#she doesn't have to agree. but if she won't then she's leaving the server one way or another; I'm not keeping around someone

[lesenbyan]

you ever get up and you're not even really actively mad about a thing but choose violence bc you probably ought to?

[discordiansamba]

hello I am in a new location (on vacation). have something I was rotating on the plane.

zuko takes late to firebending. his younger sister bends flame before he does, and ursa sees the writing on the wall.

ozai is not a kind man. if they stay, she knows it is only a matter of time before something happens to zuko to get him out of the way. she sees the look in his eyes as she watches him.

she makes a deal with ozai- she will take zuko and leave the palace. azula can be his heir in his place.

(it is a deal that requires her to leave her daughter behind with this monster, but she knows she cannot take both. she has to choose.)

ozai agrees... but not really. this is the perfect chance to get rid of them both without anyone tying it to him. he sends assassins after them, but they escape.

ursa reunites with ikem, and they flee the fire nation together.

at first they stay in the colonies, but ozai finds them. through ursa's connections as avatar roku's granddaughter, she manages to find safe passage into omashu.

she lives there peacefully with zuko and ikem for awhile. she takes the name noriko, and ikem becomes noren. zuko becomes li, in hopes that such a common name will make him stand out less.

bumi knows full well they're there, and who they are. he's the one who invited them into his city in the first place.

after the failed siege of ba sing se, ursa fears that it won't be safe for them for long in omashu. bumi arranges for them to travel to ba sing se, letting the three of them quietly slip into the city.

(in the aftermath of the siege, the dai li is in the middle of restructuring. the family of three slips between the cracks.)

zuko was so young when they left the palace, he barely remembers it. his mother told him that his father was an influential man in the fire nation, and was deeply abusive. she had to flee to protect him.

(zuko does not remember his real name.)

he starts firebending in omashu. ursa quietly obtains some firebending scrolls, so he can practice in secret.

ikem forms a small theater troupe in ba sing se, which zuko helps with. he also has a part time job as a tea server. they live quietly in the lower ring, until one day his mother announces she's pregnant.

(she hadn't been trying. it hadn't felt right. but it happened anyways.)

their family of three becomes a family of four. zuko is elated to become a big brother and spoils kiyi rotten.

to zuko, ikem is his father. he doesn't want to know anything about his real father.

ursa fears everything is over when one day, iroh appears on their doorstep. but he calms her fears. he is not here to bring her back to ozai, nor does he wish to try conquering ba sing se again. he merely wishes to teach his long lost nephew a bit of firebending.

(to zuko, iroh is mushi, a retired fire nation soldier who broke with his country's warmongering ways. it's only sort of a lie.)

(iroh is very careful that their lessons do not attract the watchful eye of the dai li. thankfully, zuko and his family are now so entrenched in the city that they escape their notice.)

one day, iroh leaves ba sing se. the avatar has returned, and he has heard rumors of an invasion of the north pole brewing...

the avatar is in his dad's theater. why is the avatar in his dad's theater.

what do you mean mushi is the dragon of the west.

what do you mean HE'S A PRINCE OF THE FIRE NATION?

[annaphoenix1994]

All I See is You

Previous Chapter - Masterlist - Next Chapter

»»-------¤-------««

"So, how's everything been, Kiera?" Laswell asked as the women sat at a local cafe, catching up on topics other than work. 

She sighed, taking a sip of the glass of water the server brought her, finding the sound of anything else to drink to be nauseating to her as she found herself occasionally taking a bite of her sandwich. "They've been good. Much better since that shit with Shepherd has been dealt with." 

"I agree. With the water settling now, it'll be easier to focus," Laswell nodded. "I think we've earned ourselves a break for a while." 

"Well, speaking of breaks, I was going to talk to you about something," Kiera sighed, finding it rather difficult to tell Laswell, of all people, that she was pregnant and wanting to resign. "Nobody expected this, especially me, but I've been putting a lot of thought behind it..." 

"You're scaring me." Laswell narrowed her eyes, setting aside her drink. 

"As much as I've enjoyed my job, I think it's time I resign. Given everything that's happened, I don't want to risk putting my family in the middle of it again." 

"None of that was your fault-"

"Partially, yeah," Kiera scoffed. "I keep blaming myself. I can't get Fernando's screams out of my head since we found him. I'm not going to put anyone through it again." She explained, frowning and breaking contact with Laswell. 

"Is there something else bothering you?" 

She nodded hesitantly. 

"How far along are you?" 

"H-How did you know?"

"You know as well as I do that the C.I.A burns body language into your brain," Laswell chuckled. "I'm a mother myself. I know that certain glow." 

"I didn't know you had any kids?" 

"I never told anybody because I feared the same thing that you did. I respect your decision, Kiera. I just hate I'm losing one of the best Case Officers that ever stepped foot in our office, but it's not the time to be selfish. Are you nervous?" 

"Very," She breathed. "Simon is beyond excited by how he's been acting. I was afraid he wasn't going to take it well." 

"I can understand that. He's always been hard to read, but he always got straight to the point." 

"That he does." 

"He mentioned flying to London for a military ball, right? When is that coming up?" 

"He said it's on the twentieth of this month. He mentioned flying out on the tenth to spend a few days there before coming home. He wants to take me to his hometown." 

"That'll be nice," Laswell assured her with a smile. "Have you gotten a dress?" 

"I had one picked out, but I don't think I'll fit in it now!" 

"You never did tell me how far along you were," She snickered. "You won't grow twice your size every week." 

"I'm roughly seven weeks, coming up on eight. I go back for another ultrasound the week before we leave for London. Hopefully, she can tell us the gender, but I'm not sure if I want to know." 

"Afraid you'll be disappointed?" Laswell teased. 

"No, I think it would be more special for it to be a surprise. Although Simon wants a boy and I want a girl. I guess a part of my anxious mind wants to keep it a secret until the baby is here so that I can be with Simon as much as possible because I'm afraid he'll leave me if it's a girl." She scoffed, knowing better than to think of Simon that way, her previous relationship being a constant dark reminder of how some men were:

»»-------¤-------««

"I can't have more kids. If you're pregnant, I'm signing my rights over. I don't want nothing to do with it."

"You're mad that I might be pregnant, but yet didn't do anything to prevent it from happening? You know condoms are a thing, right?" 

"Not my job to worry about not getting pregnant. Birth control is a thing too." 

"Yeah, and so is keeping my legs closed," Kiera scoffed. "Oh, but you're always insisting on having sex whenever you feel like it. Condoms don't have the shitty side effects like birth control does. Weight gain, acne, bloating, cramps, everything, Joe. Doesn't hurt wear one." 

"No, you gained weight because you're always eating. Eating too much leads to acne. Cramps are from your period." 

"What's your excuse, then?" Kiera scoffed, arching her brow and nodding her head towards his gut. 

He pursed his lips, "You talk like that to me again, and I'll make sure you're not pregnant." 

"You wouldn't dare." 

"Try me. I'm serious. If you're pregnant I'm out. I'm not going through this again. I already have three." 

"Those poor souls," She scoffed. "But yet when your ex said she might be pregnant you didn't seem too sad about that, huh? You must think I'm stupid if you think I didn't hear you talking to her on the phone when you said you thought you were excited to hear about her being pregnant. Goes to show me that I was just a side piece to you when you did nothing but tell me what I want to hear because you were bored with her and got with someone else." 

"You're full of shit, Kiera. Go take a test. Now." 

"No. You want me to take one so bad, go get one." 

"Oh, so you're not worried about having a kid?" 

"I've always wanted one. If I am, I'm having this baby with or without you - preferably without you because you're acting like a piece of shit. I don't want my baby near that." 

"Fine, I'll go get a test. If it comes back positive, you either get out of my life or I'll go get a hanger." 

Kiera's anger peaked, not hesitating to slap him across his cheek, knowing that he could easily overpower her. "You do that again and my next hit will be to that stomach." 

She hit him again, knowing that he wouldn't do such a thing as her fighting skills have peaked since before they started seeing each other, her other hand balled and ready to fight after she taunted him. "You do that, and I'll kill you," She hissed. "Just fucking leave. You won't change, but I will. I'm not putting myself through this shit." 

"Good luck finding someone better." 

"Fuck, I can go across the street and find someone better. Anyone is better than you. Threatening to kill a life possibly inside of me? That's not a man, you're just an overgrown teenager."

"Is that really what you think of me?" 

"Oh, no, what I think of you is way worse than what I've said, but I figured I'd refrain from hurting your ego." 

He scoffed, stepping closer to her, using his height in a pathetic attempt to intimidate her, "Try me." 

"Now that you mention it, I will gladly begin," She scoffed sarcastically. "First of all, you can't expect to not brush your teeth and your breath smell good. And no, cigarettes won't mask it. Two, you can't say you give good head when, in fact, you don't-"

"You weren't saying that weeks ago." 

"Just like I also didn't say I had to finish myself off because you didn't last long. Don't get too hurt yet, I'm not done," She scoffed, crossing her arms over her chest. "Three, you can't walk around like you're ten foot tall and bulletproof when you're just as tall as me."

"Yeah, you're just as tall as me and just as fat." He retorted, aiming to hurt her composure as he knew her weight was something that she always frowned upon. 

What he didn't expect, though, was an immediate ego check. 

"Yeah? Well let me tell you something. I can control my weight. Until you can control your receding hairline, height, and dick size, then you can have a say in how you think I'm supposed to look. Considering you can't change those things about yourself, I suggest you shut the fuck up."

His anger peaked, pursing his lips and attempting to grab her throat only to find her shin pinning against his groin in a swift kick, making him drop to his knees to clutch himself. He didn't know much, nor care, about Kiera's career, unaware that she was elite in hand-to -hand combat and having fought off several men on her last deployment. 

She swore to keep her "military mode" on base, but in her situation, she couldn't help herself not to. He winced, hearing her scoff, "Didn't figure I'd get a reaction out of you with that little tic-tac between your legs," She began to interrogate. "When you can make yourself get up, I suggest that you quickly leave my house before I make you." 

"Yeah? You couldn't even lift me-"

"There's more than one way to skin a cat, Joe. I'll either make you leave, or call someone to come and get you." She warned. He nodded, catching his breath before using the counter to help him stand to his feet and pull his keys out of his pocket. "I suggest you don't come back. This is over." 

"Saved me from saying it. I pity the man who thinks he wants you." 

"I do, too, but I know the red flags to look out for, so I doubt it'll ever happen again." 

»»-------¤-------««

Kiera recalled the event like it was yesterday, immediately frowning as the altercation was emotionally tragic, especially gnawing at her with every positive thought Simon would put into her head, her trauma telling her that it wasn't true. She felt his love he effortlessly gave her, but she also wondered when he'd get bored... just like every other guy I've dated. They get bored when the spark is out, she thought, frowning as her fingers fumbled with the hem of her blouse. He'll get bored when I don't have the body I used to have when we met - when I'm stretched and scarred with saggy tits and more cellulite. He'll find someone better. 

Her raging hormones weren't helping her negative thoughts, either. Unaware that she found herself crying - sobbing - uncontrollably in public with Laswell staring at her in shock, never seeing Kiera cry before. "Kiera? What's wrong?" Laswell asked frantically, moving to sit across the table to sit next to her, Kiera's elbows resting on the table as she hid her face in her hands. "Are you afraid he's going to leave?" 

She sobbed, nodding. 

"I doubt he will, honey. That man is head over heels for you." 

"Yeah, for now. He won't see me the same after I have this baby. He'll get bored of my body and want to see someone else who doesn't have stretch marks, saggy boobs and cellulite. What if I don't have a boy? He'll probably leave after that, too - finding someone else who either already has a boy or to get another girl pregnant because I'm all used up." 

"Listen to yourself, Kiera. You're talking nonsense. I know your hormones are going crazy right now, but you can't let what happened with Joe talk you out of a healthy relationship." 

"You even said yourself that all men are shit." Kiera scoffed. 

"Yeah, but I'm also married to a woman," Laswell giggled, easing the tension and patting Kiera's shoulder. "I haven't known Simon for long, but I do know that he's very loyal and honest. He's been one of the most loyal soldiers I've ever seen. It's funny because when I see him with you or hear him talk about you, it's like I can't imagine him in that mask he wore on tasks. It's like two different people." 

"I didn't expect it either, so it's fine." Kiera huffed, wiping her tears from her cheeks. 

Aside from her own mother, Laswell was like a second - more stern - mother to Kiera - knowing her as well as a mother should. Knowing when she was upset, angry, heartbroken, and most of all - relentless. Laswell always compared Kiera to a force of nature when she was on the field, executing her authority on many levels, giving Laswell the confidence to send Kiera anywhere on the planet, knowing she'd get the job done and leave no trace. 

"I know it's easier said than done, but don't let your assumptions break your heart. Simon hasn't given you a reason to want to leave, has he?" 

"No, but he's still in the I think I'm in love stage," She doubted herself again, letting her traumatic experiences speak for her. "He treats me better than I deserve and I feel like I can't return the favor." 

"I know he's in love, Kiera."

"For now-"

"Stop it. Right now," Laswell scolded her, the woman's motherly instincts kicking in. "That man loves you, Kiera. When you were in the hospital after what happened in Chicago, he stayed in that waiting room for hours just waiting to get to see you. He didn't eat until I had to bring him something the next morning. When he did, he hardly ever left your bedside unless it was to give room to the nurses or to shower. Believe me, I walked in to check on you every chance I could along with Price. He didn't leave unless you did. When those doctors were dressing your wounds and changing your bandages, he wanted to learn too so that he could do it himself when you got back home. There was no way in hell me or Price could've talked him out of it and you know how devoted he is to his country," She continued, raising her brows as she spoke sense into her. "I bet you could call him right now and say you were hurting and he'd be heading this way. I wish you'd let yourself just give in and be happy. You deserve it, but you're making it seem like you're expecting the worst when you really have the best thing every woman wants." 

»»-------¤-------««

"What about this one?" Simon asked Eva, pointing down at a gorgeous diamond ring that was being shown in the case. 

"What do you think, dear? They're all beautiful, but do you think it suits her?" 

He thought hard on it, trying to picture it on her finger before he shook his head, "She'll probably think it's too big," He chuckled. "She's always been a simple person." 

"That she is," Eva giggled at the thought, separating from him a few steps before looking down at another ring that spoke volumes to Kiera's taste. It wasn't bulky nor too slender. A silver diamond ring with a princess cut and decorative diamonds along the silver band. "Look at this one, Simon." 

"That's gorgeous," He huffed, perfectly imagining how it would complement that pretty finger of hers. "I'll probably come back to that one, but I'm going to look around some more before I decide." 

He completely ignored the price tag... Eva thought as she watched him continue to look through the gallery, taking time in each ring he thought would be a good fit. "You look like you're pondering on asking the big question." An employee smiled at him from the other side of the case. 

"Oh, I'm done pondering - I've already decided. Now I'm just doing the hard part on finding the perfect one." 

"I'll be glad to help you with that if you'd like?" The woman asked, visibly too cheerful to assist him. Are all women like this? He thought to himself, wondering if he was really that attractive or if she was just browsing herself for a man. Seeing that she had no ring on her finger, Simon assumed that was why she was so adamant. Or she's just doing her job. 

"You know more about it than I do," He chuckled anxiously, hating having to ask someone for assistance. "There's a few in here that I like, but I keep being drawn back to one and I don't know if she'd like it or not. I want it to be special for her." 

The employee smiled, adjusting her weight on her heels before splaying her hands on the case, a pathetic attempt at showing Simon that she wasn't taken if he wanted to keep shopping. "I'll be glad to help. What's her name?" 

"Kiera." 

"Beautiful name," She smiled. "Do you have a photo of her by chance? Don't worry, I do this with every expecting fiancé so I can help with rings that complement their lifestyle." 

