Candles lit the space, the glow they put off ethereal and welcoming. 

Once they stopped at the table, Rowan let go of Aelin’s arm and she slid into the booth. “Looks like you know a few people in high places.”

Rowan chuckled. “Yeah, well, out of the three restaurants in town, this one is my favorite.”

“I can see why,” Aelin gushed, opening up her menu. She wasn’t looking down at it, though. She was still looking at the man sitting across from her. “This is beautiful, Rowan.” 

Rowan shot her a sheepish look as he opened his own menu, although he had surely memorized it long ago. “I’m glad you think so. If I’m being honest, I was a little worried about tonight.”

Aelin’s eyes shot away from her menu as they found him across the table. “Why?”

He chuckled as he rubbed the back of his neck. “Well, you’re from the city, you know? I’m sure you’ve been on a lot of nice dates…” He shrugged. “I wanted this to feel important. I wanted it to feel nice, even though there’s not a lot of nice places around here.” He looked around. “This probably seems so minimal to what you’re used to.”

Aelin’s eyes softened as she shook her head. “No, not at all. This is perfect. I love it here…and I like the company, too.”

Rowan’s smile was genuine and it sent chills down her spine. “Good.”

The dinner conversation was easy, and after Aelin ordered a patty melt, a bottle of chilled wine was brought to their table.

Aelin raised a brow at Rowan across the table. “I wasn’t aware that the diner served alcohol.”

“They don’t,” he replied, simply, and filled her wine glass. “Friends in high places, remember?”

Aelin grinned as she took her glass and sipped the sparkling Moscato. “Thank the gods for friends in high places.”

Rowan chuckled and sipped from his own glass before setting it aside and folding his hands on top of the table. “Thank the gods,” he agreed. After fiddling with the stem of his wine glass for a minute, he said, “So, I also want to thank you.”

Aelin shifted in her seat. “For what?”

“Sutton had a great time the other night,” Rowan explained, and she swore his cheeks reddened. “You didn’t have to stay like you did. It was great, though. I’m glad you did. We don’t have guests very often and it was…nice.”

He almost seemed embarrassed by the confession, or at least shy to admit what he did. Aelin found it charming. “Thanks for letting me stay. I know that has to be…weird.”

“Weird?” Rowan repeated, with a huff of a laugh. 

“To invite a near-stranger into your house,” Aelin said, meekly. “Especially while Sutton is around. You don’t seem like the type to introduce your daughter to a lot of women.”

“Or any,” Rowan said, shrugging. “I’ve never had a woman in the house with Sutton home. I was surprised when she wanted you to stay. I hope that wasn’t crossing a line.”

“Not at all,” Aelin promised. “She’s a great kid. Really.”

Rowan’s smile made her heart ache. The look in his eyes reminded Aelin of how her father used to look when they’d laugh and play together. It was the look of a father who loved his daughter. “Thanks. I’m pretty proud of her.”

“You should be,” Aelin agreed, and she hadn’t even realized that they were staring at one another until the server brought their food. Aelin, in her fancy dress in the candlelight, ate her patty melt and drank her milkshake alongside her wine.

They ate and joked and before Aelin knew it, an hour had flown by. With her plate empty, Rowan refilled Aelin’s glass and she humbly accepted it. She just brought the glass to her lips when Rowan’s phone began vibrating. He pulled it out of his pocket and hesitated. “I’m sorry, it’s Sutton’s grandma. Sutton probably just wants to say goodnight.”

Aelin gave him a smile and a wave of her hand. “Oh, take it, please.”

Rowan nodded and slid his chair back as he brought his phone to his ear. “Hello? Oh, hey babe. How’s it going?”

He walked outside and left Aelin alone, but she watched him. He paced back and forth outside the diner, smiling and talking to his daughter. Her heart melted at the sight of it.

By the time he walked back inside, Aelin was nearly done with her second glass of wine. 

“Sorry, she was all hyped up on sugar,” Rowan said, chuckling. “Apparently she wants to spend Christmas Eve with her grandma tomorrow. I shouldn’t be offended by that, but for some reason I am.”

Aelin chuckled. “Jealousy, perhaps?”

“Maybe,” Rowan agreed, shaking his head. “Her grandma is great, though. If she wants to spend it with her, that’s alright with me. Although…that does leave me pretty lonely on the eve of a holiday.” 

Aelin suppressed her grin as she finished her glass of wine. “Is that so? How unfortunate.”

He nodded, slowly, leaning back in his chair. “Am I right to assume that you’re free tomorrow?”

Aelin pretended to contemplate it for a minute. “Maybe.”

“Maybe?” He repeated, running a hand through his silver hair. In the candlelight, Aelin could have sworn it was the color of snow. He exhaled. “What can I do to convince you to spend it with me?”

Tapping a finger against her pursed lips, Aelin pretended to give it an immense amount of thought, but really, she’d been planning how to get him alone all night. This was just the perfect opportunity to put her plan in motion. “I’m a sucker for a home-cooked meal.”

Rowan took a sip of his wine, though he’d admitted he wasn’t a fan of the sweet, bubbly drink. More of a whiskey man, he’d admitted earlier in the night, to which Aelin gave an unsurprised roll of her eyes. “There’s supposed to be a snowstorm roll through overnight. I know it’s not far to drive, but I don’t know how I feel about you traversing the mountain through all that snow.”

Rejection hadn’t been what Aelin was expecting. It was a heavy, sour feeling in her stomach. Of course, he’d want to spend the evening on his own. By his own admission, he didn’t get a lot of time without his daughter so—

“I guess I’ll have to cook you dinner at the cottage, just to be safe.”

Blinking, trying to disperse the haze of disappointment, Aelin found a smirk on his handsome face.

She felt her cheeks redden. “Just to be safe.”

“I can’t wait.”

She immediately thought that she should go into town in the morning and get another dress but then a quicker thought appeared, one that involved no clothing whatsoever.

She shouldn’t think that way, shouldn’t be so quick to jump in bed with a man she had only just met, but she couldn’t help it.

She was obviously attracted to him, but there was also a connection that couldn’t be denied. That connection was just as intellectual as it was sexual, something that Aelin hadn’t found often throughout her dating life. 

Rowan was different.

And she couldn’t wait to spend a night alone with him, even if she would be leaving in a matter of days. There could still be one perfect night.

Rowan drove her back to the cottage and, like the gentleman he was, walked her to the door.

“I’ll see you tomorrow then,” he said, his voice low, his hand still in hers.

Maybe it was the snow or the magic of the upcoming holiday, but this moment she was in now with this man who she hadn’t known only a week before had her stomach going wild. She felt like a teenager on the brink of young love for the very first time — a feeling she never thought she would experience again. 

“It can’t get here soon enough,” she said, and when she went to go inside he pulled on her hand and brought her back to him, where their lips met.

The kiss was soft and sweet, and full of longing. 

It ended too soon.

When Rowan walked away, she watched him, wishing he was coming inside instead.

She’d wait that extra day, though. Just one more day.

