#anyway i love how it is clear that they understand the difference between alpha church and epsilon

[yuhi-san]

has anyone ever brought up the blood gulch crews complete disregard for the ship of theseus situation? you know, reagrading the alpha!church and epsilon!church situation

like sure, they are complete morons and also have probably never herad of this theory in their life (except simmons maybe). but even if they don’t have a name for the concept or anything... it just is not a thing to them.

the simplified main question of the theory is: if you over time replace every part of a ship, is it still the same ship? and then the follow up question: if you use the replaced parts to rebuild the ship over time someweher else, do you have the same ship twice?

the same argument basically comes up in sci-fic in regards of clones or someone backing up their memory somewhere.

but then you have the vlood gulch crew who just completelly ignores this paradox, the implications of this thought experiment.

and like the fascinating thing is that they are completely, 100% aware of the situation. they absolutelly know the guy from blood gulch is the alpha ai. who got deleted by the end of seson 6 when he went with wash to trigger the emp e.m.p.

they know the new guy is the epsilon a.i. who is the memory of the original church. and is besically just remembering himself. they are totally aware of the destinction. no confusion there. and yet its just. churuch.

its not even that they reach some kind of subconscious consensus on this or anything. they just straight up are like: oh yeah, epsilon is also church.

like no thought whatsoever. zero. head empty.

(and i think the exchange between tucker and dylan in season 15 hammers this home.

Caboose: I miss church.

Dylan: you mean the epsilon a.i

Tucker: no, he means church.)

they know the difference. they just don’t differenentiate at all.

they are so simple in that regard that at no point do any of the implications of the ship of theseus ever occurs to them. they are just like, oh that before was the alpha a.i and now its the epsilon a.i. anyway, thats church, always a total jerk.

anyway im sure they would have many, many philosopers despair with how astoundingly simple they are

[farfanfiction]

Loyalty to the Pack: Part 5

Pairing: John Seed x Joseph Seed x Reader x Jacob Seed 

AUs: Omegaverse, werewolves

Warnings: Angst, fluff (kinda), cursing, talk of sex and other smutty stuff, cheating, slight voyeurism, mentions of depression and anxiety, mentions of guns and violence, self-hate, (Jacob being a big fucking teddy bear.)

Word Count: 2,622

A/N: Thank you all again for supporting me through this series, it means so much to me. This story means a lot to me and to see a lot of people like it brings a sense of warmth to my cold, un-beating heart. I know the lines aren’t correct, I didn’t want you guys to seem bored with the same old lines from the game. I gave them a twist to seem legit to the story. Give me some feedback on what I could do better or what I did alright, where you wanna see this whole mess go, or something you just don’t understand. The gif is not mine.

Masterpost   My Omegaverse Rules

   Just as you had expected. Your heat hit you like a fucking truck the next day. You woke up to soaked sheets, either made by the sweat caused by your fever or the slick currently running down your thigh. You gave a disgusted look as you peeled yourself away from your bed. Bad enough the sheets were soaked, your clothes were as well.

   It was hot as balls in your room anyway, might as well take off all your clothes while you were at it. You took each dripping piece off and moaned in relief as the cold air hit your skin. Your (s/c) skin began to form goosebumps, but you didn’t care. It was no longer boiling hot, yet there was still an issue. The heat between your legs, completely different from the literal heat, was scolding. It almost felt like a burning sensation as the slick dripped onto the wooden floor.

   This time a moan of pain stopped you from standing anymore. Without even thinking, your body reacted. You grabbed all the blanket and pillows in the closet and piled them onto the bed. Hell, you even grabbed your softest clothes from their hangers. Before you knew it, a rather large nest was forming. 

   Lexi growled at you when she was forced to move, but she eventually hopped off the bed and onto the floor, where she continued to sleep. You curled into your nest and got comfortable. You had a feeling you would be here awhile. It wasn’t like you had an Alpha to help with the heat. Maybe give you a nice knot and pups. Just the thought of being full of pups cause slick to run.

   Maybe John would smell you when he got home... if he got home. Your scent was super potent at the moment, so strong even you could smell it. You tossed and turned in the pile of blankets as you thought of John, of Alphas in general. You could just imagine him taking you in the nest as you pulled at his perfectly styled hair. Something you honestly didn’t understand about him. Both Joseph and Jacob didn’t care for their appearance, but John was all about appearance.