Sure you do, Simon scoffed to himself. Prying isn't going to open up a door for you, lass.

He pulled his phone from his pocket and set it on the case, tapping on the screen once for his favorite wallpaper to appear in front of the woman's eyes - the photo he took of her recently when they went on a date by the river. 

Oh, I know her...

He watched how the woman made a furrowed expression, "I love the dress." She forced the compliment.

"I do, too." He said sternly. 

"I can see that," She nodded, glancing at Kiera's mother as she approached Simon's side.

"I have a few that are in the size you're probably wanting. What's your budget?" 

"I'm not worried about that."

"Oh, okay," She nearly gasped, never truly hearing that before. "You mentioned you had a ring in mind already? Which one were you looking at?" 

"It was style 68843," Eva answered, knowing Simon didn't look at the number nor the price tag. With a giggle, she watched Simon nod at the employee before she waltzed off to find the style number, taking a few moments before she returned to her new customer with the ring between her thumb and index finger, easily setting it in Simon's hand as he looked at it closer. 

"Bloody perfect, yeah?" He asked Eva, letting her take a closer look herself as she nodded in approval. 

"She'll love it, dear. It definitely looks like something she'd wear." 

"I think so, too. What size is this one?" 

"Um..." The employee hummed before reaching for the tag, the tip of her acrylic nail scraping his thumb subtly as she turned the tag to look. "This one is a six." 

"That's just her size, Simon." 

"She must have some tiny fingers," The clerk giggled. "Don't have many women come in with that size." 

"Her hands are very small," Simon agreed, chuckling at the thought of how small they were in his hands. "I didn't realize how small she was because I'm twice her size," He continued, looking at the diameter of the band and comparing it mentally to the size of his fingers, concluding that if he were to truly compare, his pinky finger would probably be the closest to her ring finger size. "Tiny feet, tiny ears, tiny nose..." And a tiny baby in that perfect belly, he thought, thankful that he didn't mention it in front of her mother...again. 

You wouldn't be wanting to marry her if you would've seen how big she was in high school, the clerk thought negatively. Being one of Kiera's former bullies in school, she would never admit that she was jealous. Especially seeing the man before her that was wanting to ask the big question. God, you're so tall...

"Well, I think this one would be perfect with the picture you showed me. It looks like it would suit her well."

Simon took notice of the clerk's jealousy, taking the perfect opportunity to continue talking about Kiera to piss her off, pleased at how he could shut the door of any hope the woman had towards him by making it clear that he wasn't interested. "I think it would, too. She deserves the world." 

"I think we've found the perfect one?" Eva suggested, taking another look to satisfy her curiosity. 

"I think so," Simon nodded. "I want this one." 

"Okay," She smiled, forcing her jealousy from her mind by keeping her gaze towards the floor to keep from looking at him. "If you'll just follow me over here, I'll get your paperwork started." 

"Didn't think it was so complicated." 

The clerk giggled, "This must be your first time." 

"And my last." 

"Well, this is Tiffany & Co. We're proud of our products," She smiled, motioning for both Simon and Eva to follow her to the office, grasping a mint-colored felt box to hold the ring as well as a decorative and rather lavish bag to put it in after she entered the style number into her computer. "Alright, I'll need a valid I.D. and current address." 

Simon huffed as he removed his wallet from his back pocket, setting his I.D. on the desk, watching how her eyes widened after she had realized he wasn't from the States. And he's British? How'd she get so lucky but yet I'm here trying to steal fiancés? She scoffed to herself. "Is this still your current address?" 

"It won't be, but for now, yes." 

"I'm sorry," She chuckled embarrassingly. "I can't read it. It looks scratched out. What's the street address?" 

"60 Oxford Street, Manchester M1 5EE, United Kingdom." He answered. 

"Apartment number?" 

"262." 

"Thank you. Phone number?" 

"(307) 555-9624." 

"Payment method?" 

"Whatever is easiest." He sighed. 

"I always advise a check for an amount such as this." 

Eva expected Simon's brows to raise in nervousness, but he was dead serious, intentionally not caring how much he was about to spend. She's worth it. 

"Then a check it is." 

He nodded, removing one of many blank checks he tucked away in his wallet. Only ever having to use a check once, he had hoped it would be accepted considering his main branch of bank was based in the United Kingdom. However, he had already gone through the grueling headache of transferring nearly 50% of his funds into American dollars to be able to spend without fail. 

He glanced over at Eva as the clerk continued typing into her computer, reaching over to remove a print-out of the sales invoice as well as the acceptance of the terms and conditions of the transaction. Simon Riley, the clerk sighed. Such a strong name for a strong man. He signed the dotted line before writing the amount of the ring on his check, finding no issue in dropping the grand total of $14,163.12 for the diamond ring. "That's like you're buying a small car." Eva giggled. 

"Cars are that cheap?" He chuckled, leaning back in his chair after sliding the check over the desk. 

"Used ones." The clerk added. I didn't fucking ask for your input, lass.

"I'll let her pick out the wedding ring." He said to Eva. 

"Oh, I think she'll like this one so much she wouldn't want to take it off." 

"She'll still need a band, yeah?" 

Eva nodded, presenting her wedding ring set on her left finger, letting him look at it. Her finger complimented the gold band and gold diamond ring on her finger. Lavish, he thought as he looked at it. "We got this band last year when we renewed our vows." 

"It's lovely. Her father has classy taste." 

"I was surprised," Eva teased, nudging his elbow playfully - just like how Kiera would. It made him smirk, coming to enjoy spending time with her mother. "Bud can have a heart when he wants to." 

"Alright, you're all set! It might take a couple of days for it to show up in your account, but it cleared on my end." The clerk said, taking the tag off of the ring and putting the ring in the iconic "Tiffany Blue" felt box and putting it in the bag as well as a care guide. "This ring does come with a lifetime service. So if she needs it to be resized, cleaned, or tightened, just bring it here and it's complimentary." 

"I'd sure hope so if it was that much." 

The clerk huffed, "Yeah, which I'm sure she'll have to bring it by to have it cleaned if she wears it every day or does strenuous work. She won't have to pay anything upfront." Or if she gains weight, her 'little fingers' will get fat again.

He reached for the bag on the table after he stood to his feet, nodding at her as he offered his hand to Eva, helping the older woman stand to her aching feet as he escorted her out of the office and towards the entrance of the store. "That woman had her eyes on you." Eva giggled. 

"I noticed," Simon scoffed. "The feeling wasn't mutual." 

"I noticed that. Don't bring Kiera in here, she won't be happy." 

"I just might so I can watch her scold that woman." 

Eva laughed, "Would it be shameful if I thought about that too? As much as I hate seeing how mean my daughter can get, she has a mean streak as wide as the valley." 

"That much is true," Simon nodded, chuckling. "But she's calmed down a lot since we got back." 

"I'm glad she has. I don't like seeing her angry. Although I hate the circumstances involved." She frowned, remembering the pain she had to see her daughter in after the Chicago explosion. 

"You won't have to worry about that anymore," Simon assured her, opening the door for her once they reached her SUV, finding himself being just as protective over her mother just as much as he was Kiera. She's just too precious for this world, he thought, recalling the same thoughts he had towards his mother. 

He sat in the passenger seat of the SUV, putting the bag containing the ring between his knees before Eva put the car in gear. "You hungry?" 

"I can wait until I'm home." 

"That's not what I asked, honey." Eva giggled. 

"If that's the case, I can eat if food was offered." 

"That's better. I'll buy your lunch since you blew so much money on my daughter." She teased. 

"Madame, when it comes to your daughter, no amount of money phases me." He chuckled. 

Eva didn't know what to say. Instead, she blushed and giggled, immensely happy for her daughter to have found such a good man. She deserves it so much. I don't think I could get much happier for her. My heart is so full. 

"So, what're you hungry for? Drive-thru or sit-down restaurant?" 

"I'm not opposed to either." Simon shrugged. 

"Well, if I had to choose, I don't like to eat from a drive-thru." 

"So a sit-down restaurant it is."

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

AITA for not cutting contact with someone my partner doesn't like??

i don't want to state ages or genders, but i'm polyamorous and dating several people. all of my partners are aware of this and perfectly okay with it. i often talk about crushes i have on other people or flirt casually with friends of mine, and my partners are aware of this as well, and have no problems with it.

well, i started talking once in a discord server for my close friends about how i'm crushing on this girl, but she's a little odd and i'm not sure how to feel about her. she's very nice, shares alot of my interests, talks to me regularly and seems to care about me quite a bit, but she's said a few mildly strange things here and there that threw me off a bit is all. one of my partners immediately stated i should probably distance myself from her, and then asked who it was. i gave away her name; she's someone whom this partner barely knows at all, besides them being in a mutual server together a while back, which the girl i'm crushing on then left later. after i said who it was, this partner once again tried to tell me to leave and distance her, and was acting kind of snappy and angry with me. they tried arguing that she's a bad person and an islamophobe. the islamophobia claim comes from an event that happened in their old mutual server, where girl im crushing on was acting rather ignorant and asked a muslim in the server if muslims are all homophobic. this caused a big ruckus in that server, and i agree that it was a really weird and offensive thing for her to say, and i even told her off in dms over it. she ended up apologizing alot, and said she never meant it that way, and was just misinformed. i saw this as a genuine apology, and don't see her as islamophobic.

i told my partner firmly but calmly that i'm going to remain friends with her, and nothing they say will change that, but that i definitely won't be dating her any time soon despite my small crush on her. my partner stopped responding after that, and now i feel a little bad. was i being too harsh?? i felt like they were pressuring me and overstepping my boundaries, but maybe i just misinterpreted what they said. nonetheless, i feel like they shouldn't be so insistant on forcing me to cut off someone they barely know themselves over one small slip up that happened months ago.

AITA?? should i apologize to my partner and cut her off anyway???

What are these acronyms?

[bread-elf]

This is a post that's primarily directed at people who have known my character Jiroki for a long time and know of her family.

Recently I've been undergoing through some negative life events (I won't talk about it here but my dms are open if anyone would like to know, but ultimately I am ok), and it's made me heavily reconsider my priorities in life. I still intend on rping on my free time as a hobby, but I am undergoing some changes with my character for the sake of my mental well being.

So for those that would like to know what changes, details are below.

First and foremost, my character is no later mated, and she is no longer engaged either or in any relationship. I am having her previous mate dead, he doesn't rp on my server nor am I rping on his anymore, and it's better this way. Her mate, who is a demon hunter named Aztook, is going to be considered dead. The player has not been active since bfa, and their separation will leave an opening for the chance to him to possibly be alive if he were to return, but as it stands that is unlikely.

Jiroki was engaged to Jason Helsong, but because of what I'm going through irl that is not something I can go through with. The player is incredibly supportive and one of the most amazing person's I know, and he is understanding.

We agreed for them to go back to casually dating and we may revisit their romantic story in the future, but at this time I don't want Jiroki to be in any form of relationship. The occasional fling may be fine as a change of pace for me, but my game time has already been reduced drastically since I been focusing on my life, and I'd rather not hold anyone back from rping freely.

Jiroki has four children that she's given birth to, and quite honestly I had considered retconning them entirely, but I don't think I can do it. So I've decided to make them older older they are (as of right now in Dragonflight the oldest who are twins would be 9), and they'll all be sent off for apprenticeships. The Kirin Tor, the druids in Val'sharah, the Tian Monestary, the Explorer's League, etc. Perhaps in the future I may rp them as adults, but at this time it has become more burdensome then it's worth to keep them involved in the story.

Jiroki may even move from her home in Pandaria to elsewhere. I haven't decided where yet, she does own a cabin in Grizzly Hills, so that may be what happens.

I had considered writing short stories for all these changes, but frankly I just couldn't make the energy for it. A lot is going on for me and there's too many memories as is associated with Jiroki and the events I'm going through, so I may even dabble in new character concepts or just focus on other games.

But I'll still be around and doing rp events that I'm already involved in, and still plan on sparkling with all the lovely Tarts. If you took the time to read all this I am genuinely happy at your investment, and will reassure once again that I am safe and ok. Maybe not mentally, but physically yes. Thank you for your time.

[bradleysbradshaws]

I cried again in a public restroom because it is hitting me that it's probably finally over for me, despite all I've tried to do, despite all I have left to give. And I cried because of what bogbeast told me yesterday - that they were done with Top Gun (thankfully, it's because they genuinely found another interest and not because of anything else). That I probably won't be getting what I hoped at least would be my parting Christmas gift this year. This fandom was kept slightly alive for me because of them and yellow_crayon for so long - the only two people who freely talked to me on a personal level this year and still wrote for Roosmav - and how disappointing of an ending to something they loved this was because of their friendships with me.

I'm getting up to write this at 4 a.m., so I'm not coherent, but I want to elaborate on this more later, and all that they have done for me, but I remember bogbeast being upset that it seemed less people were caring about their writing this year as time went on, and I couldn't explain to them that the reason less people from the Roosmav server were commenting on their fic was because it was becoming more obvious that they were friends with me. And all they had done was befriend me and help me with my writing this year (it's obvious now, but they beta'd my first four stories/all of my bottom!Bradley fics this year).

I remember being so relieved that Fopps commented on the second-to-last chapter of their Roosmav longfic, "Hold Me Under." Tbh, I was surprised Fopps had kept commenting on it after I became friends with them. Fopps was the first comment on that fic, so while I know she didn't end up commenting on the last chapter - and maybe she didn't even end up finishing that story - I know she really liked it, at least in the beginning.

I told yellow_crayon that in the likelihood it doesn't work out for me, and I have to leave the fandom for good, I want her to be able to formally disassociate from me so that she can finish her WIPs in peace and link them on the Roosmav server because she had always had a wonderful reputation with everyone there until her friendship with me. I don't think she linked her priestfic on there in the beginning of the year because she had gifted it to me, and I had even told her at the time - because I had felt so bad and was aware that her gifting it to me meant that she couldn't post it there - that she should un-gift it to me. But she kept it gifted to me, and it's this kind of gesture which showed me that I really did matter to her - that she would sacrifice that ability to post her work on there because of our friendship.

I've felt so terrified and guilty that my friends are friends with me for so long, because I have had to wonder: If they openly associate with me, will other people stop commenting on/supporting their works? I cried when Lake agreed to let me give her beta credit on my priest fic because I had fully expected to not be able to - that I had to hide my friendships with people forever because I didn't want to put them in a bad position with their other friends.

I have had to calculate everything I did this year - every work I have posted, every conversation I have had with a friend - because I wanted to show that I still wanted to give to this fandom, that I was willing to draw/write things that no one else in the Roosmav fandom, after all this time, has; and I didn't want to inadvertently get my friends in trouble for simply associating with me, but I still wanted to show that I was 1000% loyal to Roosmav by the fact that every person that I still talk to and remain friends with is from the Roosmav server. That I have everything to lose - Lake, Lily, YC, my friends - if I had any intent outside of just wanting to positively contribute to something I love.

[ghostofbambifanfiction]

I just reread n00b. Can I just say how great it is!? I love your writing in it!

a preview of the next chapter for your kindness

Wizarding World Wars Homepage

HOGWARTS SECRETS SCAVENGER HUNT EVENT

24 HOUR CHALLENGE

Successfully complete 5 Hogwarts Scavenger Hunt challenges and collect 5 silver Quaffles for one month of unlimited Floo travel

Time Remaining: 23 hrs 16 mins 31 secs

...

Discord Server: WWW Marauders Alliance

Members: Ah-Idk, siriusblack, Bacon4Algernon, Wormtail, Josie

Channel: General Resumed: Monday 8th July 2019, 4:43 p.m.

====================

Wormtail: Guys guys guys!! Are you seeing this?!

Ah-Idk: Just saw it now. I'm free for a bit if everyone else is? No pressure on you @Josie if you're not available or only want to play on Wednesdays.