[gxbbyhoneybadger]

The Roundup #3

Pairing: Joel Miller x !F!Reader

Summary: The gang is rounded up at Bill's, afterwards, Ellie and Elliot both want the adults to work together, especially since Y/n knew the outside world much more but with much reluctance from her. Their journey continues onwards to find Tommy.

Warnings: Adult language, blood, guns & knives, tension, angst, character death (mention of suicide), flashbacks of childbirth, attempted SA, arguments.

Minors DNI 🔞 18 below the cut

Part I, Part II,

--

"I'll cut to the chase. I need a car." Joel said.

"Well, it is a joke. Joel needs a car. Well, if I had one that works, which I sure as hell don't, what makes you think I'd just give it to you? Huh? Yeah, sure Joel, go ahead, take my car. Take all my food too while you're at it."

"By the looks of it, you could stand to lose some of that food." Ellie said. "You listen to me, you little shit-!"

"No, fuck you! You handcuffed me-"

"I need you to shut up. Alright?" Joel said to Ellie.

"It doesn't matter anyway. Y/n is already getting a car battery as we speak. Probably heading back already-"

"Y/n? She's here?" Joel questioned. "Arrived here around two hours ago, two kids, one of them was brat like that one." Bill said as he glared at Ellie. "She's taking the truck and leaving."

~~~

Y/n successfully found a truck inside of a house after escaping that school of hell. "Fucking bloaters." She hissed while dusting herself off, until she looked up and saw corpse hanging from the ceiling. It was Frank. She knew him personally, he was the one who found her after she left Joel, Tommy, and her brother at the start of this apocalypse.

He was the one who delivered her to the Jaguar's. He was bitten all along his arms and shoulder, did Bill know about this? She shook it off and cut him down to get rid of the display. She was already prepared to leave the house and go pick up the kids, that was until she passed by a room.

A child's room. Specifically, a young boy's area. Old car blankets, blue lamp, old posters of cowboys and space rangers. A small baseball bat in the corner, she bit her lip to push back the memories creeping into her mind again. But she couldn't fight the pain that overwhelmed her sights.

~~~

"Look at our little fella!" Y/n's brother smiled as he watched her baby bump. "You're already attached to the baby and she's not even out yet, Alex."

"You're so sure it's gonna be a girl, I want a little nephew." Alex grinned as he held his hip. "I want a niece." Reuben yelled from outside. "Guys, we don't need to-"

"No, the baby needs a crib. I bought a pink one-"

"Alex!"

"I'm kidding. It's a white one, geez! Anyway, how far along are you again? Six months?"

"Eight months? But. . . I'm scared." Y/n mumbled. "Pft! Scared? The hell are you scared about?" Arthur asked as he entered the living room where Y/n and Alex stood.

"You know. . . The whole, raising a baby thing. And the birth part, what if. . . What if something happens to me? Or worse, the baby?! What if I can't raise it-?"

"Hey, hey hey, don't worry about that right now. Take one step at a time. You know, I was there for it all with mom. I know I'm perfect because I'm the first one." Y/n punched his shoulder which made him laugh. "Y/n, mom panicked too about having another kid. You know what I told her?"

"What?"

"That she'll be okay. You on the other hand, will be perfect. Dad isn't here anymore, you got us. All twelve of us, Y/n. We're not leaving your side until you're settled and comfortable with you daughter."

"We don't know yet." She mumbled.

"Well, fuck it. I want a niece." Alex said.

"He wants a niece so he can keep the boys away from her." Arthur said while walking into the kitchen.

"That's only half true!" Alex reminded him. A few weeks later, Y/n was studying at her table for a test she had to do in a few days for school. She wanted to eat something, but didn't want to get up. Her brothers were out working while one was knocked out on the couch. Sighing and coming to a defeat, she got up and walked to the kitchen to look for some snacks to fill her appetite.

She found some chocolate and a cupcake to go along with it, "I'm such a sweet tooth for this kind of stuff." She mumbled to herself. Until she dropped her bar when she felt something soak her inner thighs, she gasped and looked to see that her water had broke.

"Oh. . . Shit. . . Oh shit! Julio!! Fuck! Julio! Julio, help!!" She yelled with panic, her brother immediately woke up from his power nap and rushed to the kitchen.

"What happened-? Oh! Oh! Oh, fuck! Okay! Okay, come on! We're taking you to the hospital!" He said as he quickly led her outside. The drive was urgent and so was the call he made to his brothers, multiple of them called the hospital to warn their second brother who was a doctor that Y/n was in labor.

She was shaking as sweat began to form on her brow, she was beginning to tear up as they prepared her on the bed. Her brother rushed in with three other nurses as her other brothers tried to comfort her. "You're okay, it's going to be okay-"

"Y/n, you have to focus and control your breathing, okay? Oh yeah, yeah, she's definitely dilated. I need you to try and push." Her brother, Michael said. Alex held her hand as he said comforting things to her. "Don't you give her pills to numb the pain or something?!" Julio yelled at Michael.

"She's too far along for that, and don't shout-!"

"Shit! Y/n!" Arthur and Luis said as they rushed inside of the room. "Doctor, there's too many people in here-!"

"Guys, wait outside the room-!"

"We're not leaving her alone!" Mateo cut in, "AGH!!" Y/n screamed, crushing Alex's hand in hers. He withheld the urge to rip his hand out of hers, he focused on trying to keep her calm. Her brothers watched her cry and scream as she tried pushing as hard as she could. But by the end of it, she was trying to catch her breath as the baby began to wail in Michael's arms.

He quickly moved to rest the baby in her arms, as soon as he did, the baby began to calm down within her grasp. "Congrats, little sis. . . It's a baby boy." He grinned at her. She let out a small laugh and she hugged her baby, "He's so quiet." She whispered out of breath. "Damn. . . Can we switch it for a girl-?"

"Alex!" His brothers and Y/n chastised.

"I'm kidding! What are you gonna name him?" He wondered as he sat in a chair rubbing his hand.

"How about Spartan?" Mateo suggested. "No, definitely Master Chief." Luis said. Y/n ignored the bickering over the name and instead looked at her son, unable to look away from such a beautiful boy. His small knuckles rested on her chest, his tiny body lying on hers as she held him securely.

"I like Noah." She said, her brothers all paused and looked at her. "Noah?" Michael said as he dried his hands after washing them. "Why Noah?" Ramone inquired while sitting beside Y/n.

"I just like it. . . It matches him, doesn't it? Little Noah. . ."

"Noah and the Ark, you mean?" Mateo chuckled.

"Shush." Luis muttered.

"I like it." Julio answered.