   As you lay there, in the worst pain you’ve ever felt, you thought about what was missing. It was John’s scent. When you both almost kissed, you caught a whiff of his natural Alpha scent. This time it wasn’t masked by a fancy cologne or deodorant. It was pure Alpha pheromones, a blend of plane fuel and coffee you smelled once before. At the church during your confession. This scent was intoxicating even in a small dose. That all changed when your opinion of John changed.

   Throughout the day, the pain would come and go. First, it would start off like an ache then it would get more intense. It returned to this sense of burning in your abdomen and then the kicker. You had this sense of emptiness and accompanied by cramps, the most painful cramps in the history of cramps. It was worse than any period you’ve experienced. You even had a few tears fall down your face as you clutched your lower abdomen. Occasionally during this stage, your Omega took full control. You would let out the tiniest whimpers as you gripped the blankets.

   “Alpha…” Would escape from time to time, but nothing. Not a wolf coming in to check on you at all. It was as if you weren’t even there. Maybe you weren’t, you were just a toy to him. Used for his emotional manipulation, something he has shown to be rather good at.

   It wasn’t until late at night, the Alpha finally arrived. You struggled to get out of bed. Your stomach would churn as you stepped towards the window and the sweat would just drip. There was no escaping this heat, even without clothes. It was a never-ending oven on high in your room. You looked out to John hop out of his truck, accompanied by a mass of select VIPs and chosen. He dispersed them and marched right into the Ranch, his trenchcoat flying after him. Another tug from below showed you just how much you needed John right now. Needed your Alpha, needed an Alpha.

-----

   Right when John walked in, he crashed into a wall of nothing but pure, Omega scent. It was the intense rain and bliss smell from days ago, but far more delicious. She was definitely in heat. He could already taste the slick just from this far away. She must look ravishing. Probably in a nest already presenting for him. Her perfect ass in the air as she moaned for him to put his pups in her. God above, he was starting to sound like Jacob. All animalistic and shit.

   He let out a growl as he stalked to the stairs. She was so close, yet completely out of his reach. What concerned him the most about mating her was the fact that Joseph would eventually find out about his lust. The lust that was slowly growing in his chest. The lust he had to carve into his skin multiple times from just this week. His attraction was more of lust than love. 

   An Alpha would always be attracted to an Omega in heat, mated or not. That’s how it worked and he could give a shit about Joseph’s mate rules. Yet, the thought of defying his brother was scary. He didn’t want to disappoint him by ruining something that had been years in the making.

   The best decision was to find Holly, the Beta had to be around somewhere. She literally followed him around like a lost pup, eager for his knot, which she never got. Holly couldn’t handle his knot like (Y/N) could. His rut was already here and if he got close to her, he would surely do something that they would both regret. His wasn’t ready to mate or have pups. The project was his pup and mate, he was literally married to his job.

   He was dedicated to Joseph, the person who saved him from himself. If he held off talking to Joseph about it, the news of him not mating his soulmate, the Omega God wanted him to bond with, the news wouldn’t reach him as fast and then his harsh ‘scolding’ would be hopefully less painful. This decision was for his sake, that was at least what he convinced himself to believe.

John just had to have Joseph believe him. This would take time and that’s something he didn’t have. John and Jacob were on their way right now, ready to deal with their Deputy and resistance problem.

------

   You continued to lay in bed, fighting an internal battle on whether or not you should seek out John. There was the relief of an Alpha. Something the Omega half of you was practically screaming its head off for. Then there was the other side. Holly, even if she hasn’t been seen in days, there is still a way she could sneak back in. Like the cancer she was. 

   That part of your brain, the rational part, was fighting a losing battle. It appeared the Omega part of your brain and your legs had worked together to walk you to the door.

   You stared at the wood in utter horror. The portal to your very demise, the portal to Hell if you were feeling dramatic. And yes you fucking were Your mom would say you’re the most dramatic person she knows and she would be right if you thought long and hard about it.

   You took a deep, shaky breath and took the leap of Faith. You took the long walk to John’s room. Each step you took was as heavy as the last as you stopped in front of the large doors. From the outside, no noise could be heard. You leaned onto the wood just to be sure and like before, nothing. You could smell him in there, his scent as haunting as ever.

   You slowly twisted the silver knob, listening as the springs twisted and turned. You slid the door open only to have a scream rip through the air. Whether it was from pain or pleasure, it was still loud. You peaked in to get a closer look.