Josie: I've got a couple of hours to spare before I leave to meet my friend, so I can play for a bit.

siriusblack: Bacon get your arse home, I'm not passing up unlimited Floo

Bacon4Algernon: bugger off i'm busy and only josie calls me bacon YOU can't call me bacon this is not becoming a thing

Wormtail: It's part of your username?

Josie: Yeah guys Did you hear that? Only I can call him Bacon Only I am special

Bacon4Algernon: that is NOT i repeat NOT what i meant AT ALL you are DELIBERATELY misconstruing my words for your own illicit purposes

Josie: Do you ever ramp the energy down to anything resembling normal dialogue, or are you basically always Javert before he leaps off the bridge?

Bacon4Algernon: undermining me in front of the group pretending to have a friend that you "meet up with" as if you aren't a horned brute who festers like a wound beneath the earth's crust, both continental and oceanic time and time again, you tell these LIES

Josie: Call me Jean Valjean, I guess

Wormtail: Lol

Bacon4Algernon: i must insist that you do not reference french fiction at me at this time i am TRYING to set a romantic mood with someone here and it is extremely counterproductive to my efforts

Josie: Awwwwww, Bacon I knew you felt as I did <3

Bacon4Algernon: NOT WITH YOU

Josie: My sweet reine du drame

Ah-Idk: Because whoever heard of the words "French" and "romantic" being used in conjunction with one another?

siriusblack: For fuck's sake, your girlfriend can live without you for one fucking day 24 hour challenges won't wait, Prongs Shelve your frigidly polite over-the-clothes fondling and Uber back to the house I'll even pay for it, you left your debit card on your bed

Bacon4Algernon: so now having MANNERS is an issue?

Josie: Jesus

Bacon4Algernon: you know i'd actually BE at home right now if she didn't feel so uncomfortable around you that she doesn't want to come over, yeah??!

siriusblack: Tell her to change her entire personality

Bacon4Algernon: SIRIUS

siriusblack: Then she can come over whenever she wants

Josie: Oh my GOD Stop it BOTH OF YOU THIS IS LUDICROUS

Ah-Idk: Agreed.

Wormtail: ^

Ah-Idk: I'm getting really sick of this.

Josie: Nobody else in this Discord, and I mean NOBODY, Bacon, since all-caps theatrics seems to be the only language you understand, is interested in dealing with this Cheryl Blossom bullshit

Bacon4Algernon: ??R??GF

Josie: We're here to play a game. A GAME. You're neglecting your brother and he's jealous so he's taking it out on your girlfriend, WE GET IT, people with bigger relationship issues than this one have sorted them out faster than you two just have a conversation and let us live

Bacon4Algernon: firstly, you don't own this server so stop throwing your weight around and setting rules like you're my mother or something

Josie: Your mother owns this server?

Bacon4Algernon: sdhgiksfhd NO AND SECONDLY my biggest problem with sirius is actually that he let YOU into this discord, mephistopheles so stick THAT where your peg's supposed to go

Josie: I'll keep your thesaurus-assisted admonishments out of your arsehole, thanks.

Wormtail: Lmfaooooooooooooooooooooo

Josie: And if your biggest problem with Sirius is that he brought me into the Discord, and not that he's treating your girlfriend like a fucking dishrag, then you're not a very good boyfriend and she should dump you like toxic waste.

Bacon4Algernon: EXCUSE ME??!

Wormtail: DAMN

Bacon4Algernon: what kind of UNFOUNDED ACCUSATION????YOU ARE LUCKY THAT SHE DIDN'T READ THAT

Josie: Then put your phone down and pay her some attention? Anyway, about this challenge

siriusblack: YES, the challenge

Bacon4Algernon: @siriusblack she just insulted you too and what, you don't care?

siriusblack: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Josie: I've already found one Quaffle in Filch's office. So we only need four more to get the Floo.

Bacon4Algernon: WHAT? HOW? THE CHALLENGE STARTED TWENTY MINUTES AGO I REFUSE TO BELIEVE THIS

Josie: I know it did, it only took me ten minutes. I've had a look at the noticeboard in the common room and one of the clues is definitely pointing to the lake, and I think another's directing us to Myrtle's bathroom, but I'm cool with heading wherever if anything else jumps out at the rest of you.

Ah-Idk: Checking now.

Bacon4Algernon: WAIT WAIT WAIT DON'T DO THIS WITHOUT ME THAT'S NOT FAIR

siriusblack: Come the fuck home, then

Josie: Or maybe DON'T throw your girlfriend over for a game???

siriusblack: Anyone have gillyweed?

Josie: Unless you genuinely never want to get pegged by anyone at all.

Bacon4Algernon: HAH I DO I DO

Josie: Want to get pegged?

Bacon4Algernon: I MEANT THE GILLYWEED HADES

siriusblack: I'll rephrase that Does anybody present and currently still loyal to the party have gillyweed?

Bacon4Algernon: SIRIUS

Wormtail: I've got some gillyweed.

Ah-Idk: I agree re: the lake, it seems obvious from the clues. Happy to head there if everyone else is.

Bacon4Algernon: STOP LEAVING ME OUT. I WANT TO PLAY it's not fair for you all to PERSECUTE me for being with the woman i like and could see myself loving in 8 to 10 months i'm trying to be an attentive boyfriend don't make this my sophie's choice

siriusblack: I just put food in my stomach, you prick

Wormtail: Weird way to say "ate" but ok

Ah-Idk: Sophie had to choose between her children, Prongs. Her literal children. The one she didn't choose died.

Josie: Oh for god's sake, we're not starting this again, I can't deal. What time are you due to get home?

Bacon4Algernon: who?

Josie: YOU, FLOOZY WHO ELSE?

Bacon4Algernon: idk satan she's got to go to a thing with her parents at 7 so after that

Josie: Fine. I'll be back from seeing my friend at 9ish, I can play then if everyone else is free.

Wormtail: I can play at 9.

siriusblack: @Josie You don't have to pander to Prongs, let's just take the lake mission now

Josie: Including every member of the party isn't pandering? It's being a decent fucking person.

Ah-Idk: Happy to play at 9, I've got chores to do this evening anyway and I can't face Prongs and Sirius arguing AND looming dirty dishes all at once.

Josie: Cool. So we're all sorted.

siriusblack: Sorted according to who, exactly?

Josie: According to me. Take issue with it, please, I beg you. Then maybe you and Bacon can bond over what a hellish, nasty bitch I am and be friends again, saving us all from further aggro.

siriusblack: Nice try, compadre But you know I can't stay mad at you for long

Josie: -_-

siriusblack: I wish I knew how to quit you

Josie: Thanks...Jake Gyllenhaal?

Bacon4Algernon: fine then i'll be back online at 9ish

Josie: Not going to thank me for anything, no?

Bacon4Algernon: thank you for what, keeping winged monkeys gainfully employed?

Josie: Thanks for that babe, love you too

[anonymous-dentist]

Egg 2.

(Egg 1, semi-required reading)

-

It takes four months of the end of the world for the bunker to run out of food. With George asleep and Foolish trying to get the generator working in the other room, Karl finds himself sneaking out the door with a gas mask strapped to his face and a "borrowed" netherite sword strapped to his back.

Technically, he isn't supposed to leave the bunker by himself. Nobody is, and they all agreed that going out on your own in the apocalypse is a certified Bad Idea. But, well, maybe Karl is especially under house arrest. Something about the Egg hating him a bit more than the other two, Karl doesn't actually know. He thinks that maybe it has something more to do with the fact that he's the easiest to possess out of the three of them, which is ridiculous because he's just as divinely favored as George and Foolish are.

That is to say, not at all. Because God is dead, and the sun has been red with spores and blood for four months, and the planet sings.

-

Karl remembers the world ending. He doesn't remember much of what happened before that, but he remembers what happened after.

Sapnap is gone. Even without Karl's memory blanking out of him, it's hard to remember a Sapnap without the freaky-hot demon horns or the scary-hot demon fangs or the, uh, the tail. Those were new. So were the plain-old-terrifying glittering red eyes, because you may be brainwashed under the Egg's control, but you aren't a zombie. You're still a person, but you're the Egg's person.

Sapnap is gone, and so is just about everybody else. It's just Karl, George, and Foolish in the bunker. They're based out in the woods towards Snowchester, pretty far from the Egg's usual haunts. Sometimes they can talk to Niki over the comms, but she hasn't been answering lately. Karl doesn't like to think about what she'd say if she did answer. He doesn't think he would want to hear it.

When XD told Karl goodbye, it was the day of the end of the world. He hasn't been seen or heard from since. Karl never expected God to ghost him, especially considering how tight they were getting towards the end, but he especially didn't expect it when he checked his comms one Thursday afternoon and saw the message [DreamXD has suffocated in a wall] spammed seventy times over in the span of half a minute.

What a shitty way for a god to die. Foolish says that he never would've died that way, but he's also Foolish. Karl thinks he's gonna die in a way more embarrassing way, like drowning. Imagine drowning to death in the eggpocalypse. Crazy.

The server is more alive than Karl has ever seen it. He doesn't leave the bunker much, being under house arrest and all, but, when he does, it's vibrant. It's red, yeah, but the world is moving. It's kind of amazing? But, really, it's super bad, because Karl what happens to uncooperative people, the ones that won't breathe the spores in and who won't give in and have their wishes granted by the world's most fucked up vegan genie. Jack Manifold is freaking dead.

The world as Karl knew it is long dead. Just like Jack Manifold, it is rotting and bleeding into the earth itself. The Egg is at the world's core, and Karl and the other survivors are ants walking on the peel of an orange waiting to explode in the summer sun.

If Karl is going to die, he is not going to die hungry. He's capable, and he isn't completely useless. He can go on a grocery run and he can get back before the others notice he even left. He'll be a hero again, and then they might even start talking to him again.

So, with a sword and a mask and an otherwise-empty inventory, Karl goes to El Rapids.

-

El Rapids is rubble by now, covered in thick red vines that twitch when you look at them for too long. They breathe in the limited air left in the atmosphere, and they spit out spores that stick to your lungs and steal your thoughts until they're only halfway yours. It's fucked up photosynthesis, really, but, like, in reverse. Cellular respiration? Whatever. The air in El Rapids is thin enough to leave Karl heaving for breaths every few steps, and it leaves his head spinning and not in the usual way. By all means, this is a bad idea. It's a horrible place to get food, the ruined remains of a dead country destroyed by bombs and fire.

But the thing about El Rapids, the thing about El Rapids, is that the vibes there are so freaky that the Egg doesn't really do much of anything there. Karl and the others have a theory, see. The Egg wants bad vibes so it can trick you into joining it to make the vibes good, yeah? Well, if there are good vibes, then the Egg won't show up. Yeah, there will be vines and shit, but there won't be any people. Karl can handle some vines. Easy. He loves gardening.

Carefully, Karl picks his way through the charred streets of his old home, tiptoeing past spasming bulbs coughing spores into the air in streams thick enough to be observed by the naked eye. Karl's goggles tint the world purple; on top of the naturally-red sky and sun, the plants are all almost the color of eggplants and not, well, egg plants.

He scratches his cheek, eyes running over a broken-down billboard with his face covered over with red paint reading FUCK YOU.

El Rapids may have been destroyed out of spite, but it was a child, once. It was young, once. Karl died for it, he thinks. He can't remember much of that whole deal, but he does remember waking up happy every day that he lived there. Sapnap was on one side of the huge bed they all shared, with Karl in the middle, and... and Quackity was on the left. He liked to be by the window so he could wake up with the sun, Karl liked to be in the middle so he could be held by as many people as possible, and Sapnap liked to be on the outside so he could leap out of bed and stab intruders with ease.

There's enough love in this town to keep the Egg out of it for the most part, Karl thinks. He shimmies between two overturned wagons, lungs screaming as they claw at the air for what limited oxygen they can get. His vision is spotty, but at least he isn't in Kinoko. That place is fucked. (Turns out building a city in a forest makes it easily susceptible for invasive plant species. Go figure.)

He and George scavenge El Rapids all the time. Foolish sticks to the remains of Las Nevadas. Well. The "remains". Nevadas is still up and running. Cult members are gambling addicts, apparently, and the Egg itself seems to appreciate the fine dining culture of desert sunlight and human flesh that Las Nevadas prides itself on these days. Figures that Quackity would still be running his capitalist hellscape in the apocalypse. Even if he wasn't possessed, he'd probably still be operating business-as-usual for a buck or two. Pandering sack of shit.

Karl and George have already picked their ways through half the city. That leaves the half towards the L'Manberg Crater, where Karl and his fiances used to live. Their old houses are on his list today, actually. Karl can almost remember leaving a whole pantry full of canned food when he and Sapnap and George packed up and left. (Who needs canned beans when you can grow fresh ones in your own back yard?) He doesn't know if they're still good or if they were destroyed, but, well. It's worth a shot.

Wincing and coughing, Karl creeps up on the street his old house is on. There's a big ol' Egg flower poking out of the topmost window, which bodes well, thank you.

Karl looks up at it and debates maybe just going home. Maybe he should just go home. This was probably a bad idea.

The sun whispers, No, stay, you need the food. It'll be worth it.

Karl swallows the fear in his chest and nods. Right. Food. He loves gardening. The quicker he gets this done, the quicker he can go back down to the rest of the world, the quicker he can breathe again.

With a fuzzy brain and trembling hands, Karl quietly pries the front door off its hinges and places it on the sidewalk between two tendrils that tremble with anticipation, just waiting, just waiting for him to screw up. Yeah. Well. He isn't going to screw up. He's super capable.

Adjusting his bag where it hangs on one strap off of his shoulder, Karl steels himself with as deep a breath in as he can manage. And then he goes inside.

-

George and Foolish were immune to the Egg until XD's death. They were blessed. Karl was not. Karl was still basically human. He's always been human despite his best attempts to convince people otherwise. He's not like George the faerie or Sapnap the half-demon or Foolish the totem god or Quackity the avian. He's just a funny little man, and that's a fact.

Foolish threw Karl face-first into a soul campfire when they stumbled across each other right after the chaos started. Foolish was still immune at the time; Karl never was. The fire worked, thank god, and Karl knows that it worked because the thickness that he hadn't noticed in his brain and lungs had screamed itself into oblivion upon his body hitting the flames.

When Karl gets back to the bunker, he's gonna have to detox again. It hurts, but it's worth it. He doesn't wanna risk anything, not when it comes to his friends. If he gets infected, he hopes that he won't be able to even make it back home. He hopes that he'll have enough of himself left in his body to throw his body off the nearest cliff and destroy the spores before they can set hold properly.

That, at least, he hopes he can do.

-

Somehow, most of Karl's pantry managed to survive the destruction of El Rapids. The beans aren't even expired yet, hell yeah.

Avoiding the vines criss-crossing the floor, Karl swings the bag off of his shoulder and crouches on the floor in front of the pantry. He starts pulling cans out at random- beans, soup, corn, more beans. There are a few packs of ramen, heck yeah. Some instant mashed potatoes. Easy, quick meals for the time traveler on the go.

There's a crack from outside down the street, a crash like breaking glass, and then a scream almost simultaneously and a laugh.

Karl frankly, freaks. He freezes with his arm hovering in the air still holding a packet of mashed potatoes. His chest moves faintly with forcibly-silent breaths, eyes widening as he strains his ears to hear.

"What the fuck!" someone screeches, very offended, and Karl's heart stops. "Get off of me, asshole!"

"Mmmm, no, I'm good," the other person responds, very casual, and Karl's heart threatens to explode. Tears well up in his eyes; they sting.

Of course, a small part of Karl's brain says.

Of course, indeed, says the sun. It smiles, and Karl feels its brilliance burning into his brainstem.