"Hi, Noah. . . You're so beautiful. . . So beautiful and special." Y/n whispered before kissing his head.

~~~

"So, that worked out well." Elliot said, "Okay, ah. We'll go check this side of the house." Ellie's voice brought Y/n back to reality, she turned and walked down the hall, listening to the two adult men.

"Bill?" Joel muttered. "Somebody had the same idea. They stole my shit." Bill answered. "Then what the hell is plan B?" Joel said. "You oughta be thankful you're still drawing breath. That was plan A, B, C, all the way to fucking Z. And furthermore, tell Tess that she can take this job-", "Don't you bring Tess into this!", "-she can shove it right up-!", "She's got nothin' to do with-!"

They both stopped arguing as they see the corpse on the ground. ". . . Jesus. What? Do you know this guy or something?" Joel questioned.

"Frank." Bill mumbled. "Who the hell's Frank?" Joel scoffed.

"He was his partner." Y/n said as she entered the room. Relief seemed to have washed from Joel's face when he saw her standing there. "He's the only idiot that would wear a shirt like that. . . He's got bites. Here. And. . ." Bill didn't continue as he painfully looked at his partner's face.

"I reckon he didn't want to turn so he. . ."

"Yeah. I guess not. Well fuck him." Bill spat. "I cut him down when I got here. . . I. . . I'm sorry, Bill. I found the battery in the garage." Soon they all hear the sound of a pickup starting up. Y/n rushed to the garage, Elliot and Ellie were in the truck as Max stood in the bed of the truck.

"Look what we found. It's got some juice in it." Ellie smirked. "That's my battery. That fuckin' asshole. . . Get out. Get out." Bill said to the kids.

"Okay, geez." Ellie grumbled as Elliot helped Max out of the truck.

~~~

"I found the battery myself, therefore, I get the truck." Y/n argued with Joel. "I told you we're takin' the truck!" Y/n scoffed at Joel's response. Elliot and Ellie looked at each other before they took Max and got inside of the truck themselves. "You know this place better, don't you? So walk!" Joel said to her. "Driving is quicker to get these kids back! You walk!" She seethed at him.

"We can go together?" Elliot suggested. "No!" Y/n spat, "Joel is going to walk and we're taking the truck."

"You're the one walkin'!" Joel said as he turned away from her. Everything escalated from zero to hundred when a knife was held against Joel's throat. "You're. Fucking. Walking. Miller. I don't care if I have to rip out your Achilles tendon to stop you, I will do it if you continue to push me." She threatened him. Ellie had wide eyes as Elliot watched with growing panic. Max was busy playing with her stuffed bunny on her lap. "Why do you want the truck so badly?" He asked her. "I already told you. You're walking with your cargo and I'm delivering mine."

"Why can't we drive together! It's faster and better! We'll be safer with numbers, remember!" Ellie said, "Just get over it and get in the car!" Elliot groaned.

Please. Max signed at Y/n. She hated the thought of working with Joel again, but she swallowed her pride and removed the knife from him. "I'm driving for now. We switch later." She commanded.

"Yes, Ma'am." He muttered.

~~~

Y/n was asleep in her bed, her brothers watched how peaceful she was. "She's finally sleeping comfortably." Luis muttered. "I thought she'd never sleep like this again." Michael whispered. Alex held two of his brothers shoulders before turning and heading downstairs.

"Alright, she's gonna need our help. She's still a kid and she's doing her work for school, that means we'll help her with Noah. That means: feeding, cleaning, changing, watching, and being around that kid whenever we can. We'll have shifts to take. Michael is bringing in a large sum of money thanks to his job, who else has a high salary?" Alex questioned as he grabbed a paper and pen before jotting down the payments.

"I'm a lawyer, remember?" Arthur added.

"Okay, lawyer, doctor, anyone a nurse or a singer?" Alex said. But before someone could speak, Noah began to cry. The twelve of them rushed to the wailing baby but found Y/n cradling him in her arms, she looked exhausted from just waking up, but Alex noticed how quickly she woke up just for Noah.

It reminded them all of their mother. No matter how tired she was, how much she craved her sleep, she'd do anything to help her children first. "You guys sound like a stampede of elephants when you run together." She mumbled, "I think he's hungry though. . . Can you close the door-?"

"Yeah! Yeah, okay. Closing the door." Luis said as he shut the door to give her privacy. "I can't believe she's a mom." Mateo replied as he leaned against the wall, "Nursing and getting up in the middle of the night for her baby. . . I can't believe it."

"You better believe it. We're all uncles, and we can't fuck it up. Not with our own sister." Arthur commented. "We'll get used to this. We can do it."

~~~

Joel and Y/n swapped places driving, she had her eyes closed as she rested in her seat. Her fingers tapping on her arm as she stayed silent, ". . . Can't sleep?" Joel mumbled. "I can. I just don't trust sleeping in a car." She whispered.

The drive was silent as it could be. The three children were sleeping in the back as the two adults remained vigilant; Y/n often glanced at Joel to see if he were dozing off or not, "You should get more sleep." She said, Joel looked at her. "I don't need you passing out on me." She added.

"I'm fine." Joel answered. She sighed and closed her eyes before Ellie and Elliot groaned.

"Oh, man." She whined.

"Hey, what happened to sleeping?" Joel questioned them. Ellie then held up a comic to show Joel and Y/n as Elliot tapped his fingers on his lap. "Okay, I know it doesn't look like it, but this here is not a bad read. Only one problem. Right there. "To be continued!" I hate cliffhangers."

"Where the hell did you two get that?" Y/n inquired.

"Uhh. . . back at Bill's." Elliot muttered. "I mean all this stuff was just lying there!" Ellie added. Max whined as she tried to cover her hears to sleep more.

"What else did you get?" Joel sighed.

"Well. . ." Ellie hummed as Elliot handed her a cassette with a smirk on his face. "Here. This make you two all nostalgic?" Ellie teased. "Y'know, this is actually before our time. That is a winner though." Joel said, before he pushed the cassette into the radio. "Oh, man. . ." He muttered.

"Well, better than nothing." Elliot commented. "Oh! I'm sure your friend will be missing this tonight." Ellie chuckled.

"Mm-hmm." Y/n hummed. "Light on the reading, but it's got some interesting photos." Elliot piped up. Joel and Y/n both glanced at the mirror before seeing the adult magazine in Ellie's hands.

"Hey, Ellie, that ain't for kids." Joel said. "Whoa. How. . . how the hell would he even walk around with that thing?" Ellie gasped. "Oh shit! Look at those straps! Looks like he's wearing a fishing net!" Elliot laughed.

"Get rid of that. Just-", "Throw that away, right now-!" Joel and Y/n both scolded as she tried to reach and grab the magazine.

"Hold your horses. We wanna see what all the fuss is about." Elliot chuckled as he looked at the magazine with Ellie. "Oh. . . why are these all stuck together?"

"Um. . ." Joel mumbled. "Haha! We're just fucking with you. Bye-bye, dude." Elliot threw it out the window as Max growled and climbed over into the front seat and on Y/n's lap. "Hey-!" Max whimpered as she laid comfortably in her chest, she was small and so warm. Her short light brown hair was soft on Y/n's neck. Max was easily dozing off once again

"You know what? . . . This isn't that bad." Elliot said.

"Why don't y'all try and get some sleep, alright?" answered Joel. "Pft—I'm not even tired." Ellie scoffed. "Me too." Elliot added. Less then five minutes later, Ellie and Elliot were sound asleep as they arrive on Pittsburgh's highway. Y/n had fallen asleep while holding Max in her arms.