   You could clearly see John’s back from the doorway. It strained and the muscles bulged as he leaned over a mystery figure. Even though you couldn’t see their face, their presence was very known. Their long fingers were knotted in John’s messy brown hair and their face was hidden in his sweaty neck, probably scenting him as much as they could. Which seemed to be pointless. His pure Alpha scent practically clouded the room. It was potent and strong, the main sign of an Alpha in rut.

   The scent alone made slick run down your bare thigh. You rubbed them together as you watch the couple go at it. The sounds of them both were very clear. The person underneath John was practically howling. “Alpha, please! Fill me, I need it! I’m your good little Omega!” They cried. The voice sounded oddly familiar as well.

   The figure turned and Holly was revealed. She stared directly at you as John practically wrecked her. The Beta gave a slight smirk as tears gathered in your eyes. This didn’t seem to affect you when you didn’t know who it was. Now, that you learned it was Holly, envy was making itself very known. The sour feeling it gave you caused bile to rise in your throat as large tears ran down your face. “Yes, Omega take it! Gonna fill you up with my pups. My sweet Omega, my sweet…”

   You ran out of the room an utter mess before you heard John finish. “... (Y/N)”

   You didn’t even care that you were naked, you just wanted to leave. More than you’ve ever wanted to before. Maybe Eden’s Gate wasn’t for you. There was way too much drama than a church needed. 

   Maybe the project was turning into a corrupt church like Joseph preaches about. Tyrants ruling over unwilling servants of the God they preach about. Maybe that was the problem. Maybe you were the problem. Or yet, John was the problem.

   You ran down the stairs, not even looking where you were going. You didn’t stop till your bare chest slammed into a hard surface. You lifted your hands and felt around. Hard muscle twitched under skin and rough fabric rubbed at your sore, tear-stained cheeks. You looked up with blurry, (e/c) eyes to see Jacob Seed in the flesh. He looked down at you with the same confused look. His familiar blue eyes held no anger as he slowly wrapped his scarred arms around your bare waist.

   You only gave a small sniff and went back to the warmth this Alpha was radiating. His hand gently stroked your back as you cried into his shirt. His palms were surprisingly soft as they soothed. His unruly beard scratched at your (h/c) hair, causing you to give a meek giggle. Unknown to you, Jacob had a small smirk on his face as he stared at Joseph, who stood right next to him. Watching as his older brother calmed this Omega with a sort gentleness he didn’t know he possessed.

   “Calm down there, kitten,” Jacob stated. It came out rougher than he thought it would, but it calmed you down nonetheless.

   “What happened, my child?” Joseph whispered as he leaned in to look at you. You looked up at him with these defeated eyes that he’s seen before. It was John. It had to be.

   John was known for breaking the hearts of many, but after raising him from these sins, Joseph knew he would fall from the Lord’s Graces once more. John had made it his mission to step away from temptation. Sadly, over the years, this did not come to light. With each passing year, John fell deeper and deeper into this pit until it consumed him once again. Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed willing, but the flesh weak…

   “John… he was with another woman again… a Beta.” That’s all that could come out before you burst into tears once more. Anger flickered across Joseph’s face before it went back to his usual composed look.

   “Jacob, would you please escort (Y/N) back to her room while I speak to our brother.” Jacob nodded and lifted you up bridal style. You yelped and watched as Joseph made his way up the stairs and onto the balcony. It was amazing how the Father could be so composed in such a state, he truly had the gift of patience. If you were him, you wouldn’t put up with John’s shit.

   You directed Jacob to your room and sat in awkward silence as the ginger just stood there. It was surprising how Jacob had so much self-control when he was in the same room as an Omega in heat. “Watch yourself Omega. You’re a kitten in a pack of wolves.” With that said Jacob walked out of the room, his combat boots clunking as he walked down the hall and out of sight. Just hearing this Alpha growl out your title sent shivers down your spine and slick on your thighs.

   You fell asleep to Jacob’s aroma of gunpowder and wood that night. But, just like previous nights, some type of noise woke you.

   Gunshots sounded from outside and a very loud siren blared in the night. You ran to your lone window and peaked outside. Pack members fell left and right, but there was nothing out there except for what seemed to be a… dog? A black and grey dog ripped at people’s necks and ran back to a bush near the entrance.

    A man dressed in camo emerged from the bush, a big ass rifle in hand. He petted the dog and ran inside the Ranch. You could hear his boot covered footsteps bellow you as you ran to the closet. You locked yourself in and waited.

   The heavy footsteps got closer and closer until they stopped right in front of your door. Why did he fucking have to check this room first!? You heard the door creak open and the footsteps again. You could see his boots through the gap. You were fucked.

