#but he's not dead

[aphrosephone119]

How I think the final scene of 4x10 should've gone with the Pogues around the bonfire.

"The crown..." Kiara said suddenly, startling the group from their thoughts.

"What?" Pope replied with a sigh. He was so exhausted, and the crying had just made him even more tired.

"The crown! The blue crown! It grants the wearer a wish, right?" Kie glances around at her friends, waiting for them to confirm.

"Supposedly... Buts it's probably just a myth like the whole curse thing. Why?" John B asked, not really with it and staring into the blazing fire in front of him.

"What if it's real? What if we can get that crown and use the wish?" The pogues look towards Kie with mixed expressions. Some understood where she was going with this, but others, John B and Pope, were still confused, not able to really think straight.

"You're thinking what I think you're thinking, aren't you?" Cleo announces, standing from her spot on the sand.

Then it clicks for the boys.

"Kie, you can't be seriously suggesting that?" John B says, pulling at the bandana around his neck.

"Why not? After what just happened, we have nothing left to lose, John B."

He rubs at his head, trying to think through what Kiara was saying.

"Look. We find Groff, kill him, obviously, get the crown, and see if it works. What's the harm in trying this?" Kie stands, making her point known.

"He's gone, Ki-"

"NO! He's not. He's not gone, Sarah, because we have a way to bring him back! I- I can't... I won't- Guys I can't go on without him... I can't leave here knowing he's out there buried in the desert alone in the dark. John B, you KNOW how much he hates being left on his own! How much he hates being in the dark. We can't get leave him here when there's a way to bring him back!"

The group fell silent, Kiara's words cutting through the night like the crackling of the fire. John B glanced at Sarah, her eyes glossy and rimmed with tears. Cleo crossed her arms and looked out into the horizon as though trying to see the future written in the stars.

"Kie..." John B started, unsure how to continue after the speech his friend had just made.

"We're bringing him back, John B. Where's your faith?! I thought he was your best frie-"

"Don't!" John B interrupted, tear tracks now dried to his face as his red rimmed eyes looked up at the girl from over the fire.

"JJ was my best friend. He was my brother. Don't you dare try to use that against me, Kie."

Kiara took a step back, her breath hitching as John B's sharp tone echoed through her. The others stared at the two, waiting for someone to break the tension.

"I'm not trying to use it against you." Kie whispered, her voice trembling.

"I'm just saying... he wouldn't give up on any of us. Not ever. So how can we give up on him?"

John B's jaw tightened, and he looked away, his hands clenched into fists at his sides.

"And what if the crown doesn't work? What if it's all just a stupid story and we risk our lives for nothing? What then, Kie? What if we do this and we lose someone else?"

Kiara stepped closer to him, her eyes burning with despair and sorrow.

"And what if it does work, John B? What if we get him back? We owe it to him to try. I can’t-” Her voice broke, and she swallowed hard before continuing.

“I can’t live with myself if I don’t at least try. I'll have to look my dad in the eye and tell him JJ's gone...”

"Your dad hated JJ."

"No. He WAS JJ. He used to be JJ when he was a teen. He saw himself in him. He wouldn't want JJ-... He wouldn't want JJ dead."

The others really didn't know how to respond to that. Kiara spoke up again.

"Pope... Would you be able to tell your folks what happened? would you be able to look Heyward in the eye and tell him? Tell him what happened?"

Pope's expression hardened as Kiara's words hit him. He stared down at the sand, the firelight casting shadows across his face. He thought about his dad. About how much Heyward loved JJ, even if he didn’t always show it. The idea of walking into the shop, seeing his dad’s hopeful face, and having to crush it with the truth made his stomach turn.

“No,” Pope admitted quietly.

“I couldn’t. I can’t.”

Kiara nodded, her resolve growing stronger with Pope’s agreement.

“Then we do this. Together.”

The group was silent again, the only sound the crackle of the fire and the waves lapping at the shore. Finally, Sarah broke the tension.

“Kie's right.” she said softly.

“JJ would never give up on us. Not ever. And if there’s even a chance we can get him back…” She trailed off, glancing at John B.

