#whoopsies this ended up more written out and less of a musing than intended

[zombified-hoglin]

Been thinking about some more angst as one does, related to s8 because it's a fantastic setup for it

It's about the heartbreak that Xisuma feels as he wakes up in the ship, the moon fall breaking him and the others out of the simulation and sleep they were in

He's thankful that none of it was real but at the same time it had felt so real to him

Xisuma's just thankful that he's not in any relationships, watching as the zit polycule are bickering about not dying together and and how in general there's lots of questions about how they chose to go out

He slips away before Ren can even start to explain what the heck happened and went wrong, nothing against Ren but Xisuma doesn't like how crowded and suffocating the room feels

He ends up on one of the decks of the ship, staring off into the stars as he tries not to think about everything that happened, Xisuma can hear someone coming up behind him and it's not surprising to see Etho lean up against the railing beside him

They don't talk about anything, there's barely a greeting, just enjoying not being in that crowded room and by someone else

When Etho finally says something, he leans into Xisuma's space and says he's glad it wasn't real

Xisuma agrees, though he didn't mind spending time time in the simulation with him before everything went to shit

Etho just laughs and says that he didn't mind it either, squeezing Xisuma's hand

Due to some poorly planned rooming accommodations, him and Etho get to share a room, there's no complaints

A continuation of this can be found here