[meanderfall]

I haven't seen many people talk about it, but Temple was right, the Reds & Blues *do* treat Caboose with kid gloves. They see him as stupid and sometimes annoying, but ultimately harmless and sweet and childlike (most of the fans do too, as did the last two writers). Alpha was really the only person who ever treated him like an adult (he still found him annoying, but tbh I think a lot of that was just bluster), who acknowledged that he was capable and *dangerous*. Maybe Tex did too, but [1/3]

[2/3] they didn't have many on screen interactions.And at first Wash did, but after Alpha died no one did. Which I think wasactually on purpose in regards to Epsilon? Because even though Epsilonacknowledges Caboose's strength at the end of Season 10, he still treatsCaboose like the others do. Whereas Alpha was *always* aware of how destructiveCaboose could and would be, to the point where he'd hide behind him in diceysituations because he didn't want to get caught in Caboose's crossfire.

[3/3] I also thinkit's a little interesting that Temple was supposed to analogous to Alpha(although how tf did the Director know that Alpha would be enough like Templeto make the stalemate work again? Also the stalemate only really worked in thefirst place because Temple and Biff were friends so?? But I digress!), and hadalso been the only one since Alpha died to acknowledge that Caboose was anadult, and even though he was cruel about it he still treated Caboose like hedid everyone else.

Hello, Anon! It was so nice to see this in my inbox omg, and I’m sorry this took so long, life has been hectic and stressful! Not to mention, I wanted to take the time to ponder about this, and lol I’m definitely going to be rambling a lot woops.

You’re absolutely right, anon. We, the fans, and the writers and even the BGC tend to baby Caboose a lot. Mostly, at least in my case, because he tends to exude innocence and naivety and you just wanna protect him as much as possible from the real world. But just because he does seem innocent and naive, it doesn’t mean he’s a kid. Alpha was probably the one who treated him the most as an equal, though that’s probably mostly because he’s an asshole to everyone. (Though maybe not?? Remember that RVB 360 video with Church doing the Dad Knee to Junior and talking to him?? Maybe he does know the difference between how to treat a kid and an adult. Won’t stop him from complaining about the kid around said kid though lol.)

I’m not going to lie, anon, these asks gave me some kind of existential crisis as I tried to figure out what exactly is the difference between a kid and an adult, besides ages, and how we’re supposed to treat them, (because it seemed like part the argument that you were implying about how Caboose is an adult and doesn’t need to be treated like a child was that he’s dangerous, and that didn’t sit well with me tbh so here I am over-analyzing a simple ask yet again lmao im sorry if i was wrong or misinterpreted).

Anyway, I’m pretty sure the difference has do with cognitive development. Kids’ thought processes are pretty simple, and this is especially clear from their idea of morality. I’ve heard my younger siblings exclaim so many times that something was unfair, and y’know sometimes they were right, but other times they weren’t taking into consideration other circumstances that made it so the situation was fair. Not to mention, that they’re selfish, through no fault of their own. So far, in their minds, they can’t really manage to consider other people’s point of view, and unless they’re taught differently and actually make the effort, that won’t change. And that’s where the difference between how adults are supposed to treat kids and other adults comes in. Adults, esp their guardians, are supposed to help them grow. They are there to encourage more complex thought processes and and help them walk through the logic if necessary. And they are there to offer advice bc adults have so much more life experience then kids do.

Caboose isn’t really like a kid at all. A lot of people might mistake the things he says as him being simple-minded but really, he just sees things differently from others and processes it differently. And that of course, seems weird and probably child-like to the others because by now they’re so used to how ‘normal’ adult minds work. And like, there are so many examples of posts on this site of adults or teenagers being surprised or caught off-guard by something a kid said or did, so I guess when the BGC encountered Caboose and had that happen to them, they kind of went Caboose = child.

Not to mention, Caboose is easily one of the most caring and empathetic characters on the show??? He loves his friends so much, esp Church, and would do anything for them. (Good examples of Caboose having complex thought processes and empathy: his speech to Tucker in s12 about how he shouldn’t be mad at Church, that episode of s14 ‘Caboose’s Guide to Making Friends’ or whatever it was called, s8 in general when he kept wanting to help Epsilon esp the end of s8. ‘But they’ll die!’ he says. He is completely aware of the possible consequences of what’s happening. He isn’t dumb.)