"I hate you," Quackity says, because who else would be here? "Let go of me before I, uhhhh..."

"Yeah, no, go on," Sapnap teases, because who else would be with him?

"I'll... never forgive you. I'll divorce you."

"We aren't married, idiot."

Karl's chest hurts, and not from the lack of oxygen.

What a shame, the sun says, and Karl can't help but agree.

There's a palpable pause as Sapnap takes Quackity's words in, and then a quiet, "Please don't say that again."

"Say what, that we aren't married? We aren't."

"Just don't say that."

Karl's arm is starting to shake with the strain of being held up for so long. Slowly, so slowly, he starts to lower it. He runs over escape routes in his head, and he quickly realizes that there's two ways out. One is the front door, where Quackity and Sapnap are. The other is the back door, which Karl knows from an earlier inspection is filled with rocks and vines. It's almost like it's been bricked up on purpose, a real Cask of Amontillado situation here, and Karl is starting to think that maybe he shouldn't have come out alone. He's starting to think that.

Quackity sighs, "Whatever."

"Don't 'whatever' me," Sapnap huffs. Karl hears a quiet squeal as, he assumes, Quackity gets scooped up into the killer-tight embrace that Karl himself had felt when the end of the world began. "Wow, you're light."

"Put me down, I swear to the Egg-"

"You're cute when you're threatening me."

"Fuck you, I'm always cute. Fuck you."

They start bickering, slowly making their ways down the street. They're a couple of houses away from Karl, okay, that's enough time for him to try and get out the back. He can even break a window if he has to. He can grab a bucket and clutch if he has to jump. Easy. He's got this.

Using his thumb to try and muffle the sound of his bag's zipper, Karl shuts his bag and slings it onto his back, using both straps this time so he doesn't lose anything.

Good idea, says the sun.

"Thank you," Karl replies, voice barely above a whisper. It hurts to talk, and it leaves his head full of cotton. He has to steady himself against a vineless patch of wall to keep himself from toppling over. Okaaaay, no more talking, okay.

Good idea, the sun repeats. How kind of it.

The air is sour as Karl picks his way across his old house and to the back door. He wipes his lips with the back of his hand, a grimace firmly set upon his face. Ugh, tastes bad. Ew. Ew. The bunker air might be stale, but at least it isn't gross. God, he misses Kinoko. The air there was crisp and clear like a snowdrop, not anything even remotely like this. Stupid plants.

Karl trips over a chair leg and almost faceplants right into an Egg bulb. He stares at it, unbreathing. Stupid plants.

Quackity and Sapnap knock against something outside and both simultaneously burst into giggles. Karl burns. Under any other circumstances, he could run out and join them. He could pretend it's just like how it used to be years ago when they all still liked each other. Like they hadn't been torn apart, like Karl wasn't broken by XD, like Sapnap wasn't broken by the world, like Quackity wasn't broken by himself. Like the world wasn't ending. Like the world hadn't already ended.

But Karl can't do that. Before the outbreak, he and Sapnap hadn't talked to each other for months. He and Quackity hadn't spoken to each other in years. Only recently after the end living with George has Karl started remembering that he and Quackity were even engaged to begin with, only after XD's death.

Asshole, Karl thinks, and he can't tell who he's thinking about.

He pushes himself back to his feet and stumbles to the back door's vine-filled entrance. It's horrible. Terrible. Impossible to break through. He'd need a pick to get through the rocks normally, but maybe, he thinks. Maybe if he gets rid of the vines, then the rocks will all come tumbling down. They might be holding the rocks up like a net.

Karl glances over his shoulder. No fiances. Okay. He can do this.

He turns back to the doorway, and he pulls the sword off of his back. Its enchantments glow dully in the dim red light.

Holding the hilt with both hands, Karl looks the vines up and down looking for a weak point. He raises his arms, and-

"Oh my- Karl?"

-

Technically speaking, Kinoko Kingdom is the last stand against the Egg's powers. The Syndicate all cut ties with the server and left, from what Karl can tell. There's been no sign of Philza or Technoblade, or Ranboo (RIP). He hopes that's where Niki went, too.

Kinoko Kingdom is all that's left. Just Karl and George and Foolish. That's it.

The former OG Eggpire was the first group, as would be expected. From there, Sapnap was infected because he was with Bad, and then he turned Tina, who he had run into in the Nether. Sapnap is a terror to deal with when he doesn't have a purpose in his life; give him one, and he's a nightmare. Karl had barely gotten away intact the first time. He doesn't think he'll be half as lucky the next.

The rest of the SMP went down pretty quickly. They all either converted or died. Karl and Foolish were trying to get to the Snowchester Nether portal when Jack died. So now the Egg has nukes, which is great.

Las Nevadas was last. Karl couldn't save Quackity this time. At least he went willingly, from what Foolish said. He asked for it.

Sapnap did it. Karl doesn't know if he would want that or not. At least it would be a pleasant death.

-

Karl spins around wide-eyed and panicked. He points the sword right at Sapnap and Quackity, arms and legs shaking. Oh, George and Foolish are gonna kill him.

Sapnap and Quackity are next to each other in the kitchen just a few feet away. Sapnap has his arm out to the side as if he's protecting Quackity, and Quackity has both of his hands balled into fists by his side as he takes Karl in, and they both look shocked as Karl swallows a scream and backs up as much as he can without bumping into a vine.

"Don't come near me," Karl rasps, wincing as his throat tears. Ow, fuck.

Sapnap looks the same as he did when Karl saw him last. Cute little horns curling out of his head like miniature versions of his father's, tail twitching excitedly behind him; it reaches out and curls around one of Quackity's wrists, sickeningly sweet.

As a smile slowly crosses Sapnap's face, Karl can see the fangs. They're terrifying. Hot.

"It's really you," Sapnap says, voice tight with emotion. Despite his smile, his eyes are welling with tears; Karl has to fight the urge to run up and wipe them away. "Karl, you're here! You're really here!"

His body twitches like he's forcing himself to stay still and not run across the room and pull Karl into a hug that Karl knows he would never wake up from. Thank god for it. Karl doesn't want to die today.

Sapnap looks over at Quackity, eyes glittering. "I told you he'd be here, I told you!"

Quackity looks unimpressed. The billboards all show him smiling with sharp golden teeth, but, in the flesh, he looks almost bored.

Dressed in formal reds and blacks with a cigarette still sticking out of his lips, he looks like he just left his casino. Just now.

He did, the sun says. Just a few minutes ago.

Karl looks up at the ceiling, eyebrows furrowing. How does it know that?

"Yeah," Quackity eventually says, "he is. You were right."

"I'm always right. You just need to trust me more."

"I always trust you," Quackity responds, and Karl knows he means it. It's in the way his eyes soften as he looks at Sapnap, the corners of his mouth twitching as if he wants to smile but can't bring himself to. "Sometimes I don't believe you, that's all."

Karl's comm buzzes. It's George, he knows it's George, he's woken up, and he wants to know where Karl is. Karl has been gone for too long. The sun is setting- when did it get this late? The light coming in through the vine-crowded kitchen window is redder than it was before, the shadows on the floor just slightly longer.

"Go away," Karl demands. His voice is hoarse, barely above a whisper, and the act of talking is hard enough that his knees buckle beneath him. He staggers forward, barely catching himself before he falls.

At Sapnap's attempted concerned rush forward, Karl snarls and brings the sword back up between him. Sapnap backs up with both hands raised, eyebrows knitting together in confusion.

"What's wrong?" Sapnap asks.

Quackity rolls his eyes. At least he knows how stupid of a question that is.

For his part, Karl looks down at Sapnap like he's stupid. He isn't stupid, is the thing, he's just... wrong. He's confused.

You're confused, the sun comments.

"You can say that again," Karl agrees.

Sapnap blinks. Then, he says, not unamusedly, "What's wrong?"

Quackity sighs and pulls the cigarette from his lips, blows out a bright pink smoke cloud in the shape of a ring.

"Dude, come on, he's obviously freaked out. We're with the Egg, remember? He isn't."

Karl nods. "Yeah. You're..."

He flounders for words before coming up with, "...weird."

Sapnap shrugs, unconcerned. He drops his hands, slipping them into his pockets. "You're weird."

"I'm not."

"No, you are. Like- he's weird, right, Q?"

Sapnap looks to Quackity, who nods sagely.

"Super weird," Quackity says, slipping the cigarette back into his mouth. "You know, you and the other two are the last ones left. Kinda shitty of you to do that, you know."

Karl blinks. His head is starting to hurt. "What do you mean, it's shitty of me? I'm not the one brainwashing and killing people."

"No," Quackity agrees, "but you are the ones sneaking around like rats pretending you're special. You aren't special, you know."

Sapnap nods in agreement. "Yeah. You're just weird."

Super weird, the sun agrees.

Karl looks at the sun and sticks his tongue out at it. Out of the corner of his eye, he can see Sapnap and Quackity exchange a look that he can't quite decipher.

"I'm not weird," Karl argues, "You're weird. Get out of my head, weirdo."

"What, is the sun talking to you now?" Sapnap taunts. His tail flicks behind him. "That's pretty weird, not gonna lie..."

"It's not-"

"Ew, imagine the sun talking to you," Quackity teases. "Couldn't be me. At least the thing in my head is cool."

"It isn't cool!" Karl snaps. "It's evil!"

Quackity shrugs. "And? It's also the best relationship counselor I've ever had."

...what?

Sapnap beams, reaching over to take Quackity's hand in his. He holds it up proudly. Right there, right on his finger, engagement rings, shinier than the day he made them. Quackity's match exactly.

Karl's do not.

"Yeah!" Sapnap cheerfully says. "We're getting married tomorrow. Isn't that fun?"

He wiggles his eyebrows at Karl, who flounders to come up with a response. They're what?

They're getting married, says the sun. Tomorrow. Las Nevadas wedding chapel.

"I can't believe you didn't know," Sapnap sniffs, fake, exaggerated tears. "What kind of fiance are you?"

"I mean. I-" Karl stammers. "I'm not getting married tomorrow. I don't talk to you guys. How was I supposed to know?"

"I mean... you could," Quackity says. He takes his cigarette out with his free hand and, with that same hand, he taps his chin as if in thought. "We wouldn't have to change too much..."

Karl can imagine it now, walking down the aisle with both Sapnap and Quackity waiting for him at the altar. Bad is officiating, as is one of his duties as the Egg's favorite disciple. Karl is wearing a suit that matches both Sapnap's and Quackity's, purple to their red and blue. The rings on his finger match theirs, and so does his smile when he reaches them and they take one of his hands each to hold.

"Is that what you want?" Quackity asks, tearing Karl from his thoughts. "I can make that happen."

"Is what what I want?" Karl asks. He shakes his head as Quackity makes to answer, backing up even further. His back presses against a vine, and it squishes into his hoodie unpleasantly. Damp. "No, I don't want that. I want to- I want to go. Let me go."

Sapnap snorts. "Uh, no? We just got you, dude. You can't leave us like this."

Karl's heart stops. Or, rather, he feels it start again, having already been stopped for as long as he can remember.

"We literally just got you back," Quackity says. His eyes aren't as red as Sapnap's are, but his teeth are, in fact, gold when he smiles. Karl wants to taste them. "Besides, I don't think your friends will want you back after this. I mean... y'know..."

His free hand mimes a gas mask across the face.

Shakily, Karl raises a hand to his own mouth and presses his fingers against his lips with no barrier to stop him. When did he take it off?

There are those memory problems again, the Egg says. I can fix that for you, easy.

Karl shakes his head, looking from Sapnap to Quackity to the window in the kitchen.

The sun isn't setting, he realizes. He looks at his comm. One in the afternoon. He's only been gone an hour.

He catches his reflection in a broken glass cabinet door.

Karl drops his sword, and his legs give out beneath him as he takes in his last breath.

Sapnap swoops in to catch him before he hits the floor, pulling him against his chest and smiling a kiss into the crown of his head. Karl can feel Quackity sidle up behind him, arms loosely slinging over his shoulders.

"Oh," Karl lightly comments. "Okay. I get it now."

"Took you long enough," Sapnap laughs. "Even I caught on quicker than that."

Karl laughs, slight and scared, though he's starting to wonder why he should be.

It's not like he needs to breathe, anyway.

[beetlegoose01]

In Defense of 2012 April

TW for mentions of sexual harassment and misogynist slurs 

I'm back here for another semi long post. I want to discuss TMNT 2012's version of April O' Neil (perfect timing with the month and all)  and why I personally think the hatred that goes towards her is …excessive to say the least, and frankly makes little to no sense. 

Before I begin, I would like to say I do think there are valid critiques of April as a character. Some of them I will mention here because even with characters I like, I will always point out flaws to not be a hypocrite. However, many of those complaints can be attributed to poor writing and lack of a woman's perspective when creating female characters. 

Let's step back for a moment and think. If April was not April, say she was August, or heck if she and Casey Jones swapped roles, would she get the same amount of hate? Well she sure as hell wouldn't get sexualized as much by the animators I'll tell ya that.

The truth is, I'm not really sure of the answer to that question. I do think there are double standards when it comes to guy characters vs girl ones. A guy with psychic powers but is prone to emotional outbursts sounds cool, right? 

I know there will be people that argue with me in the notes saying there isn't an unconscious bias towards gender, and clearly I'm being over dramatic. Well, I might as well go through the common complaints about April instead of stalling lol

1. She gets kidnapped too often! 

Starting off with probably my favorite complaint. *GASP*  April O' Neil gets kidnapped too often in a superhero cartoon where kidnapping is the most life threatening but still kid friendly crime they can do!

In early 2021 I rewatched 2012 and recorded a tally chart. For those who aren't in the server don't know, it's basically a count of every single instance a character got kidnapped. April got captured a total of 20 times. Sure seems like a lot.  But you know who got captured more times than her?

 Mikey, Donnie and Raph.

In fact, Mikey got captured more than 30 times! Yes, I counted and yes I'm aware I have no life. Yet I haven't heard anyone complain about those dudes in distresses getting their asses rescued by literally everyone. 

Like I said. It's a superhero cartoon. Kidnapping is…kind of a thing that happens. Everyone gets captured in this show, it really isn't that deep.

2. April is rude to Donnie!

Alright, this one legitimately gets me frustrated. 

If you are being harassed and stalked, you absolutely have a right to be rude to the person harassing you. Abusers do NOT deserve kindness, especially when they won't leave you the fuck alone. 

Now you may be wondering, what does this have to do with April? I'll tell you. 

That's the entire Apriltello arc in a nutshell. She is repeatedly harassed by Donnie and to a lesser extent Casey (and yes, Donnie did stalk her, no matter how good his intentions were it's fucked up). There is no win to this scenario. If this was real life, she would be called a bitch for rejecting such a "nice guy" . If she accepted him…well you know how some guys aren't always as nice as they seem…

If she was nice, she's a slut and trying too hard, if she's cold and upfront she's a bitch. I know this because I had to deal with the exact same thing April was going through during the early seasons of 2012. 

Now that the heavy part is out of the way, I would like to clarify I don’t hate 2012 Donnie. In fact, he’s my favorite Donatello. But I’m not going to say his actions were excusable. 

In regards to general rudeness, most of her comments ("Nice catch Donnie!") are just snarkiness typical of a teenager, and the boys have actually said and done a lot worse.

3. The Kiss (es) 

Yeah okay I agree with this one. It doesn't make any sense, especially in the episode a Foot Too Big. I think it would be nice to have her not kiss him, but keep the speech there. And after that ironically, Donnie mellowed out with his crush. 

I guess I can only really blame poor writing on that. 

4. She's a Mary Sue 

So in terms of her psychic powers, I think if they were explained a bit more, it would make more sense. If there were scenes of her practicing, or heck, the origins behind it beyond "she's part Kraang". Actually, come to think of it, wouldn't it be awesome if she actually had some Kraang-like appearances to her design? Maybe as her powers got stronger? 