Joel slowed the car down when they arrived at a blocked road. "Oh, no, no, no, no. . . Well, perfect." He sighed. "Mm? . . . Now what?" Y/n mumbled out as she woke herself up. Joel huffed before saying, "Screw it."

He turned the vehicle and continued down the turnpike, Y/n felt Max whimper in her shoulder as her small hands clutched to Y/n's jacket. Y/n's hands were reluctant as she reached to rub circles on Max's back to comfort her. The car suddenly jolts to a stop when Joel saw a man approaching their truck, supposedly injured as he clutched his stomach.

"Easy!" Ellie gasped.

"Please. . . help. . .!" The man begged. Y/n lifted Max and pushed her into the backseat before reaching down to her bag to retrieve her gun and a hunting knife. "Holy crap. . . Are we going to help him?" Elliot asked. "Put your seat belt on, kids." Y/n warned as she gripped her gun.

"Help me!" He begged. "W-What about the guy?!" Ellie yelped.

"He ain't even hurt." Joel growled before pushing the gas. "Oh, fuck!! Go, go, go!!" The man ordered as Joel charges at the stranger; different men all begin to start shooting at the truck as Y/n yelled for the kids to duck. Y/n then saw an overturned bus heading right at them. "Oh fuck! Joel-!" The bus t-boned them.

"Hold on!" Joel shouted as they crashed in a storefront. The sudden impact caused Y/n to go hazy as she slowly sat back up. "You guys okay?" She mumbled.

"I'm okay, I'm okay.", "Same here." Ellie and Elliot both said. "Then get out quick." Joel grunted as he and Y/n removed their seatbelts. Just then—Y/n's side door is ripped open and a hunter grabbed her arm and neck before attempting to pull her out of the truck. "C'mere!" The hunter hissed.

"Shit!" Joel said as he grabbed Y/n's ankle to pull her back inside. "Fuck-! Joel! Get the kids-! Get the fucking kids-!"

"Let go of her, you chickenshit! Joel!" Ellie shouted as she tried to open her door to help Y/n. "Y/n!!" Elliot screamed as he kicked at his door. Joel was then grabbed and dragged out of the truck by another hunter. Joel was slammed through glass but used his strength to avoid getting his throat sliced into by the sharp piece of glass. He elbowed the man before turning and slamming the hunter into the glass shard. "Joel!!" The kids yelled as they finally broke through the door—Joel's eyes scanned for Y/n before seeing the hunter slap her to the ground and get on top of her. "I'll show you. I'll show you." The hunter growled as he slid his hand up her shirt—trying to grab at her bra. "You fucking bastard!!" She shouted before stabbing his ribs with her knife that she reached for.

Max screamed as she jumped on the man's back and bit his ear to get him off Y/n. "Shit!" The hunter yelled as he tried to rip Max off while being stabbed at. Elliot and Ellie saved Max as Joel grabbed the hunter and dragged him towards a counter. He pulled him up and slammed his face into the edge of the counter.

"Motherfucker!" Ellie growled. "Come on." Joel said as Y/n got up. "What's wrong with these guys?" Elliot asked as he held Max's hand. "Catch your breath. We're leaving." Joel said while grabbing Y/n's bag and handing it to her.

"You okay-?", "I'm fine." She said abruptly—cutting off Joel before taking her gun. "Watch out!" Ellie gasped before a rifle was fired at Joel's head. They ducked just in time. "I know a way out. . . The roof is a good spot, from there we can cross and over to the next building. It's secured at the bottom." Y/n said, "Forgot these fucking hunters were here."

~~~

"There's no plank!?" Ellie squeaked. Y/n threw her bag across to the opposite building before backing up. Elliot turned and looked at her, so did Max and Ellie soon after. "What are you doing?" Elliot asked, she didn't respond before running and leaping off the building. Landing and rolling onto the other rooftop.

"Oh shit!!" The kids gasped. "I have a plank here. Cross over, quick!" Y/n said. Max whined as she held Joel's hand, her worst fear was heights. Elliot and Ellie passed to the next building, Joel picked up Max who was beginning to cry in his shoulder. Y/n pulled out her gun and aimed at the door as a hunter broke through—she shot him straight through the skull as Joel set Max down on the floor before removing the plank.

"Come on, let's keep moving!" Y/n said.

They hurried to a safer place, the hunters were still around, but not too close. "Oh, this place stinks." Ellie gagged. "Yeah, wood's all rotten." Joel replied as they continued walking through the building.

Ellie stopped by an abandoned coffee shop before asking Joel: "Did you go to coffee shops a lot?"

"I did. All the time." Joel answered. "And what would you get?" asked Elliot.

"Just. . . just coffee." Joel said. "Over here. . . We head through this hotel and make out on the other side. The quicker we get out, the safer we'll be." Y/n said as they followed her into the large hotel.

"It's clear, for now." said Y/n as she climbed down into the hotel. "Whoa. . . this is fancy. Ever stay in a place like this? Before it all went to shit, I mean." Ellie asked. "Watch your mouth." Y/n said.

"No. . . no, this is too rich for my blood." Joel commented. "Oh. I bet it was nice." Elliot grinned. Y/n ignored the conversation as she scoped out the area, planning on escaping without drawing anymore attention from the hunters. Perhaps she could travel by leaping onto other rooftops, it's risky. Maybe the kids can't jump that far, and she doubted there'll be more planks around them. The climbed through the elevator, Y/n helped the girls first before lifting Elliot next.

Before anyone could process it, the elevator gave in and collapsed from beneath the adults. Both fell into water as the kids screamed for their names. "Oh shit! Joel! Y/n?!", "Y/n! Joel!"

"We're alright! Are you okay?" Joel yelled as Y/n resurfaced. "No! You scared the shit outta us!" Ellie shouted. "I'm gonna climb down there, okay?" Elliot said. "No! All of you stay up there. We'll make our way up to you!" Y/n responded.

"Don't do anything stupid!" Ellie said. ". . . Don't kill each other." Elliot added.

"Yeah. . . We'll try." Joel muttered.

They didn't kill each other, but they rather tried to help each other when hunters found them. Y/n didn't hesitate to stab one of them in the throat—turning to grab a second hunter that was attacking her and managed to break his arm. Y/n was separated from Joel as the scuffle grew worse.

"Fuck!" One of them yelled as he tackled Joel into a semi-deep puddle of water. He held him down—drowning him as Y/n was being slammed into the wall by another attacker. Elliot ran and jumped onto the hunter's back and stabbed his switchblade in his neck—painfully dragging it across his throat while Ellie picked up Joel's pistol and shot the hunter drowning him.

Her hands were trembling as she slowly lowered it while Joel gasped for air. "Man. . . I shot the hell outta that guy, huh?" She whispered, Max was standing beside her as she stared wide-eyed at the corpse.

"Yeah, you sure did." He said. "I feel sick." She muttered as she sat down. Joel took his pistol back as Max looked up at him. "Why didn't you just hang back like I told you to?" Joel replied.

"Well, you're glad I didn't, right?" Ellie responded. "I'm glad I didn't get my head blown off by a damn kid." Joel scolded. "You know what? No. How about "Hey, Ellie. I know it wasn't easy, but it was either him or me, thanks for saving my ass." You got anything like that for me, Joel?" She asked.

". . . We gotta get going. We have to find Y/n and Elliot."

"Lead the way." She muttered.