Anyway, back to the rest of the asks! About them treating Caboose with kid’s gloves.... I waffle between saying you’re absolutely right and going “Weeeellll....”. Because Temple says that right before he reveals that Church really is truly dead and Tucker is trying to stop him from saying it. And you’re right. Caboose shouldn’t have that hidden from him. He’s fully capable of hearing the truth and starting to process the grief. But the thing is, isn’t that what he was already doing in the beginning of s15? Before Temple sent them that corrupted message and gave him hope again? (Not to mention, in the grand scheme of things it probably isn’t that weird to thing Church could’ve honestly come back, he’s died and come back so many times.) And, as a friend, wouldn’t you want to do anything to protect your friend from getting hurt or from grief? Especially when the news is coming from your enemy? Of course Tucker wanted to stop Temple from revealing the truth like that. And it kind of happened in a tense moment. And Tucker hadn’t really been at his best emotionally all season (which believe me, I’m kind of displeased with :/    s15 Tucker is not my Tucker.) (The Blood Gulch Chronicles was probably the best in terms of Tucker treating Caboose like an equal. They definitely had sibling bond there, annoying each other and trying to get Dad’s Church’s attention XD)

I think Wash is pretty good about Caboose though. I still remember that s11 speech when he validated Caboose’s feelings of loss and asked for forgiveness for not being a better leader when he really needed him. I’d probably need to re-watch the seasons for myself in order to really confirm if they treat him like a child constantly that can’t comprehend what’s happening. It’s hard to tell for sure, because the writers kind of fuck that up from time to time, making Caboose seem dumber and the others reacting more harshly to it. Though where do we draw the line of them baby-ing him and caring for him? Like when Sarge let’s Caboose push the button in s3 and calls him a ‘litle rascal’ (i think?), is Sarge treating him like a kid there or just engaging in his enthusiasm? Or in s7 and s8 whenever they leave Caboose behind out of the fights, are they doing it to stop him from accidentally hurting others or because they genuinely think he’d be useless in the fight? Whenever they decide not to explain something to him, are they doing it because they think it’s a waste of time to explain something Caboose won’t understand anyway? (Personally, whenever Caboose misunderstands what someone explained to him, I think it has to do with a lack of concentration than just not being able to comprehend what they’re telling him. He probably has a tendency to drift. And he can concentrate when it’s important, so I think he’s okay) There are probably more examples, but I can’t think of more, I really do need to do a rewatch goddamn.

One last thing! About how Temple is analogous to Church and the stalemate. Correct me if I’m wrong (and I might seriously be, I watched s15 with friends, so I probably missed a good quarter of information), but isn’t the similarities between the two groups completely coincidental? Because Alpha wasn’t implanted and put into Blood Gulch until after Project Freelancer was destroyed, and Temple and the others were in an simulation outpost while Freelancer was still running, evidenced by Carolina and Tex showing up. And I don’t think it would be too hard for them to purposefully create a stalemate? The Counselor probably evaluated them and interviewed them, and learnt that Temple and Bif were friends, and just created the teams in such a way that they would either more or less take charge of their respective teams or be too lazy to fight, creating a stalemate between the two. Also I’m pretty sure Florida created the Blood Gulch teams on his own??? so it really is a coincidence. A freak-ish one for sure, and obviously kind of contrived because it was for plot, but it isn’t that bad.

Also, totally jumping off that one tiny thing you said about how Temple and Alpha were the ones to treat Caboose like an adult. First, I’m about 99% sure the reason why that’s the case if because they’re both huge assholes omg nothing will stop them from treating you like a dumbass. And, this is totally a more personal thought process that I’m just shoving at you, even though me and my friend spent most of our watch saying things like “Alpha would never do that!”, looking back on it, I think Alpha would. Keep in mind, Alpha was an AI created by Leonard Church. A man that when his wife died and he had been powerless to stop it, started torturing his own mind in the hope’s of one day creating an AI of his wife, and performing psychological experiments with the people under his command, who he is supposed to guide and train, and on his own daughter. If there had been a clear cause for what had happened, like in the case of Bif’s death, he probably would’ve gone absolutely insane in his quest for vengeance, like Temple did. And Alpha would’ve done the same, at least, probably before he had been tortured and fragmented. Afterwards, he didn’t really have much emotions or energy to bother with vengeance plots.

Anyway, thank you for coming to my inbox! I hope you enjoyed this read through lmao, though it’s probably filled with stuff you already know and understand! Also looking back on it, I realize I’m all over the place about whether the BGC treat Caboose like a kid woops. I might do a rewatch just for this lol.