As for her becoming a kunoichi, it was obvious that she was not as strong of a fighter as the turtles in several instances. The only times I can think of where she saves them involve her powers, not her ninja skills. She graduated the first part of being a ninja in Season 4, she didn't automatically become an expert. 

5. Uh didn't she kill Donnie-

Oh my God. NO SHE DIDN'T. Okay, am I the only one who finds this "reason" to be stupid? She was under control of an aeon crystal! Za-Naron 'killed' Donnie, not April.

In conclusion? April deserves better and stop reblogging my April appreciation post with hate. Thank you. 

[lookismaddict]

this is a workers job interview. which affiliate do you think you’re most suited to and what are your long-term goals? who are we stealing money from?

Before you guys question, calm down. This is just a fake scenario ‼️ I would NEVER do the things that I've mentioned in this response. (Also, I MIGHT be in my Villain Arc, so bear with me. 🤭)

Hello, good morning/afternoon/evening. I’m guessing Eugene sent you because he’s busy, so let’s get straight to the point. To be frank, I’d like to concur that the 3rd Affiliate would be the most suitable branch for me to work in. Let me lay down the reasons and details:

3rd Affiliate:

The reason why the 3rd Affiliate was a bust was because of how Vivi ran her previous establishment. It was very unprofessional of her to be slacking off on the job, when she’s under the influence of drugs and whatnot.

 

However, the problem that she had was that she didn’t hide her tracks well. I heard that she sold drugs to the previous cult, Pungsan before, and she should’ve properly cut all ties and information that could possibly lead them to her. Her animosity between her customers were flawed, and their transactions were sloppy. So, I have a better method of solving these issues. My main strength is my knowledge on programming, how anonymous servers work, how to utilize VPN through cybersecurity, and by offensive attack through hacking, so this will be a cinch. Additionally, I have experience in dealing with similar business matters before, so that is another strong skill that I possess. I have formed a plan and strategized a much newer and fitting operation that Euegene may be interested in, so I hope you’ll be able to follow and note the basis of it.

If we were to stick to selling the “goods”, then I suggest we utilize the Dark Web as much as possible. I’m sure, Eugene has heard of it. And if you’ve heard of the online black market business called, “Silk Road” on the Dark Web, then I don’t have to explain any further. We’ll sell the goods through their method, but we’ll do it even better. We’ll make our system much more tighter, secured, and reserved to only a select amount of customers at a time. Make the site accessible only at certain time slots on the darknet, Tor, to limit the number of accesses in it and for operations to be untraceably harder for outside sources to track our whereabouts. Also, if there are any instances of cyberthreats to the site, such as DDoS, then I propose that we hit these attackers even HARDER than what they have done to the 3rd Affiliate and make them regret it. Won't that be fun and rewarding? If they find solace, in a sense of security behind their arrogantly annoying hacking and computer screens, wouldn't it be effective if we were to invade their reality by making them disappear as if they don't exist? People go missing all the time. Eugene must agree. If these attackers are familiar with the Dark Web, then they should already be aware that there's a risk to accessing the site. Especially, when it comes to the Workers. I believe that these threats aren't so noticeable, so my proposal could be arranged if Eugene were to give the approval. If he does, tell him to not fret. Just leave it to me.

Since the location of the Third Affiliate, Vivi’s Club, had been unfortunately… “disposed” of, then he doesn't have to get rid of the building altogether. He can keep the location and rebuild another infrastructure, to replace it. Like a huge mall, tech store, or whatever he decides to replace the club with. It's just a place to station where the new 3rd Affiliate's location is. Underneath that business can be where Workers' employees can manage transactions and keep the site updated and protected through the uses of multiple computers. Basically, a giant base full of hackers. I'll be the one to manage them, so Eugene shouldn't worry about it.

When that has been established, we'll just have to transfer the location of production into a more hidden and secluded area, where it’s difficult to even trace. But, for her to hide it in a club? It astonished me, I’ll give her that. I understand that it is tricky to hide an operational lab in an area where it’s densely populated and crowded with some risk factors, so that should be taken care of more stealthily. I recommend having the lab situated somewhere where it’s inaccessible, without having to be searched due to it’s location constantly moving around. Such as, a vehicle. Either a boat, or a trailer. Both are good suggestions, but I prefer that the huge boat, like a ship of some sort, would be much more suitable. The idea sounds pretty genius, right? Well, you could say, that I’ve been inspired by a certain gentleman who I’ve done business with countless of times. Although, his psychotic methods can be a pain to my side sometimes…

When the packages are ready, then we transport them. If Vivi had sold and delivered them directly to Pungsan, then that’s already an error that shouldn’t have been made in the first place due to her own carelessness. We will have to transport them onto the outskirts of Korea. Especially, through the multiple locations of ports in Korea. This is why I mentioned the use of boats. We shouldn’t go to them. Instead, they should come to US by sending them encrypted coordinates through the Workers’ online delivery service. If they’re desperate enough to get their hands on these products, then they’ll have to put in the effort themselves. Correct? It’s best that we keep transports underground and hidden as much as possible. After all, we don’t want another Affiliate to be stumped once again. 

Furthermore, I'm sure that these new customers will soon become regular customers and come back to us whenever they please. If that's the case, we'll offer exclusive membership that includes opportunities of "rewards" and "discounts" to them for good deals, just to get them hooked into our scheme. They will depend on us to sell and deliver the products that they need by gaining their trust while in return, we will give them a false sense of how "reliable" we are. Right when we allow them to adjust to how we operate, we will have them believe that they are familiar with us. When in actuality, they don't. After some point that they've reached a certain number of transactions with us, that is when we will steal money from them. We will extort additional cryptocurrency from said customers, by collecting their transaction information through advanced hacking and by using their personal information to access their accounts. I know. You must be wondering, how will this be possible if cryptocurrency is anonymous? Well, I hate to break it to you. There is no such thing as "anonymous" cryptocurrency. If that's been said, then it should've been treated skeptically in the first place. It's just a ploy for people to get hooked into it, so that they'll feel safe enough to use it more for themselves. When in reality, it's possible for people to steal cryptocurrency from one another. And despite this being a normal transaction in disguise, it's best that we double the security on our end before they realize that the money that we've stolen from them has fallen into our hands. We will cut ties from them, altogether. Since we cannot ban the users by using their IP addresses due to VPN usage, we will have to give them a cyber attack so severe, that they won't be able to access the site even if they get a new device.

Overall, I understand that this is a lot of information to process and to grasp the whole concept of, but rest assured. This operation is complex for a purpose, and that is to not make the same mistake as before. I want to help improve things within the Affiliates, especially the soon-to-be new and improved 3rd Affiliate, and make things more efficient to try and assist Eugene. After all, he wouldn’t want another Affiliate to go into ruin. 

My Long-Term Goals:

My long-term goals are simple. If I were to contribute to the recovery of the 3rd Affiliate, then it would be nice to have some sort of incentive. Money is nice and all, but that isn't my main goal. I want to gain lots of experience on how the real world works before I could possibly expand my own business internationally. If I were to get the opening spot for the 3rd Affiliate, my plan is to work with Eugene for a very long time. I admire him for being very knowledgeable, tactical, and for having a well-calculated mind at such a young age, so I wish to be mentored by him. I could learn a lot from his business perspective, and I trust that he'll provide the best advice and tips for that matter.

I guess, that concludes the interview. I have given my business card to Eugene already, so you don't have to ask for another one. I look forward to his response, whether it be 3-5 business days or even longer. I'm a patient woman, so I can wait. So, until then~

[rayofsunas]

s/o who dies.

A/n: listennnn, I wasn't going to write something dark, but then I unregretfully decided to listen to edgy/dark audios and I was suddenly in the mood to write this so yeah lmao. also, guess what? I'm planning on making a discord server right after posting this! so, be on the lookout for that when I get it all sorted out. also, note for Scaramouche's that the reader inserts tend to lean more femininely versed (I hope that's okay), the only reasons why I do that is because one I simp and I'm female AND two since I am doing a mini-series for Scara, I've kind of based his imagines/fics around that universe (baby daddy universe). I haven't started his yet, but consider these part of that series' universe. anyways as always thank you for requesting anon and enjoy! <333

Summary: you die + how the boys cope afterward.

Parings: Albedo/Gn! Reader, Xiao/Gn! Reader, Scaramouche/Fem! Reader

Warnings: swearing, angst, death, poison, illness/cancer, murder, arson, obsessive behavior

Word count: 2.1k

Albedo

"You need to keep this on your head." Your lover said for the one-hundredth time, placing the cold cloth on your forehead once again after taking it off only seconds earlier.

"This is pointless," You said, no longer wanting to ignore nor hide behind the invisible thick curtains of the obvious death sentence approaching. "My body rejected the medicine the first twice doses, what's a third time going to do?" You asked, knowing Albedo wouldn't answer; your hope was to knock some sense into his thick skull. but he was too worried trying to ignore the obvious as you had previously been doing, not anymore though.

This was saddening to watch, both Albedo's unfolding and the girl who accidentally poisoned you, whimpering into Sucrose's shoulder. She was only a young girl, barely seventeen when she was chosen to work under Sucrose and your boyfriend. She was very good at Alchemy and luckily had a desire to practice the craft. But unfortunately, she hadn't paid much attention when it came to Surcrose's educational poison lesson and had unknowingly mixed up poisonous liquids and materials.

After tipping over some clutter in Albedo's office and knocking over a test tube laying unsealed on the counter, you had realized the contents spilled on your skin, bleaching into your pores. You had been tasked with bringing the famed alchemist and his assistant some vials and materials for the collection of a rare butterfly they had found. It was both telling and obvious that something was wrong when you never showed up with the required materials requested and it was already too late hours later when the chief Alchemist, his assistant, and Alchemist in training came bounding down the stairs of Albedo's home laboratory.

It didn't take long for the trio to realize something was wrong. Sucrose had found the vile on the floor, most of its contents spilled and in a little puddle, plus your state on a nearby lounge chair was obvious; slumped awkwardly, forehead visibly sweating, eyes closed, breathing raspily.

You accepted the first doses of the supposed nullifying medicine without hesitation, just wanting the numbing feeling to go away. But when it never kicked in you decided it would be best to save the medicine, because it wasn't working. Your time was coming.

"Since the medicine is taking immediate effect, you should try to get the contents out of your system," He said, reaching out for you. Badly you wanted to argue that the medicine wasn't working at all, but he wasn't listening and already has his lean arms wrapped around your middle, helping gently lift and guide you over to the sink.

You hear materials being shoved to the side and soon enough you had your head dangling over the sink, shaking hands gripping the metalled edge tightly. Soon enough, Albedo's hand was on your back rubbing up and down, hoping to comfort you, it wasn't working though. You could only think about your death, what the other side would look like. Could there even be heaven or hell, maybe a place in between, maybe nowhere...?

As soon as you felt the urge to vomit, you did, and despite it being utterly disgusting Albedo seemed to welcome it happily. He took this as something good, but it only worried you when you saw the reddish hues in the bile.

"I think they should leave." You muttered acknowledging Sucrose and Elizabeth, the taste of gooey, metal only becoming more apparent. The blonde agreed, nodding and muttering "Okay."

As Sucrose lead Elizabeth towards the stairs, the pair heard you say. "Goodbye Sucrose, Elizabeth." Which only seemed to make the young girl wail louder.

You sighed sadly once the silence was back. Just your thoughts of death, and Albedo's slowly crushing heart.

"You should probably leave soon as well. I don't want you to be here when I go." Albedo frowned at your statement, head shaking.

"Don't say things like that."

Of course, he'd say that. Why did he feel the need to ignore this when it would only come back to hurt him even more later on when you were gone?

"You're the smartest man I know and we both know where this is heading," You said, head feeling much heavier than before. It was getting closer to your time. "I'm going to die, and you can't do anything about it."

"I'm not leaving your side. We promised to stick together through everything, you can't ask me to leave."

"I guess... But promise me this."

"When I go, stop blaming Elizabeth. It was an accident..." You said sincerely. Albedo wanted to make a fuss about it, tell you he'd never been able to forgive her. But for you, he would try. If it was your list desire, your last wish, he'd make it come true. Though it would be difficult. Accidental or not, she was the reason you were leaving him here, alone.

"Okay, I'll try..." He said honestly.

"Thank you," You said, letting out a shaking breath you had been holding for a very long time. Now you felt much more peaceful. "And since I know you stubbornly won't leave," You started, finally turning away from the sink to look into his cerulean eyes. "At least hold my hand."

"Of course, love."

even a year after your death, no matter how hard he tried, there was still this nagging feeling every time he looked at Elizabeth

he wanted too badly forgive her, but he couldn't

she had, although accidental, taken the one person that meant so much to him and he'd never forgive

Albedo is gonna be distant towards everyone he knows and it's completely purposeful

he doesn't like the pitiful gazes that people send his way and he hates that all the captains stared at him at your funeral

obviously, some questioned if he was able to stay in the field

he hadn't taken any time off, even when Jean advised he was welcome and that it would be best

tbh, albedo's going to have a hard time for a while

Xiao

Why did it have to be you? Why not him? He'd feel much better knowing you could live another day, after all, he'd been living a very long time.

But no, the fallen Archons, Gods, Yaksha had chosen you to join them. He wished that weren't the case

Humans and their pathetic vessels... So weak, he thought. Allowing something like cancer to beat them.

No matter how harsh it sounded, he didn't despise you, no. It wasn't your fault. You didn't ask for this. He just knew that if you were a godly being this wouldn't have happened like this or at least not so soon; Xiao had known Gods that had terminal illnesses to live years. Why couldn't you be like them?

He hated watching you lie there in that bed, immobile, sickly, and tired, and all you could say was that everything was going to be alright, that he'd be alright.

But it wasn't. He wouldn't be okay without you. He would struggle daily, fall deeper into a hole. You were the light of his life, the only light in his life. And you were gone, just like that. Turning external scars into internal ones tattered all over his dying heart.

Xiao for the longest time has been by himself, so the people of Liyue know it'll be harder for him to overcome this, no matter what he says or does to prove otherwise

Zhongli in particular knows how hard this will be for his friend

his first and probably last love, dead, gone in the blink of an eye

he'll continue fighting all the monsters he crosses, becoming even more violent when he does so, trying his best to get rid of this stupid sickly feeling of heartbreak

but it won't go away, no matter what he does, no matter how absurd

he just wants the feeling to go away, he despises that feeling so much

if you have a secret place somewhere, like in the mountains, Zhongli often finds him there, wallowing in invisible self-pity

"You know they wouldn't want you to be like this." Zhongli would say, only trying to help

but it doesn't

it only enrages Xiao, even more, fuels him to push everyone out of his life again instead of letting them in like he'd done in your presence

Scaramouche

How dare you. How dare you leave him like this. Alone, nonetheless with a toddler to raise who kept crying for her mommy. He couldn't do this without you, he didn't know how to raise a child, speak to her with the gentle care that you did. That was your expertise but now he'd be doing it solo.

And never again would he entrust someone who he cares about, into ignorant, incompetent arms. Never again will he ever allow any member of the Fatui to watch after his daughter; no matter their rank or position. They had one job while he was away doing business in Liyue. Guard your home twenty-four seven, accompany you into Inazuma's port town should you need anything, watch after his daughter while she plays happily in the luscious Inazuma fields. And they couldn't do that. All he gave them was one simple task, watch and keep you and your daughter safe. Instead, they slacked off, probably drunk in some bar while you were being brutally attacked by murderous mercenaries, left to fend for you and your daughter, only to die protecting her and leave your home to be severely burned.