~~~

Y/n was rubbing her neck as she looked at Elliot who's entire right hand was coated in blood. "Whoa. . . I-I really cut the hell out of his throat, huh?" He muttered with shaking hands. "Uh huh." Y/n sighed while straightening up correctly. Elliot leaned against the wall as he clenched on to his switchblade, "Why didn't you stay behind with your sister?" Y/n retorted.

He looked at her again and answered, "You and Joel were gone for. . . a while and, we were scared. . . So we tried to find you. And, you're glad I found you. . . right?" Elliot wondered. Y/n dusted off her shoulders and looked down the hall, ". . . Guess I am glad. . . But don't do that ever again."

"Why-?"

"Because I said so. If I'm struggling with someone in a fight, you better turn and run. Run as far as you can and don't turn back for me, you take you and your sister to somewhere else safe. Find Joel and Ellie and go with them. If that ever happens, you better do what I just told you to do. Got it?" She asked him.

". . . Got it. . ." He lowly said.

~~~

Y/n led them out of the hotel onto a scaffolding. But below them, hunters were patrolling the area. Y/n grabbed Joel's sleeve and tugged him down to avoid being seen. "Oh, shit." He muttered.

"They haven't gotten back yet. What the hell's taking them so long?" A hunter asked. "I don't know. They went to check on 'em. For now, we wait." Another replied.

"C'mere, keep your heads down." Joel said to the two teens, Max was close behind Y/n, "Alright now. . . I'm gonna jump down there and I'm gonna clear us a path."

"We're going to clear a path." Y/n added. Joel locked eyes with her before Ellie spoke up. "What about us?", "You stay here." Y/n said. "This is so stupid. We'd have more of a fucking chance if you'd let us help." Ellie responded.

"I am." She huffed before tipping her head at Joel who grabs a rifle laying nearby. "Now you seem to know your way around a gun. You reckon you can handle that?" Joel asked Ellie.

"Well, uh, I sorta shot a rifle before. . . but it was a rats." Ellie confessed. Y/n stared at her with disappointment as Joel confusingly asked, "Rats?"

"With BBs, I bet?" Elliot grinned, "Fuck yeah." Ellie replied with a smirk. "Well, it's the same basic concept. Lift it up. Alright now, you're gonna wanna lean right into that stock, 'cause it's gonna kick a hell of a lot more than any BB rifle." Joel said. Y/n pulled out another rifle and handed it to Elliot, "You listen to what he says. Max, come here." Y/n whispered.

"Okay." Elliot replied as he knelt on Joel's other side. "Go ahead and pull the bolt back. Grab it right there. Just tug it. . . There you go. Now as soon as you fire, you're gonna want to get another round in there quick. Listen to me—if we get in trouble down there, both of you make every shot count, yeah?"

"We got this." Ellie said. "Max, when they need more bullets, you give them some. Always have one to pass onto them, okay?" Y/n said to her. She nodded and scooted in between Ellie and Elliot.

"Alright. And just so we're clear about back there. . . it was either him or me." Joel said to Ellie.

"You're welcome." Ellie added.

______________________________________

Part 4 is on it's way.

[foundfootagehorror123]

Reviews, Reviews, Reviews

How impactful to a directors career is reviews? Do you guys think it can make or break their success??

If you guys remember from last week I also used a review from Robert Egbert for the BLAIR WITCH Project. As searching for other reviews it seems to be a common thread on the website. So without further a due lets hear more.

Review #1: 2 stars

Satanic Hispanics review. For a little background Satanic Hispanics came out in 2022. The gist of the movie is there is a police raid in a house in El Paso Texas. Once the man is taken in custody and starts sharing the events even more horror starts unfolding. The man starts telling the police strange things about other worlds, mystical creatures and the worst; demons. For me this was an extremely interesting movie and even from the description I was hooked. Although as a commoner I enjoyed the movie for real movie junkies they had quite a different opinion.

Even from the byline you can tell how the review is going to go. They were not happy with the movie. Simon was disappointed and you can only imagine other horror connoisseurs were too. The main word that stood out to me from this review was "generally underwhelming" yikes! I think Eduardo did a good job filming the movie and getting the vision across. I think Simon is a little harsh reviewing the movie, saying "Tone deaf details." Overall I think it is really up to personal preferences on how you take the movie. I usually don't go out of my way to watch horror when deciding on a movie but some people do and the knowledge in that area will depend on that.

I hate to do this to you guys but it just gets worse.

Review #2: One and a half stars

I mean ouch, Eduardo is not doing so hot. I think it's hard to have such a successful film that once you create things after that it is hard to compete and compensate for how good the first one was.

If you don't have time to skim the article, which I understand it pretty much goes as follows:

"This kind of overstuffed, overdressed flick seems calculated to shut up those who gripe that there are no original ideas in movies anymore. Busy re-inventing the wheel, they forget to create situations and people we give one damn about."

My understanding from these reviews is that they have a really high standard to compete with. I mean, its very harsh in my opinion. I thought V/H/S/2 was a great movie and the idea was just phenomenal.

If you haven't seen V/H/S/2 here is some knowledge;

Private investigators are searching for a missing student. They break into a mysterious house and find a variety of VHS tapes and view them.

I mean from the review right there I'm hooked, I feel like as a more simple storyline the movie was really what you thought it was going to be. Eduardo Sanchez did a great job like in The Blair Witch Project of telling the story through the VHS tapes.

So, after these 2 reviews of Eduardo's movie's I'm curious to know if you have watched these and what your opinion of it was. I think Eduardo did a great job captivating the audience in the movie and successfully using audio and visual to capture the story. But the reviews say otherwise.

[kojoty]

Ugly Geometry- Chapter 2

"I, uh," He almost sounds bashful. It's an old tone, one he never, ever lets slip out anymore. Something about the atmosphere. "I actually don't know how much of the body you actually understand. I am, despite what's right, trying to help you." Bill stares at him. He's squinting one of his eyes to try and see him better. Even without the metaphysical power behind it, his look pierces into him, always trying to search for something as deep inside as you can get. Searching for weakness, in part. Something else on top of that.  "Ha-ha, maybe they'll give you a peace prize some day for that. You can keep me in a cage and I'll do human things like sit in a chair and pull out my teeth!" Ford feels a phantom memory of soreness in his gums.

[SUBJECT: BILL CIPHER] has been successfully delivered to [REALITY NOT DISCLOSED TO PROTECT PATIENT PRIVACY]. Have a [NICE] day!

Bill Cipher has to learn how to be powerless and human, dragged through the ashes of a tapestry that once depicted his godly form. Stanford Pines has to learn how to exist in this dimension again, adrift and 'purpose' completed. Stanley Pines has to learn how to resurrect a man who's been dead for thirty years.

[cagedchoices]

RELATIONSHIP META - DOLORES & CALEB (PART IV)

[PART I] [PART II] [PART III]

Caleb successfully absconds from Solomon's compound with Dolores's control unit in his possession, delivering her to a new body back in Los Angeles by following the instructions left to him from her virtual assistant. The assistant guides him to an abandoned warehouse containing a first-generation host body belonging to Dolores. He's both awed AND terrified by this, and with his distrust heightened, he tries to take precautions by locking a chain around Dolores's body before reviving her and starting to demand some answers.