John B looked around at his friends, his family, their faces lit by the flickering fire. He saw the pain in their eyes. It was the same pain he felt every time he thought about JJ’s laugh, his cheeky grin, the little 'JJ' mannerisms and actions that they all had learnt to love, even the slightly irritating ones that would result in him getting in trouble. JJ could make even the worst situations feel like an adventure... And John B couldn't even imagine himself going home without his brother.

"Alright."

He said finally, his voice barely above a whisper.

"We’ll try. But we do it smart. If things go south, we'll have to pull out. We can't risk any more losses. JJ wouldn't want us to sacrifice ourselves for him."

Kiara’s face lit up with relief and determination.

“We won’t need to pull out. This is going to work. It has to.”

"Well I, for one, am down to kill that scamming prick." Came a voice behind John B.

Oh. They'd forgotten Rafe was there too.

He was ready to take on Groff no matter what.

“So what’s the plan?”

Cleo asked, sitting down cross-legged and pulling out her knife to idly sharpen it.

“Groff's our only lead. We track him down, he couldn't have gotten far. This place is massive. We get the crown, and…”

She hesitated for a moment.

“...we bring JJ back.”

“And if Groff doesn’t have the crown?” Pope asked cautiously. There's always a chance those others had found him by now and taken the crown for themselves.

“Then we keep looking." Kiara replied firmly.

“Whatever it takes.”

John B sighed, running a hand through his hair.

“Alright. Tomorrow, we start tracking him. We'll start at first light. But tonight…” His voice faltered, and he looked deep into the flames.

“Tonight, we remember JJ.”

[brightsuzaku]

Specifically, and I'm not putting it in the tags, because SPECIFICALLY, that refers to Mister Foulques of the Mist FinalfantasyFourteen, thankyouverymuch.

[wolfythewitch]

I'm gonna haunt you in your head

The things we did, the last words I said

[marypsue]

Keep seeing that post where OP starts like 'Thinking about...grieving the undead' and then adds on about like. Real life situations where people have not died but have left your life and you would have reason to grieve them.

All respect, that's an important concept, but that is not what I am thinking about when I read 'grieving the undead'.

[amethystsoda]

[post-grammatic-stress]

If you've ever told a person who's had to be bedbound for a period of time that you wish you could "just stay in bed", DO IT.

Stay in bed. For days. But don't get up if someone needs you to, or you get bored, or you get antsy. Don't do anything other than rest. Just lie in your bed, whether you need to get stuff done around the house or socialize or anything else "productive". You'll have to cancel on people, you'll disappoint them, they won't understand.

And if you're thinking, "well, i CAN'T just be in bed. There's stuff that has to be done - I have plans", maybe ask yourself why you assumed a disabled person doesn't have plans or things to do or desires.

[trekkerac]

he's like a faulty lightbulb

[hinamie]

to moving forward

[ivvyela]

can’t wait to see billy sitting with the young avengers trying his best to ignore his loving ghost mom being an asshole in the corner

[chloesimaginationthings]

Everyone loves FNAF music man.. even Michael

[akumanoken]

Me: "in a bit of pain and sleepy* what if Hayusa repeats on the ff erase... Working for one of Souji's marks?

Souji: ... Why are you like this?

[everwalldigan]

(Dick coming to collect Jason after he’s been “wrongfully” captured by the justice league while Batman is off world:)

Dick: Listen, Hood might be a criminal, but he’s one of Gotham’s. And he’s my brother.

JL: he killed 80 people in two days.

Dick: …he’s adopted?

Jason, glaring while bound to a chair: SO ARE YOU???

[ciderbird]

academic bias is so funny because you’ll be reading about the same historical event and one person is like “Despite the troubles that befell his homeland and near constant criticism of the court King Blorbo remained strong in the face of adversity” and the other one is like “after letting his people carry the brunt of his cringefail decisions Blorbo the Shitface refused to listen to any reason and continued to be a warmongering piece of shit. Also he was ugly.”

[dystopiansocietystraw]

when i tell you i had an aneurysm

[crumb-crumblet-s-crumbington]

snuggling in the sun...

[ditzybat]

jason: you don’t even know what my favorite book is, how could you even stand to call yourself my father if you don’t know me anymore!?

bruce: jay, your favorite is pride and —

tim: the velveteen rabbit.

jason: … i’ve had like two conversations with you outside of murder attempts, how do you know that?

tim: im not an amateur, i took my baby stalker duties very seriously!