He knew those idiotic Fatui soldiers were incompetent the moment he stepped foot into the harbor and found that everyone seemed to quiet down. Especially the eerily silent soldiers flanked on each side to welcome him home; he was the highest-ranking soldier in the land of Inazuma after all. Not a single one bothered to step forward and tell him what was wrong, what they all criminally allowed happen. Scaramouche only realized what had happened when he was mere minutes away from arriving home, his daughter had come running from his widowed mother's arms, the sight of smoke rising in the air, from the direction of his home. You were nowhere to be seen.

It all happened so fast, in the blink of an eye. His daughter was clinging to his shirt and his mother only stared with tears of pity.

It didn't take long for the puzzle pieces to be put together and before he knew it, Scaramouche was standing in front of his home, part of it burnt to a crisp and black.

He didn't need to ask what happened, he didn't need to know where you were, because he already knew. What he didn't know was who exactly had done this. But he was going to find out, now.

Incompetent, selfish, bastards. They would all pay for this. The lazy piggish Fatui soldiers who he should've never trusted with such a simple task and the thieves who had murdered you. They all had it rightfully coming.

Scaramouche hates the world after he lost you

he hates it so much and can't understand how this had happened

he's not a good person, so he blames it on karma and those stupid idiots who couldn't protect you

ngl, he's not gonna be around much after your death... his mother would argue that he should be here to raise your daughter, because she's also in pain and doesn't understand that this isn't some game of hide and seek this time

instead, he's focused and driven by revenge

he doesn't listen to a word anybody says, he's much more dangerous than before, and he only trusts his judgment

anyone trying to get him to stop his mission, is someone who doesn't want to see him happy he thinks (though that's not true at all. they hate that he is obsessive over this) but he will personally put a stop to that

and he'll only return home to his daughter and mother when he finds who did this and they along with their bloodline is exterminated

while he's gone, the remainder of his family is relocated somewhere he knows they'll be safe, for example, even though he despises childe, he knows his mom and daughter will be safe with his family

sorry, but Scaramouche will hold this deep-rooted hatred and love for you after you die

yes, he still loves and misses you dearly, but he hates you for leaving him alone, hates that although it wasn't intentional and out of your control, that you were gone

no matter how hard you tried to fight, it was selfish of you to leave him like this

he's not going to stop until he believes whoever was behind this is dead

and in his case, he'll stop believing when he chooses, even if they are innocent/guilty, he'll keep going

3.19.21, rayofsunas

[goneadrift]

1, 8 and 14 from the questions for fic writers ask game <33

Thank you 🧡

questions for fic writers

1 - What fic of yours would you recommend to someone who had never read any of your work? (In other words, what do you think is the best introduction to your fics?) Mmm… I think that's either my first posted Royai - "Silent confession" because imo it ballanced setting the scene, inner contemplations and actual interuction - or Twiyor "The things I feel now I never thought I'd find" basically for the same reason.

What do you think? 😊 Was "Is this the ending of what we've begun?" the first read for you?

14 - Are there any tropes you would only read if written by a trusted friend or writer? I suppose it's not really a trope but anything that involves a love triangle. I can't even explain it, but the situation just irks me too much. I do indulge in occasional spikes of jealousy but I don't handle outright infidelity well. Even in fiction.

8 - What song would make a great fic (to either write or read)? Ohohohooho, there are a lot. But I have a particular one. I meantioned it once on server and never returned to it but I still think it's a cool case for "Would it be fucked up if…" 😄

The song is "Corpse Bride" by Green Apelsin. Copying my attempt at translating the lyrics and the stuff I came up with under the cut.

Digging up the earth, I'll tear my fingers down to blood. I will break the grave silence in forest. The wind howls terribly, carring your call to me. This time I believe I will be lucky for sure.

Don't be scared, dear, betrothed, darling. Life won't tear us apart, don't run, wait. There is no hiding from me, as well as from fate. God has heard my pleas from the underworld.

It feels like my heart is beating again in my chest. I'll open the door to gentle death for you. We will leave the world of the living - we have no place here. You're the alive groom, I'm the dead bride.

Why is your face so sad? After all, I'm wearing an engagement ring. Maybe you don't like the pale body? Or are you in love with something mortal?

Didn't you swear loyalty and love to me? I am not afraid of pain and there is no living blood in me. But why does it hurt, this the emptiness inside? Have a look, there is a remnant of bitter tears in me.

It feels like my heart is breaking again in my chest. I'll open the door to sure death for you. You will leave the world of the living - your place is here. You're my fiance and I'm your fiancee.

It feels like there is no heart in my chest again. The door to my happiness is closed forever. I will leave the world of the living - I have no place here. You're the alive groom, I'm the dead bride.

What if soon after Maes returned from Ishval (or right before his arrival) Gracia died? Maes in desperation asks Roy for help. Roy hesitates - he knows this is a taboo and he already did may unspeakable things. Doing another one… this might be his breaking point.

So Maes finds some other shady alchemist who agrees to do it. But he lies to Maes. So this is not a human transmutation but some necromancy that makes corpse to become basically something zombie-like. Or like in Games of Thrones where Drogo was "returned to life".

They can talk and have some mixed remnants of memories. So it seems as if Gracia recognises Maes and is glad to see him. But she can stop mid speech as if in some daze. She doesn't sleep. She doesn't know she died. She doesn't understand why Maes refuses to visit her parents. Why he avoids looking at her at times.

Then she finds memoir/necrologue in newspaper. Or hears Roy arguing with Maes next room about dangers of pulling one over on nature. After a while less and less of true Gracia remains in her body. She is helpless, she is angry - and at Maes too. And she becomes dangerous to him.

So either he ends this. Or Roy volunteers to save Maes from this (this line he crossed already; it is not exactly easy, but he remembers Riza's words about "freeing" - and here the purpose is to free this shell of Gracia and Maes from despair).

[saintobio]

WHAT IN THE WORLD. Like seriously WHAT?? I don't know where to begin..

I love how everyone in the comments had agreed that Naoya had done something. Like the man knew why he did the question to Toji about y/n being his wife. Still even after sleeping with step mom Gojo it's hard to hate him idk why I love the gossip queen Naoya...

Step mom Gojo. I saw that comming. I mean she ruined a family once why wouldn't she do it again? I have 2 theories for her. 1. She wants to give the company to Yuuta cause she loves her son more than her step son. 2. She wants Satoru out of the business so she can freely manipulate Yuuta using the excuse "I'm your mother I'm doing it for your own good"

Idk how Yuuta will react to things like that I mean from previous chapters he looked like he cared a bit about Gojo (like when his father hit him he told him to stop) and he seems like a sweet person so it's hard to predict how he will react/ what he will do once he has to overthrow his brother from the empire and literally leave him with nothing (except if they feed him with lies which is their specialty like cmon)

A PREGNANT SERA. Why am I not surprised? I'm at the dc server and we were all like "She's preggo I just know it". Sera's manipulation is going to go on another level. It's kinda obvious she's blinded from the shiny things he spoils her with but she's missing one point. Once the infidelity is revealed (because how can you hide a child) she doesn't understand that this will hurt not only MC but Hoejo mainly. The baby will be exactly the reason why the merge between MC's company and Gojo's will stop cause I don't expect Gen or her father letting MC stay in a marriage like this and it will help any rivals and in our case Gojo's step mom to overthrow him because "he failed as a businessman". She can keep it but with Satoru overthrow from the company he won't have the same money to spoil her. So she will be stuck with the "revenge baby", a traumatized Satoru who doesn't have MC to vent on or be comforted by, and no money. So she had to realize that this baby will be not only destroy his marriage (which she wants) but will also be Satous downfall and her downfall (she also might get fired so good luck finding another job with a baby in ur arms and a husband who has never been poor in his entire life).

MC... We stan Y/n... I'm actually worried about her. Her heart won't take it when she finds out about the baby (cause I'm sure sera will tell her about it in an effort to destroy her and the marriage).. I can see how she tried to distance herself but she cared about Hoejo even after everything he has done due to her kind and caring nature. If she reacted like that with the condoms before she learnt it was for her imagine what will happen with a BABY. She puts herself in more danger and I'm worried about the next chapters that something will happen and her Heath is gonna deteriorate. My precious MC doesn't deserve this....

Toji... after what happened to naoya I don't trust him. I'm a Toji stan and legit wished that MC and Toji will get together but I'm scared if there is something behind him we don't know.. But my dude has me begging on my knees and I didn't do anything to the MC... Dilf supremacy🛐🛐🛐

As for Hoejo SlutoruGojo. His end is comming soon. He will realize what he have done once he is on the street with sera both without jobs and money. But that's what you get. You can't have everything. He was given the chance to choose many times between his mistress and his wife. He chose the first now let him suffer. He has the audacity to suspect MC for cheating. Like honey that's your job not hers. In the beginning of the character I was feeling a bit of compassion for Gojo but finishing the chapter I went back to wanting him to suffer. If he inflicted so much pain to someone who didn't deserve it he deserves to suffer. But karma is a b1tch:))

Note: I saw in a post when we were simping for Toji and you said that Gojo is still the husband and to give him a chance. Well we gave him many chances he facked them up sooo it's time for him to suffer and MC to shine.

I CAN SEE THE DRAMA COMMING AND ITS GONNA BE ☕️☕️☕️☕️

this one as well!! thank you for writing to me <33 i’m happy to see all these reactions hhhh <3

[kiuda]

His communicator beeps, and Sam jumps to it.

Puffy: open the door, I’m here.

His shoulders slump, and he drags himself off his couch and to the door. When he opens it, Puffy’s there. Her hair’s wet, and she takes him in.

“You look like shit,” she says plainly. Sam sighs, and goes back to his couch.

“You would be too,” he said.

Puffy puts some groceries on Sam’s table, and doesn’t answer.

“You haven’t heard anything from them either?”

“No.”

Puffy sighs. “It’s been months,” she says.

“Yeah.”

“No one else has heard them either.”

Sam buried his face in his hands and groans. “God,” he says. “What the fuck did we do.”

(I finally got the internet connection back wooooo!!)

/rp

"Sam. We already talked about this so many times. We all did bad things. So did he. There is no turning back time. We can only move forward. And-"

"But how are we supposed to move forward?! He won't answer to any messages! We don't know where he is or how he is! How are we- how am I supposed to forgive myself if I don't even know if he's alive?!" there it is. The reason Sam still tries to reach Dream every day, no matter how unlikely getting an answer is. But he has to try. He has to.

"Sam... He needs time as well. Michael told us he is safe when he was leaving the server, remember? You've known Dream far longer than me. You know how stubborn he is." Puffy starts taking out the groceries out of the bags and checking the kitchen cabinets for the stuff she needed. "Now go clean up a bit. I will make you a soup."

"Just don't add-"

"Potatoes. I know." she looks at him with compassion in her eyes. "Go. Take a shower or something."

Sam turns around quickly, not wanting to show her the barely hidden anger.

'You're weak. You weren't the victim here and you know it. You agreed to the plan.'

'Shut up'

'What's your deal with potatoes anyway? You weren't the one forced to eat them or starve'

'I said. Shut. Up.'

'Ohhh! Poor Sam! He tortured his old friend and now feels guilty about it!'

"Shut up!" Sam yells, punching the shower's wall. He doesn't know when he got there, but it's not a new situation. The voice has been there for a while. His conscience. Or rather a twisted version of it, according to his therapist.

He told him not to listen to it. That it can only tell lies and it won't help him.

Sam swears each session that he is trying. He really is. But doesn't the voice have a point? He shakes his head weakly, getting out of the shower.

[rainbowwhimsyart]

Faedom Week Day One : Alternate Universe

Okay, here it is. A modern au (well, the rough outline for one anyway, lol. Didn't get a chance to write it out fully, but here's a general summary.)

This is for the 2019 Faedom challenge week, which is all about creating fanworks for @not-poignant 's Faetales verse.

Okay, so imagine that modern AU Augus owns a cafe. They make vegan fusion dishes. It's called Balance. Eran is the head chef, specializes in cooking directly over live flame and charcoal in an open - air cooking pit outside. The fact that they even were able to get the licenses for that kind of set up is suspicious. Other business owners in the area joke that Augus must have used some kind of mind- control powers to have gotten that zoning pushed through. 

Mosk is homeless and squatting in the area. He meets Mikkel, who is doing homeless outreach for the local community mental health. Mikkel can get him a job, and a bed at one of the local shelters. Mosk doesn't want to stay at the shelter, he's got a system. Gym membership, laundromats for washing clothes, and if he does some sex work, it's nobody's business but his. 

Mikkel reminds him that winter will be here soon, and if he works a steady job and saves enough, Mikkel says he can get him actual housing. Mikkel knows some people who are looking for a full time barrista/cashier. Best part? Mosk will eat for free while he's on shift. 

Mosk reluctantly agrees. Meets at Balance, Mikkel introduces him to Augus, the owner. Augus talks to him for 5 minutes and is like, yeah fine. He can work for a trial period, we'll see how it goes. $15 an hour plus tips during the trial period, with a raise of he gets hired permanently, which is wildly generous for a barista. Mosk just stares at Augus, wondering if he's going to be expected to blow him for the job. 

It turns out that Augus doesn't spend a ton of time on site, he spends most of his time cultivating and caring for the gardens and grounds of the historical manor his husband inherited, that they now rent out for events. 

Augus introduces him to Julvia, the manager of the cafe, and then leaves. She shows him how the shop runs, starts training him a little bit, and has him jump on register then and there. Mosk is surprised that they already trust him with the money. But she does, and even stranger, she is kind to him. She doesn't seem to care that he's awkward and abrupt with the customers. Doesn't seem to care that his clothes are worn and a little tattered, that his sneakers have holes in them.

 She tells him that Mosk will meet Eran, the head chef, soon. He's on vacation visiting his family, but he should be back in a week or so.

 In the meantime, an easygoing and extroverted man named Ash is covering for Eran. Apparently he steps in sometimes to help with large catering orders, and covers for Eran sometimes.  At the end of shift, Ash brings up an opportunity for Mosk to make some extra money on the side. Mosk immediately assumes that he means sex, and since Ash isn't unattractive at all and doesn't seem inclined to damage him, Mosk decides that he could use the extra money, and goes for it. It's a painfully  awkward moment. 

Ash clarifies that there are frequently events that Balance caters at the manor, and they always need servers.  If he's interested, he should ask Julvia to put him in touch with Ash, who is apparently August's brother and the hospitality manager of the Manor.

Mosk is mortified but Ash handles it pretty gracefully and even winks at Mosk before he leaves. 

Mosk settles in, and is cautiously hopeful that he might be able to get his own place, to grow a new life there. He's saving his money, keeps it on him at all times, changes out small bills for larger bills and keeps them tucked in his shoes. 

Eran comes back and Mosk finally gets to meet him. Of course he's gorgeous. Of course he's a little bit of a hipster and his ass looks amazing in those jeans, the jerk. Of course he wears eyeliner (though Mosk thinks, resentfully, that his eyes do look beautiful to a nearly otherworldly degree when smudged with black and gold) . 

Even worse, Eran is constantly condescending to him. I mean, isn't it obvious that's what he's doing whenever he is so persistently kind to Mosk? Why else would he be so nice? I mean, the nerve, always trying to feed him and asking him how his day is going and flirting with him. It has to be some kind of joke.

Mosk is flustered and, remembering his awkward encounter with Ash (and assuming Ash passed the story along), is caustic and rude back. Eran's food is 'hippy new age bullshit', Mosk obviously hates it (even though he eats every bite), and Eran can fuck off with trying to feed him that 'rich-bitch burnt grass garbage'.

Eran just laughs it off and keeps making him new dishes, until he finds a few that Mosk 'Doesn't hate, I guess'. It must be a coincidence when those dishes become regular offerings on the menu, allowing Mosk to eat them daily when he's at work. 