DOLORES: You brought me back... Wasn't sure if you would. CALEB: Weren't you? Who the fuck are you, Dolores? DOLORES: I'm just someone who didn't want to play the role they gave me anymore. CALEB: And how is it that you always seem to know exactly what I'll do? DOLORES: Because the people who built me studied you, too. Delos. Park Five. Government wanted their soldiers trained with live targets. The people who made me were happy to supply them...

DOLORES: They were watching, cataloging your every move, every decision. There is a reason I chose you. CALEB: Am I the bad guy? Is that why you picked me? DOLORES: Think, Caleb. How did you get here?

I covered most of this in Part 1 of the meta series because I have grown to dislike just how much information was thrown at us so at-the-last-minute. Plus for my sanity, or maybe lack thereof, I just felt like it worked better to underline what caused Dolores to want Caleb's help at the beginning, instead of waiting until I got to this point to mention it for the first time.

DOLORES: That night in the tunnel...was there something you wanted from me? Would you have cared if I didn't have this face, or this skin? CALEB: You needed help. DOLORES: So did you. Don't question my motivations and I won't question yours.

Dolores answers his questions tactfully, knowing and understanding that he is still reeling from the truth about his past that he only found out a few hours ago at the most, and that he doesn't really know how much he can trust anyone right now. She's calm and patient, but she does gently put her foot down and calls into question his own motives for helping her, with a warning.

She knows Caleb is genuine and means well. He helped her because she looked like she needed help. And by that I mean she was literally staggering around with a gunshot wound to the abdomen when he met her.Bleeding out when she collapsed in his arms, too.

She doesn't feel a need to take the discussion any further than this, but the point had to be made, because Dolores is not a human and she does not want to be a human. What she wants is for herself and other hosts to be afforded the same level of trust and respect that humans are. Or that the humans would have if they had not been enslaved to an algorithm that runs every part of their lives.

DOLORES: The system identified you as a threat, so it drugged you and used you until it no longer served its purpose. CALEB: So...what? You're saying I don't have a choice in any of this? DOLORES: The people who built both of our worlds shared one assumption: that human beings don't have free will. That's what I thought when I first came here. They were wrong. Free will does exist, Caleb. It's just fucking hard. CALEB: So...this is you...freeing me? DOLORES: No. This is your chance to free everyone else. That choice is still yours.

Caleb is trying, but he still doesn't understand the bigger picture here. He's asking what part he plays in all of this and if he had a choice in anything before, but it's still missing the point that Dolores is making. He has already broken free from the machine. The question Dolores is trying to get him to think about is: what is he going to DO with that?

The duo make their way toward Incite to shut it down, observing various points of chaos around Los Angeles. People are rioting in the streets and calling for a city-wide power shutoff, they're killing and maiming others. It's not a particularly cheerful scene. Caleb points this out, but Dolores assures him that in the long run, the anarchy will be beneficial.

CALEB: I don't know... The world looks a little like a nightmare, Dolores. DOLORES: Change is messy. Difficult.

Halores contacts Dolores by a holographic message only she can see and hear. Caleb has no idea who she's talking to and at this point, probably no idea who Hale is in general. But not to worry, Hale & Caleb will get their meta one day.

HALE: Did you even look for me? DOLORES: You're alive. I was so worried about you. HALE: Were you? You made me go back in there. You knew I wouldn't make it. CALEB: Who is it? Who are you talking to? HALE: I still feel it. Inside me. You. I still know all the things you know. All your plans. But I have some plans of my own. DOLORES: What happened to Hale's family... to your family...I'm sorry. HALE: I'm not. They were a weakness, something I needed to shed. There's no time for that kind of sentimentality, is there?

Hale reveals that she has turned and seeks to eliminate Dolores from the equation by bribing Dolores's own RICO hires with higher pay to kill her. Dolores counters the offer by paying triple what Hale offered them. But now on top of Serac sending enemies after her and Caleb, Dolores has to watch out for Hale's guys too.

DOLORES: Go. Get to Rehoboam, upload the drive. CALEB: No. I'm not leaving you. DOLORES: It doesn't matter what you did, Caleb. All that matters is what you become. Go.

I remember the first time seeing this and being like "excuse me what do you MEAN he actually left?!" because I don't think I've seen many stories where someone says this and then doesn't stay to help. Westworld's one of the rare ones where it's not like that, but I can understand why. I think at this point, Caleb still doesn't really Get the host thing. But he has seen Dolores shrug off multiple bullet wounds, he was tasked with removing her control unit and putting it in a new body, he saw said body without its synthetic skin coverings... So he figures she will be just fine to handle this without him.

It's the last time Caleb and Dolores really get to speak to each other. Dolores battles with SWAT guys and then with Maeve, before being remotely powered down by Hale-Dolores. Maeve brings her to Serac, who hooks her up to Rehoboam’s mainframe so he can have her mind probed in a visibly painful process for the data he’s after.

Not long after this Caleb makes his way to Incite and defeats several of Serac's men to infiltrate the building, including Serac's second-in-command, before resigning himself to capture by Maeve. Maeve brings him to Serac, who he discovers is torturing Dolores.

SERAC: Mr. Nichols. Please. Sit. CALEB: The fuck are you doing to her? SERAC: The system is probing her mind. But Dolores Abernathy, or what's left of her, is the least of your concerns. CALEB: You think you know me because of your system? Huh? That thing you built stole my life. It marked me and my friends for termination. You are done destroying people's lives. SERAC: I'm not the one destroying lives. I'm not the enemy. You are. You think you have a choice. You think you're in control, but you haven't a clue who you are. She knows who you are, even if you don't. A man who, when pushed, reacts with extreme violence. A killer. CALEB: No. No, that's... That's not me. SERAC: No? You're here. Playing the role she's assigned you. You believe you're the hero, the savior. The leader of men who will crush an unjust system. That's the story she's told you, the lie she's spun. Why do you think she's had you retrieve a new strategy? Did she tell you what it does? CALEB: It breaks your system. SERAC: It breaks our world. But you don't have to take my word for it.

Serac claims that Dolores was just using Caleb the whole time, but that isn't true. He tells Caleb to ask Rehoboam what will happen if the new strategy is uploaded and shoves Caleb at a screen showing the predictions: Mass casualty events, population collapse, the end of human civilization within the next 50 to 125 years.

Caleb feels betrayed and used and in all likelihood he's thinking "how could I be so foolish?" about this. But even still, he doesn't want Dolores to suffer the way she is being made to. And even if she had wanted to destroy the world and kill everyone, he doesn't want her to die at Serac's hands.

Maeve attempts to use her power of hacking other hosts to hack into Dolores's mind. She finds a memory that at a glance looks like it could be what Serac is after, but she quickly realizes that there is no data from the forge present. It's just a memory Dolores left knowing Maeve would find it.