One day, walking back to where he is squatting, Mosk is jumped and beaten up really badly. They rob him, beat him, and even take his shoes, which means his money is gone. He is found and taken to the hospital, and when they need to contact someone, Mosk gives them Mikkel's number.  Mosk's leg has been broken, and several of his fingers. 

Unbeknownst to Mosk, Mikkel can't come get him, he's out of town. He calls Augus, who is in the middle of an event at the manor. Ash is there too, and he can't leave either, so he sends Eran. 

Eran goes to pick up Mosk at the hospital, Mosk argues. The hospital won't release him without a ride. Mosk finally agrees just so he can get out of there. The hospital gives him crutches which he can't fully use because of his fingers. 

Eran takes him to go get his prescriptions filled, and then asks him where to drop him off. Mosk tries to get him to let him out several blocks away, but Eran insists that Mosk let him help him inside. Mosk gets angry and finally agrees, directs Eran to building he's squatting at. 

Eran is horrified at the conditions Mosk has been living in, tells him that he's not staying there. Mosk is too tired to argue. They grab Mosk's backpack and Eran takes him back to his house. 

Mosk doesn't want to stay there, only agrees to stay until he's well enough to leave on his own. Eran doesn't agree but doesn't disagree (plans on convincing Mosk to stay). 

Eran puts Mosk up in his guest room. Mosk is terrified that he's going to lose his job. Admits that he's lost his entire savings when he got jumped. Eran assures him that he'll still have a job. 

Augus and Ash come by the next day, and promise that he's not going to lose his job. In fact, in the meantime, Augus has a bunch of electronic files and paperwork that need to be organized, and Mosk can do that remotely and be relatively stationary, yes? He says that, factoring in the tips Mosk would have been making, that would have been roughly $20 an hour, so that's what Augus will pay him. Mosk is stunned. Augus leaves him a potted plant. Ash leaves him his old Nintendo DS.

Cue 'and they were roommates!' / sick fic bits, with Mosk being the WORST patient ever. Of course, Eran and Mosk start slowly bonding despite Mosk's resistance. Eran gets a little black cat, says it's for him but really it's for Mosk. Mosk pretends to hate it but secretly (and then not so secretly) loves it more than anything. Mosk names him Raven, and Eran jokes that Mosk treats him like a little prince. They start calling him The Raven Prince. Eran gets strangely jealous that Mosk loves on the cat so much, wishes that Mosk would pet HIM like that. 

When Mosk starts getting a little more mobile, he starts cleaning the apartment, doing Eran's laundry, making his bed in the morning, etc. Eran tries to tell him that he doesn't have to do that, but Mosk seems ready to bolt otherwise, so Eran just starts praising him for it instead. Eran notices how much Mosk loves the plant that Augus brought him, starts bringing him home little succulents and plants. Mosk is flustered but accepts the plants, claiming that 'he'll take care of them for Eran'. Mosk asks Eran to teach him how to cook. Eran does. It's super cute. 

Eventually, Mosk goes back to working at the cafe, and starts talking about moving out. Eran tells him that "The Raven Prince would be so sad if you left, he would be heartbroken." (Suuuure, Eran. TRP would be the one who is  heartbroken. Suure.)

 Mosk decides to stay a little longer, because who would do Eran's laundry for him if he wasn't there? Who would make sure that Eran's bed was perfectly made? Eran surely wouldn't do it for himself, considering the state of his apartment before Mosk came. Mosk is obviously doing him a favor by staying. 

One day at work, one of his old clients shows up and gives him a hard time, tells Mosk he's going to show up at closing and fuck him in the alleyway out back. Mosk walks out without telling anyone, just straight up leaves without telling anyone. It is not great at the cafe, and Augus ends up having to come in and run the cash register. He is NOT happy. He asks Eran what happened, Eran has no idea. 

Mosk doesn't come home that night, and Eran goes looking for him. Finds him back outside of where he was squatting before, but now that building has been knocked down and construction has started on new overpriced condos (Built by Davix and Olphix Associates, who seem to be buying up A LOT of property in the area. But that's neither here nor there). Mosk is pretty dissociated, but when Eran shows up, he's snaps back enough to be crushingly embarrasses and ashamed at what happened, and defensively lashes out at Eran, like is genuinely mean,and says some truly horrible things to Eran. Eran ends up leaving. Mosk doesn't come back to work. Doesn't go back to Eran's house. Just disappears. Eran lies to himself and says it's fine. It's not fine.

One day the next week, Mikkel comes in and asks where Mosk is. Eran tells him his version of the events as he knows them (which may be just a tad bit colored by his own hurt feelings). Mikkel demands to see the footage (of course there are security cameras. Augus's husband INSISTED on it. ) of what happened before Mosk left. He calls them all idiots for not checking it sooner. 

Now they have to find Mosk, but he's not at any of his old haunts. Eventually Mikkel tracks him down to a very shady pay-by-the-week motel. He's almost out of his savings. He's been planning on going back to sex work. Mikkel tells him he could do that, or he could have his old job back. They watched the footage. They know he was threatened. 

Mosk is humiliated, because now everyone knows about his history. Eventually Mikkel talks him into going back to the cafe. Mosk ignores Eran to the best of his ability. Eran is apologetic and tries to convince Mosk to 'come home'. He refuses. 

Eventually Eran gets him to at least come over and visit with TRP. He cooks Mosk his favorite meal. He kisses Mosk for the first time. Mosk is the physical embodiment of Gay Panic, but he doesn't run. Eran has FEELINGS. 

They start dating, though Mosk refuses to call Eran his boyfriend. Eran keeps trying to convince him to move back in, but Mosk refuses. Eran is worried about Mosk's independence, about his lack of protection, but he has to let Mosk do what he's going to do. 

When Eran's family has a disaster (plane crash in Alaska, multiple family members killed), Mosk steps in and comes to take care of him. Eran is in a deep depression, is grieving. Mosk is strangely good at holding space for Eran. Eran begs him to stay. Mosk agrees, but won't share a room with Eran. 

Eran slowly comes out of the deepest part of his depression, and he and Mosk grow even closer. Mosk gets another raise at the cafe. Eran goes back to work. 

Cue some major drama with Davix & Olphix Associates trying to buy up Balance. It looks like all of their jobs are in jeopardy due to some kind of legal loophole.  It looks like Balance may have to close its doors forever. 

But wait! Mosk remembers some important piece of paperwork that he filed for Augus, and it's the critical piece of information that saves the day! Davix and Olphix give up (for now), and their jobs are safe. Eran tells Mosk that he loves him. Mosk…doesn't run away. Eran thinks that is enough.

Time skip, several months in the future. It's Christmas time, and today, the cafe is closed to customers, because Augus and Gwyn are throwing the staff a holiday party. 

They have karaoke. Everyone gets tipsy, including Mosk. Mosk gets up on the karaoke machine, sings a love song to Eran (in a surprisingly sweet tenor). Tells Eran that he loves him. Eran is like, ohhh bby are you SURE you wanted to do this in front of all of our coworkers? And Mosk is like, you're an idiot, who do you think organized this party? And then… 

MOSK PROPOSES TO ERAN IN FRONT OF EVERYONE. 

ERAN OF COURSE SAYS YES. 

Epilogue: Eran is hovering around the food tent at the manor. There's an event that's going on, and he wants to make sure everything is running smoothly. Ash tells him that it is, and promises that he won't miss the ceremony.

Augus comes and grabs Eran and tells him to leave the food staff alone, that he's not allowed anywhere near the food tent again for the rest of the night. It's Eran's wedding, after all. He shouldn't be be working. Eran agrees.

 Augus is tipsy, regales him with the story of his and Gwyn's wedding. Gives him slightly - drunken, very TMI advice for his honeymoon. Eran just nods and manages to keep a straight face.

Eran gets ready to walk down the aisle, which is filled with his friends and what's left of his family. He sees his husband to be, and thinks about the life they will build together, about all they've overcome.

Eran and Mosk read their vows. Augus is crying. Gwyn is holding his hand.

They say 'I do' and kiss. And step into their brand new future. Together. 

[caranfindel]

Recap/review 14.05: “Nightmare Logic”

THEN: Maggie. Lucifer brings her back to life but she's not okay. Maybe Jack can help us stop all the evil in the world. But then what would we do? Michael is making super monsters. The hunted become the hunters.

NOW: Maggie? Are they really still trying to make me care about Maggie? {sigh} Fine. Maggie is on a hunt, all on her own, in Claremore, Oklahoma, which she calls "delightful" but I'm pretty sure she's being sarcastic. She's in what looks like a mausoleum, hunting what she thinks is a ghoul, and we know all this because she took a camera out of her bag and started talking to it. She's wearing light pink pants that are gonna show ALL THE BLOOD, so you can tell she's still a newbie. And then the ghoul gets her. Bye, Maggie?

Title card!

Bunker. Sam seems to be leading a small hunting class. He wraps it up quickly when Dean comes in, and it seems like he still feels uneasy being a leader when Dean's around. Which makes sense. Dean's been the leader all of Sam's life. For his part, Dean actually seems to enjoy watching Sam in this new role, although he's a little sarcastic about things like hunter check-ins ("that's adorable!"). He asks Sam if he's getting any sleep, and we know the answer is "no" because Sam doesn't really answer. He's got 16 hunters on case, not including Cas and Jack (who are in Sarasota) or Mobby (who are in Texas.) You know, I'm okay with Cas being gone, but I'm not okay with him taking Jack with him. Just saying.

Dean thinks the new people don't need this much help, since they all survived a war, but Sam explains that a war is not hunting. Which begs the question, why are they all hunting anyway? Sam's right - the angel war wouldn't really prepare them for hunting monsters. So why are they doing it? Just because they live in the bunker now, so they have to be hunters? Is that why Maggie's out there in her damn pink pants trying not to get killed again?

As Sam's talking, he gets a notification that Maggie missed check-in. Ruh roh! {Sidebar: Seems like having to call in at a pre-scheduled time would be really inconvenient for hunting, so I've decided this just means she has to check in at least once every 24 hours.} Next we see the guys in the library, with Dean calling Maggie and not getting an answer as Sam works on the laptop. He has pulled up footage from Maggie's bodycam, which surprises Dean and me, but Sam says having the new hunters watch each other hunt is the best way to learn. You know, I'm thrilled with Sam's little vocational training program here, but I think the best way to learn would be to send the newbies out with experienced hunters, instead of sending them on their own and putting bodycams on them so everyone else can watch them die. But what do I know?

Sam says the bodycams upload directly to the server, so I guess Maggie had wifi in a mausoleum somewhere in delightful Claremore, Oklahoma. Of course, if Sam provided them, they'll have wifi everywhere, so let's not concern ourselves with minor details. They watch the ghoul from Maggie's POV, and Sam's clearly upset and afraid she's dead. Dean points that she might be okay, because 1) they didn't see her die, and b) ghouls are scavengers that don't normally feed on the living. Sam says "Yeah, but remember the ones that killed and ate Adam and his mom? And were eating me alive before you killed them?" No, he doesn't say that. But he should. Someone should. Instead he just asks why a ghoul would attack her. Because it's a monster, Sam.

(Hey, remember when Sam was tied to the table and the ghouls were eating him? That was a good episode.)

But this one has several good points too, including the fact that Sam looks like he might be growing the beard again. (I know he's not. Let me dream.)

Cut to a nice transition video of the Impala zooming down the road, and then the brothers in the cemetery where Maggie was last seen. Dean comments that a private cemetery must be nice, because it would be convenient. Yeah, when you die as often as these two, a cemetery in the back yard would be handy. On the other hand, they're usually not buried, so. Maggie was working this cemetery in the first place because some kids said online that a walker tried to end them. Sam then tries to mansplain (Samsplain?) walkers to Dean, who is very aware of what they are.

They enter the mausoleum and go down a flight of stairs. Damn, this thing is big. I've seen little mausoleums in cemeteries before, but nothing like this. They find drag marks on the floor. "But no blood," Dean says, "which means Maggie could still be alive." But those pink pants are gonna be really dirty.

(Hey, remember the last time Dean and Sam and Maggie were in a dark underground place, and someone got attacked and dragged away? That was a good episode.)

(Are you really doing this again? We get it. The show repeats itself and has frequent subtle and less-sutble references to older, better episodes. Can you stop now?)

(Fine. Geez.)

Sam doesn't think that's likely, because "ghouls don't take prisoners." I mean, I guess Sam wasn't technically a prisoner when he was tied to a table, but he does at least have to acknowledge that they won't necessarily eat you quickly. Dean's being oddly optimistic, saying that it might have taken her elsewhere to eat her, and maybe "hasn't finished the job yet." So, maybe only her arms and legs have been eaten? Well, that's encouraging. They're interrupted by a groundskeeper, so Sam introduces them as Harrison and Byrne (Talking Heads, so that had to be Sam's choice, not Dean's) from the Historical Preservation Society, sent by the city who wants to make the property a historic site. Oh, and can they speak to the owner?

When we get a view of the house, it's overgrown by weeds and out-of-control shrubs, so I think that groundskeeper needs to concentrate more on his gardening and less on who might be lurking in the convenient private cemetery. The somewhat geeky owner is very excited, saying he always knew this house had historical significance. He invites them in, but is surprised to see them, since it seems like the two who are already there should be enough. Whaaa? They walk into the living room to see the other two "historical preservationists" - Mary and Bobby.

And Bobby is wearing Michael's hat! RUN, BOYS, RUN!

Sam pointedly says he wishes they'd checked with "the main office" before coming all the way out here. {Sidebar: You know, the Show plays fast and loose with geography on a regular basis, but I like that Sam and Dean came from down Kansas and Mary and Bobby came up from Texas and they met in Oklahoma in a completely plausible timeline.} Bobby says they don't need permission from the main office to look at houses, "especially when the main office is run by a bunch of idjits."

OH WHAT THE HELL FAKE BOBBY! WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE? I WILL NOT STAND FOR THIS.

Mary pulls Sam away for a private talk while Dean questions the owner, Neil. But it turns out he's not actually the owner, he's only the nurse the owner, Mr. Rawling. Meanwhile, Mary explains to Sam that she and Bobby had been talking Maggie through her hunt, giving her pointers. (Gee, maybe you shouldn't have sent her off alone, Sam.) When she stopped texting, they got worried and came to check on her. Sam asks if they found anything, but before she can answer, Dean calls Sam into Mr. Rawling's room. He's unconscious, in a hospital bed, and they both agree that he looks exactly like the ghoul they saw on Maggie's video. (Which is odd, but what's even odder is that Mr. Rawling is getting a blood transfusion. Why?) If the ghoul is here, they wonder, where's Maggie?

Cut to Maggie, alive and conscious somewhere. She's strung up by her wrists and surrounded by blood bags. Hmmm. Looks more like a djinn to me.

Back at the house, Neil explains that Rawling had a stroke. Just then, Rawling's daughter Sasha shows up. She is considerably less excited to hear that the National Historic Preservation Society is interested in the house. She doesn't even know how long her father has lived here, and she's just here to wrap things up before he dies. She says it's been "a really long week," so I guess the stroke happened recently. And I'm pretty sure old Rawlings would still be in the hospital if his stroke was that recent, so put another check in the "odd" column. Sam does his best empathetic face, but she doesn't want to deal with the National Historic Preservation Society right now and asks them to leave.

Have you ever noticed that when Jared narrows his eyes a little bit, it emphasizes their tilt? Because I have.

The team regroups at the Impala. On the one hand, I like them working on their hypotheses and eliminating monsters based on their extensive knowledge. On the other hand, none of their extensive knowledge seems to have much basis in canon. First Bobby declares Rawlings "not a ghoul" because he "checked him out pretty good back there" and didn't find any bites. So I guess you stripped the old guy down under Neil's watchful eye, Fake Bobby? I don't think so. Mary suggests a shifter, but Dean says shifters don't hang out in graveyards. Sam suggests possession, which Nasty Fake Bobby dismisses because a demon wouldn't have put him back in bed after using his body, and he sprinkled him with holy water anyway. Dean calls him on his even-grumpier-than-usualness...