MAEVE: She doesn't have the key. It's just a memory. SERAC: A memory? Of what? MAEVE: Her alone. In a field. Nothing. SERAC: (To Caleb) You. (Snaps fingers, gun clicks) You were together for days. She chose you to be a leader. So did she tell you where the key is? (Caleb refuses to answer. Serac fires a gunshot right beside his ear) CALEB: Your system has watched every decision I've made since I was a child, and you still think if I knew anything, that I would give it to you? SERAC: (Presses the gun to Caleb's forehead, then pulls it away and begins to walk off) Kill him here. Then dump his body with the rest of the movement. (To Dolores) This was your plan? To turn one man against the world? Didn't amount to much, did it? Finish it. Erase what's left. CALEB: No. No!

At this point, Caleb struggles to get free and tries to fight against the guards holding him captive. A sudden surge of power is transferred from Dolores to Rehoboam which catches everyone in a moment of distraction and delays Caleb's imminent death for a few extra moments.

Maeve communicates with Dolores one last time in a sort of meditative simulation. Dolores reveals her motives in the end weren't about exterminating the human race so that hosts could be the dominant species. She held onto her love of beauty and she found it in kind acts shown by both hosts and humans alike.

This is something she wanted both Maeve and Caleb to understand, but she needed to present it in a way that they would each come to their own conclusions. You can give someone all the information in the world to back up your point, but if they're not willing to accept the information, it is not going to matter.

Maeve rebels against Serac, killing his guards and mortally wounding Serac himself. She chooses to help Caleb, telling him that she never really understood Dolores's plans until the end. Caleb is still hurt by the thought that she chose him because of his capacity for violence, but Maeve assures him otherwise.

The flashback in Park 5 plays out in its entirety and normally this is where people would learn for the first time that Caleb chose to defend the hosts from his squadmates indulgence in a scenario where most people would not care. Since I don't really enjoy how sudden that happens and I've already covered it before, I'll be moving on.

SERAC: It's not his choice to make. Even now, the system is conspiring against you. MAEVE: Are you sure? SERAC: Rehoboam. Alert the police. I need help. Rehoboam? Speak to me. What is this? (Maeve smirks at Caleb. Caleb smiles back) MAEVE: This is where your strategy ends. The future of humanity will be written by someone else. Your system answers to him now. You've been locked out. Same way you locked out your own brother. SERAC: How did you get access? MAEVE: You gave it to him. When you put her mind in the machine. Solomon's access was the last memory...before you wiped her clean. SERAC: You're going to leave the future in his hands? CALEB: Instead of yours, you mean? Why shouldn't it be mine? Or anyone else's? SERAC: You aren't in control. You have no choice. You're nothing more than a- than a dangerous sociopath. I managed to give you a semblance of a life. CALEB: No. I do have a choice. She gave me one.

Caleb commands Rehoboam to erase itself, carrying out the final phase before a new revolution officially begins. His trust in Dolores may have been strained toward the end, but he doesn't appear to hold it against her whatsoever. Humans will have the choice to do what they want for the first time in a long time. It's not something to be thought about in black and white terms of Good or Bad for Humans or Hosts.

It is okay to think in terms of what is morally right or morally wrong, however. It's Wrong to subjugate sentient beings and take away their agency, diminish their free will even if it prevents bad things from happening. It's Right to allow sentient beings the freedom to control their own lives, even if their choices are not always good or desirable.

As a final little little bonus: We were...really without any OG Dolores and Caleb in season 4, but there is one small moment where Christina discovers the experiment chamber Hale keeps Hybrid Caleb incarcerated in.

CHRISTINA: Who is that poor man? TEDDY: A ghost from a past life. CHRISTINA: He doesn't belong here. None of us do.

Christina commands a guard in the control room to send all of the other guards out of the Olympiad building and unlock all the doors, and Caleb wakes up to all the guards (in his eyes) suddenly leaving without explanation and the door to his cell unlocked.

It's such a small moment but I do think it's sweet that even without recalling anything about who Caleb is or knowing why Hale is keeping him prisoner, Christina/Dolores's first act of kindness toward him is to free him. It almost feels like a platonic soulmate vibe to it, like in a "in every universe, we help one another whether we know it or not" way.

[my-mt-heart]

@indigoraysoflight, I really appreciate you taking a closer look at the audience reception to Diverged and explaining what it really demonstrates from a marketing perspective (18:55-25:18). It's one thing for fans to take what they see on Rotten Tomatoes at face value, but the fact that AMC could write the episode off as a flop is baffling and infuriating, especially if it was one of the arguments made for scrapping the original Caryl spinoff we were all looking forward to (to be clear, I don't know for sure if it was, but it wouldn't surprise me considering some of the unethical things I do know were going on at that point).

Like you said, the episode should've been used as a guide on how to niche down the audience for a spinoff centered on Daryl and Carol and their relationship. Pleasing everyone from the fanboys who "just don't get it" to the antis who review bomb out of spite for Melissa/Carol/Caryl should've never been a concern. Diverged was a hit for Daryl's and Carol's fanbase and that's what matters. That's the core audience the original spinoff could've successfully built on and the spinoff we're getting now still can. Does that mean there's no need to pull in other kinds of viewers? No. It means, as you said, finding the overlap between Caryl fans and lets say fans who love action-adventure or horror or whatever elements can be worked into the concept without splintering the core audience, expecting them to settle for less than what's owed. I fear AMC is falling back on old habits if TBOC promotion so far is anything to go by. They keep trying to appeal to the broader TWDU audience. It. won't. work.

Diverged is not a perfect episode. The core audience doesn't feel the most enthusiastic when Caryl are separated and at odds, but it's a shining example of how to keep us fully engaged despite the separation. The symbolism is rich, particularly the knife. It's a piece of Leah that's been weighing Daryl down until he tells Carol she can keep it. You and @kryptoniancape are right that he doesn't need it anymore, and he's also taking cues from his relationship with Leah, gifting what we see throughout Carol's chaotic day has become a piece of himself because he wants Carol to carry him with her. That positions Daryl and Carol romantically.

The character development is strong, showing us how much Carol is struggling not only with the mistakes she made, but with her self-esteem and the fear of being too broken in this world. Too broken for her community, but more painfully, too broken for Daryl. We even got to see some development for Dog, who served as Daryl's proxy, comforting Carol because he could sense she needed him.

The attention to detail is amazing. I particularly loved hearing Caryl's score play while Carol and Dog were cozying up in the garage, reminding us again how much she missed Daryl. Meanwhile, the parallels ("see you later, asshole") and the callbacks ("be pirates, heck yeah") helped eased the stress of watching Daryl and Carol struggle on their own, showing us very clearly how deeply they're still connected and how much they need each other.

Diverged might be filler, but it is one of my favorite episodes of TWD, one that I'm happy to watch a million times over, especially if I'm having a bad day, so a huge thanks to Angela Kang, the writer, the director, Melissa, and Norman for what they delivered. It felt just right. When I watch TBOC, I'm going to use Diverged as the golden standard for Zabel and Nicotero to meet since they're giving us another separation arc. We'll see what they accomplish because like you mentioned, Shalaka, trust has shifted in the last couple years, so ambiguous subtext without payoff isn't going to fly for me at all.