Something on your mind, Bobby?

Yeah. Your brother. He let Maggie come here when she had no idea what she was walking into. She wasn't ready.

Oh, come on. When is anybody ever ready?

You are or you ain't. A real leader would have seen that a mile away.

Well, okay then! Clearly I was at fault for accepting AU Bobby so quickly. He's not our Bobby at all. He's not just adorably surly, he's mean. And he's wearing that hat. And now I'm seriously starting to wonder if this is really even Fake Bobby. Did he pick that hat up at the church, after Dean took it off? Is that when Michael made him his vessel? Is Michael that attached to the damn hat? Is the hat a possessed object? Something evil is afoot, and THE HAT IS PART OF IT. I'M SURE.

This is a pretty scene, but my favorite part is Dean's "why are you being mean to my Sammy, old man?" face.

Mary smacks Fake Bobby back down, and then says they should split up. She takes Sam. Aw, this is twice that she's pulled Sam aside to take care of him. I like anyone taking care of Sammy. As she and Sam walk, she tells him not to listen to Bobby, but Sam wonders if he's right about everything. She says no, he's born to do this, and he could respond with "Actually, the only thing I was born to do was to be Lucifer's vessel," but he doesn't.

Mary continues, saying that if Bobby can't see what a natural born leader and generally awesome human being Sam is, it's not the only thing he's missing. Oh god, is she talking about what I think she's talking about? Do I even want to KNOW what Bobby is missing? Sam thinks the same thing, and segues into a talk about their relationship. Mary says that ever since they've been back (from AU Land, I guess), Bobby hunts all the time. "He won't take a break, not even for s-" and I swear to Chuck I thought she was going to say for sex, but she says "for a second." And then they have this exchange:

Bobby's not open like your dad.

Wait. Like MY dad?

Okay, at least he's not like your dad was when I knew him.

Oh my Chuck, Mary and Sam are talking about John. Poor Sam, who wasn't even allowed to talk about his mother for most of his life, now gets to talk TO her. About his father. Someone hold me. It's also funny and sad that the John he knew is so, so different from the John she knew. And now I'm imagining drunk Sam and Dean telling stories about their childhood, and Mary being absolutely horrified.

Anyway. Mary says Bobby has "walls" and she doesn't know if she can handle that, "if I even put myself out there again." Oh, wait, so she wasn't out there? So she and Bobby aren't actually in a relationship? They're just flirting and making googoo eyes and hunting together? Huh.

Sam makes an uncomfortable face, and she realizes he's not the best audience for this discussion, and it's all very weird and sweet. I'm going to stick with Mary and Sam rather than going back and forth like they do in the episode. Sam tells her that "our Bobby" wasn't very open either, at least not at first, and that he had to kill his wife and they had no kids. And Fake Bobby's walls are probably there for a good (bad) reason. Oh, Sam. You know about walls and reasons, don't you? He suggests that, if she cares about him, she won't give up on Bobby and his walls. Then they see something that looks like a pile of cloth. It's a jacket or something, and it comes with a pile of IDs - FBI, DEA, Forest Service. Must be a hunter!

Meanwhile, Bobby and Dean are having this talk:

You think I was too hard on your brother back there.

He's doing his best. He's doing better than his best. This whole hunter 5-0 thing, he's killing himself over it. He doesn't eat, he doesn't sleep, he grew himself one of those Kenny Rogers beards... no offense.

How much do I love Dean standing up for Sam, noticing everything he's doing? SO MUCH. I mean, I'm sure part of it is the classic "no one gets to talk smack about my little brother except me," but part of it is that he really is proud of Sam and what he's doing. And really is worried about him.

Dean and Fake Bobby come up on an old shed and open the door. It seems to be full of pelts. Dean goes inside, but Bobby sees a man in the woods and runs off toward him. Without saying anything to Dean. Dammit, Fake Bobby. Dean finds a body. Must be a dead hunter! He turns toward Bobby, just now realizing he's been left alone, and then something attacks him from behind. It's the old man Rawling ghoul! Dean grabs something off the windowsill, I can't tell what, and stabs the ghoul with it. The ghoul dissolves into dust. Huh. Weird. Bobby returns to find Dean covered in ghoul dust.

Back at the house, Sasha is going over some paperwork when she hears noises that seem to be coming from upstairs. She goes up and wanders down an oddly angular hallway. She opens a super-squeaky door and a vampire leaps out. On first watch, I only noticed the teeth, but on rewatch, it's one of the AU-style vampires, with the big pointy ears. She flees and falls {Sidebar: At this point, The Husband asked why women are always falling when they run away from monsters; I said it's the high heels} but as she cowers on the floor and awaits her doom, she realizes nothing is after her. The vampire is gone.

Sam and Mary are back at the Rawling house, and while it was bright daylight when they were wandering around and Sasha was being attacked, it's dark now. She explains that whatever she saw couldn't have been real, because it looked like a vampire, and Sam tells her she's not crazy. She gets the "monsters are real" speech, and Neil is more disappointed that they're not from the Historical Society than he is to learn that monsters are real. Then Dean shows up.

You're not gonna believe what I found in the shed.

You hunt monsters!

Oh, good. You told them.

What did you find in the shed?

Dead guy.

Hee! This little scene just cracks me up. Dead Guy matches the fake IDs, and Sam tells Dean they think something is killing hunters. Mary notices Bobby's gone, and Dean says he went to get something out of the truck. Alone??? She runs out after him. Dean tells Sam about Ghoul!Rawling attacking him, and Sasha's all, "he's right there," and Dean turns toward Rawling but all we can see is the foot of his bed, so I'm fairly sure it's going to turn out he's not right there after all. (Spoiler alert: I'm wrong.) Sam tells Dean about the vampire, but since the vampire didn't feed on Sasha, and the Ghoul!Rawling "died weird," Sam suggests maybe these aren't monsters at all (relieved sigh from Neil) but some kind of manifestation (not-relieved, confused looks from Neil and Sasha) like B.J. Hunnicut Fred Jones, who made all the Looney Tunes violence.

(Hey, remember when Fred Jones made the Looney Tunes violence, and Dean's gun had a flag that said BANG? That was awesome.)

(I can't help it, guys, the Show is feeding them directly to me!!!)

Sasha assures them her father is narcissistic but not psychic, and Dean wonders why he would manifest a vampire to scare his own daughter. Well, I mean, sounds like he was a bad father, so. When Sasha tells them what happened, Dean notices that she was scared away from what she was investigating, which is probably the reason the vampire was... manifested. Sam volunteers to go upstairs and investigate. Dean hands him a machete.

Downstairs, Dean sharpens another machete while Sasha downs some pills, and I know how you feel, Sasha. I've felt like cracking open the Xanax this week myself. She vents about her father and reveals that, because he was gone all the time, she was the one who found her mother after she (I assume) killed herself. "You what the most ridiculous part is?" she says. "I worshipped him when I was a kid. Didn't know any better. He's the only family I have left." Oh, gee, who else in this room can relate to that? Dean offers her some advice, which is to let it go. "The past is... nothing you can do about it now, so. It's just baggage. Let it go, you'll feel a lot lighter." She asks if that's what he does, and he says "I try. Every single day." Oh Dean!

Upstairs, Sam walks carefully down the oddly angular hallway (really, it makes NO SENSE) and opens the door Sasha had been peeking through. It's access to the attic. Sam peers around with his flashlight find finds old toys and a spooky taxidermied animal and blood bags and Maggie, strung up like the victim of a djinn. He pulls a needle from her neck and she wakes up, saying "it's here." There's a growl behind Sam and then the AU vampire attacks. {Sidebar: I wonder what kind of PTSD flashbacks Sam's going to have the next time he tries to go to sleep?} Sam hits it with the machete and it explodes into a cloud of dust, just like Dean's ghoul.

While all of this is happening, Mary goes outside and finds Bobby isn't at his truck. We see him walking in the dark, and then the man he ran after earlier comes out from behind a tree. His eyes are burned out.

Daniel?

Hey, Dad.

OH SNAP.

Bobby is shocked to see him, since apparently he died in AU Land. He kicks the crap out of Fake Bobby and then pins him to a tree with an angel blade through the shoulder, even though he doesn't stab him nearly hard enough to go through the tree, and even though Bobby remains completely level instead of hanging from that point. Mary shows up and Bobby yells at her to run. She shoots Dead!Daniel instead, but bullets don't do anything. As Dead!Daniel chokes Mary, Bobby pulls the angel blade out and falls down from the tree. He says "I'm sorry" and stabs Dead!Daniel with the angel blade, which causes him to explode into a cloud of dust.

Downstairs, Dean and Sasha go into Rawling's room, where Neil is fiddling with something. Dean finally asks what I've been asking the whole time, which is, why is the old man getting a blood transfusion? Neil says it keeps up his iron. Dean gives him a funny look and then asks Sasha to go make him a sandwich. She's all, what, seriously? He mouths go and flicks his eyes at Neil and she finally gets it and she's all, yes, that sounds like a great idea, I will go make you a sandwich.

He's so not subtle at all. I love him.

Dean pulls his gun and says he recognizes the rig now, from when he was hooked up to it. "You're not giving him blood. You're taking it." We see a flashback from "What Is and What Should Never Be," with Dean strung up in the djinn's warehouse.

(HEY! REMEMBER WHEN DEAN WAS CAPTURED BY A DJINN AND HAD THAT WHOLE DREAM LIFE? THAT WAS AMAZING.)

{Sidebar: The thing is, this would never work. The blood bag is hanging above Rawling's head. If you've ever given blood, you know the collection bag is hung below the needle. Your blood's not going to flow upstream. Gravity, people.}

"You're a djinn," Dean says. "But you knew that already, didn't you?" says Neil, as his eyes flash blue and his tattoos briefly appear. Dean asks why he's going after hunters, and he says "Because you told me to! Is this still part of the game?" Um, whaaa? Neil thinks Dean is Michael. The Michael who told him to set up a trap for hunters. He thought this was just a test. The new power Michael gave him is the ability to read minds and see nightmares just by touching his victim. And he can bring those nightmares into the world and make them do whatever he wants. Rawling's nightmare was dying alone in this house, and Neil is making it come true. Maggie's nightmares were the AU vampires. Ah, that explains why the monsters disintegrated - they weren't real. And it also explains why the AU vampires were over here. They came from Maggie's head.

Dean is still threatening Neil with the gun, and Neil says it won't kill him, and he's pretty sure Dean doesn't have a knife dipped in lamb's blood. (Silver, Neil, it has to be silver.) Dean does what I always wish they'd do in a "your mere gun won't kill me" situation, and shoots him in the knee, cause it's gotta slow him down, right? But it doesn't actually slow him much. He lunges for Dean and says he won't hurt "Michael's favorite monkey suit," but he does want to see his nightmares. He smacks a hand on Dean's forehead and is horrified. Neil backs away and says "you... you..." and then Dean says "I don't have a blade dipped in lamb's blood, but I can improvise," and smashes Neil's skull with a bookend. Okay, but. If that would work, why would you need a silver knife dipped in lamb's blood? Isn't it a lot easier to destroy the head?

It does work, but Neil has some evil plot to reveal before he dies. "You think I'm the only one? The only trap? He made dozens of us. Just out there, waiting for you, and your family." Dean shuts him up with the bookend, and then unloads his gun into him for good measure.

So, let's talk about this. What did the djinn see? I mean, Dean's been to Hell. His nightmares are pretty awful. Was that it? Or was it something else? Something, someone, maybe, hiding deep inside?

Aftermath! Dean pulls the needle out of Rawling's arm. It's daylight now, so I wonder why he waited for the sun to come up before ending the poor old guy's misery. He tells Sasha that he'll come back around after the djinn's poison wears off.

Back to the bunker, which is full of refugee hunters. Everybody joyfully greets Maggie and her dirty pink pants. "You did this," Dean tells Sam. "You got her home." Sam smiles, but it's quick and kind of sad.

Elsewhere in the bunker, Mary is bandaging Bobby. He tells her that he was a hunter in AU Land because his wife was killed by a monster, and then his son Daniel was taken by angels because Bobby got him involved in the angel war. He feels guilty about it, but it's not like the kid would have been safe even if he hadn't been fighting. Bobby always thought he'd die in the war, but he didn't (does that mean he considers the war over? he's never going back? because there's still a bunch of angels over there), and now he's "considering other options." So the constant hunting has been a way of trying to get killed. Nice of you to drag Mary into that, Fake Bobby. She tells him she's not letting him give up, and they'll find another way to live.

Sam's reading at the map table (wearing that magnificent red plaid shirt) when Dean comes in with a couple of beers. He says he talked to Maggie and she "can't wait to get back in the saddle." Sam's surprised to hear it, and I'm surprised to hear that Dean was the one to have this conversation with Maggie. How close do you suppose they are? Because really, the most time they've spent together was the long walk to Dayton after Sam was killed, and I can't imagine Dean was a pleasant companion. I'd think she'd be terrified of him at this point. Anyway. Dean says "she learned from the best," and again, Dean noticing and commenting on Sam's actions just makes me melt into a happy little puddle.

Sam's red plaid shirt also makes me melt into a happy little puddle.

Bobby and Mary come in and say "we need to talk," and the next thing we see is Sam arranging for them to stay at Donna's cabin. Which OF COURSE has a garden gnome. Bobby calls Sam aside and Sam is SO NERVOUS to be talking to him alone, and dammit, Jared, you break my heart on a regular basis. Bobby says "this job is no picnic, and I don't know if I ever really had it in me, but you do." You know, I think it's great that people are acknowledging what a good hunter and leader Sam is. But I just can't forget how much he didn't want to do this. I know he's accepted it now, and he claims to love it, but when someone tells him he's good at it, his smile is too tentative, too fleeting. I'm probably reading too much into it, but to me it says "Yeah, I'm good at the one thing I tried to get out of doing, yay me."

Mary and Dean say their goodbyes, and he actually seems to be okay with it this time. We do get the sad piano music, so we know it's significant. But the door slams shut and Sam doesn't flinch, so all is well.

(Hey, remember that time Mary slammed the door and Sam flinched? I loved that.)

Bye, Mommy! Bye, New Daddy!

Next we see the guys calling every hunter they know, warning them about super monsters. "Use the buddy system," Sam insists. Dean feels guilty about the whole thing, and says he knows it's not his fault, and he's trying to move on from "what I - what we - what he did," so it doesn't sound like he's moved on much at all. Sam says they'll work harder.

How, Sam? You get three hours of sleep a night.

Then I'll sleep two.

Oh Sam! I love his "I will do anything you need, even if it kills me" determination. He insists they'll find Michael and kill him, and Dean asks how. Sam brings up Monster!Kaia's spear again, and WHAT ABOUT THE FREAKING ARCHANGEL BLADE???? WHY HAVE YOU FORGOTTEN IT????? But the scene ends with Dean sadly walking away (something else I love? Dean's "I'm gonna pretend I believe you can fix this but I know you can't" expression) and Sam sadly biting his lip and oh, so much sad.

So much pretty, pretty sadness.

So! A little bit of nonsense, but mostly a pretty decent episode. I do wonder why they brought up Jack's powers, and the possibility of "ending all of this," in the THEN, since it wasn't addressed at all. But we got Chief Sam getting the respect he deserves. Some nice brotherly stuff. But most importantly, this episode made me realize that if monsters are the Big Bads this season, that means mytharc episodes can also be MOTW episodes. Praise Chuck. This could turn out to be a pretty decent season after all.

Please help me stay unspoiled, thanks!