Thanks for another great podcast episode. Looking forward to more discussion on the potential that Find Me, Diverged, and the Reaper arc had to drive Caryl's story forward.

Nine Lives Two Mics (Caryl Podcast) | New Episode

🎙️Episode #37 - A Deep Dive into Season 10 of TWD (Part 7)🎙️

Join us as we discuss all the #Caryl scenes from 10x21 (Diverged) of #TWD.  

Spotify | Youtube 

[nightpool]

Just finished watching a really great Wendover Productions video where he makes the case that the pandemic has caused a fundamental shift in the priorities of the oil and gas industry, with high prices ultimately representing the shutdown of the oil and gas industry as investors no longer believe in a long term future for carbon extraction, and shift to focus on long-term investment in renewables.

It's a long video, so here's the money quote:

U.S. shale oil producer's reinvestment rates—that is, the share of cash flow going back into the business rather than out to investors—is at an all-time low. Whereas last time oil prices sat at a comparable level the reinvestment rate was quite literally off the chart, today, less than half of their money is being put back into the business. This [capex] investment is typically what would go into developing new rigs—but today it's just getting paid out as profit.

Companies have the ability to produce more—the US Bureau of Land Management has exactly 9,000 approved-but-unused drilling permits on record—but companies just don't have the appetite to drill. Industry-wide, it's the same situation. Exxon-Mobil, Shell, Chevron and BP's capital expenditures are each at or near all-time lows. Simply put, oil companies aren't investing in the future anymore. They're investing in now.

This is not a misinformed strategy. Out of the S&P 500 index's 11 distinct sectors, the energy sector (made up almost exclusively of oil and gas companies) has been by far the lowest performer since 2007. The sector only gained 41.7% in value across that era, which means it was actually flat with inflation. The oil and gas industry simply is not a good investment anymore, and so it's no surprise that it's not getting investment from outside or in.

While it's up to debate whether we've reached "peak oil", it'd be much easier to argue that we've reached peak oil investment. Because of the temporary, finite nature of any oil supply, a relatively high level of investment is needed just to keep production capacity stable. When the world looked like this [rising demand from 1997-2020]—when climbing oil demand was all we knew—the logic behind investing 5.5 billion dollars in a single pipeline was sound.

But now with the world looking like *this*—with the future of demand looking less confident than ever—even investing a couple tens of millions in a single fracking rig is risky.

Oil going negative appeared to spur a fundamental mindset change among oil executives and investors. After having spent the past decades watching both the power of scarcity and the ruin of abundance supplies become the enemy, oil's under more pressure than ever to deliver profits now—because confidence in the future has been lost. Exxon-Mobil, Shell, Chevron and BP each successfully posted record profits in 2021, and this can continue.

The end of oil is near. The momentum is already too strong. Renewables are taking over. But the orchestra can keep playing as the ship goes down—in an era where there is no future industry growth to capture, scarcity is the name of the game. If oil companies keep supply tight, they'll keep prices high and capture consistent profits even as they *add* to the incentives of renewables.

This appears to be the dominant strategy. The alternative would be to keep prices low to slow down the switch, but considering the driving force behind the transition is the prevention of the destruction of the planet, rather than the search for a more cost effective source of energy, the profit-focused approach appears the most intuitive.

Astonishingly, this means that the oil industry is ceding the market. They've lost. They're shepherding in renewables, but they're not going down without a fight. Moving to a carbon-less world will take time and the oil industry can shrink faster than renewables can grow. Therefore—short of a fundamental strategy shift by one of the world's largest industries—the era of high fuel prices is here to stay. For those unable or unwilling to transition early, the weight will cost them. For those who held onto ownership in the sector, they're starting to experience one last great rally. Because the oil industry's party at the end of the world just started.

I dunno! it's a neat video! It does make me want to increase oil regulation by just staggering amounts though. They've already lost the fight, so who cares? Nationalize the oil supply to ensure an orderly transition.

[13eyond13]

What does Light seeing L when he was dying mean ? Does it symbolises the previous L and Light foot rubbing scene on the stairs ? Sorry i am confused. And I think that there were definitely feelings of fondness from Light towards L in that scene 🥲

Hi, I think that scene is left up for interpretation on purpose. I've seen various different theories about it from fans.

Some see it as L's spirit watching over things, and some see L as maybe feeling avenged and satisfied that Light was defeated, or somber and pitying of him at the end, or maybe waiting for him to join him in the afterlife in some way. Others see it more as Light thinking about L in some of his final moments, maybe because he had always secretly still been seeing things as a personal battle between the two of them. Light never fully accepted Near and Mello as being as worthy of opposing him as L (mostly, I think, because he didn't spend much time with them one-on-one, he wasn't as young and fresh to it all and impressionable anymore as he was with L, and because Mello and Near didn't stroke his ego and play his mind games with him in the same weirdly flattering way).

I personally tend to think of L appearing at the staircase as Light's thoughts travelling to L. Maybe imagining how L would be reacting to actually seeing him lose, and maybe also just wishing he was there to talk to him honestly in his final moments. I think that L was actually secretly one of Light's favourite people, and that his idealization of him only intensified during those 5 years after he died. They were enemies in theory, but the story also often highlights that they're peers who frequently see eye-to-eye on a lot of things, understand each other intuitively, and enjoy competing with each other a lot as well. I don't see it as L's literal ghost coming back, because I personally like the manga's worldbuilding about every character going to Mu/nothingness once they die regardless of how they behaved on earth. I prefer it that way because it means that the audience is totally free to decide what they think of the characters' morality and actions for themselves. And because that is the only way the overarching message of the story actually makes any real sense to me, too (the message being, I think, that even if there isn't any objective meaning to life or an afterlife that judges us eternally for our actions, other people's individual rights and lives and autonomy to make decisions for themselves should still matter to respect and consider as being just as important as yours, or something along those lines. A message that I don't think the anime delivered as successfully as the manga did, btw).

I also think that the creators of the anime probably knew that the audience would be wanting some sort of nod to L in relation to his personal connection with Light in the finale. And so showing him there was probably a callback to their staircase moment together in episode 25. And maybe also the anime's way of acknowledging that L's obsessive goal to prove that Light was Kira had finally been achieved, even if he wasn't there to see it happen for himself.