#and then they have to decide if they're going to possibly commit treason by telling their wives that the king's pants just....fell down?

[rendnotmyheart]

God the pantsing scene? In front of the entire council?? In the middle of a meeting??? Fucking iconic. Obsessed. Merlin is objectively hilarious for that

[idontreallyknow26]

I'm gonna get hate for this, but when do I not yk

I forgot to add this is mostly towards show stans lol so this may not make sense if you haven't seen some of their arguments

You cannot say that Rhaenys was the rightful heir to the throne while also believing Rhaenyra was the rightful heir to the throne.

In both situations, Kings chose successors in the way they wanted. Viserys chose Rhaenyra as his heir, and Jaehaerys left it up to the lords. They made their choices.

I also see the argument a lot on TikTok that the king's word is the last word- then why do you not apply it? Jaehaerys allowed the lords to decide, and they decided against Rhaenys. That was his word.

So, which do you believe? Was Rhaenys the heir or Rhaenyra?

And just to be clear, Rhaenyra wasn't the rightful heir for a number of reasons.

1- Viserys' stupidity. In Westeros, according to Andal law of succession, the Eldest son inherits, and then down to the youngest. Then, Eldest daughter to the youngest. So, because Aemma died, having only one child (Rhaenyra) THAT made Rhaenyra the rightful heir. Daemon was only considered if Rhaenyra had been too young, or dead. Viserys simply took the extra step of confirming this. But Viserys CHOOSING (A king cannot be bullied into remarrying- he's a fucking king.) To remarry to Alicent overruled that. When he remarried the sole point of it (Not really, his only point was to fuck a 14-year-old while he could still fuck) was to produce more heirs, which they did. Putting Aegon ii above Rhaenyra in the order of succession, as well as Aemond and Daeron. But Viserys never formally acknowledged this, he was very white democrat about it and just ignored it best he could. He only ever truly made a comment about it in the safety of his castle.

2- Rhaenyra committed high treason multiple times. She had three bastards, as well as tried to put them on not only the Driftwood throne but the iron throne. She lied to the king and queen countless times about it and allowed her bastard to permanently mutilate and disable the son of the king with no consequences- she even asked that the son of the king be tortured further. (The bastards were never legitimized; to legitimize a bastard you must first admit they are one, which never happened. And even if they had been they would not be legitimized as Velaryons, but Strongs. Meaning their only true claim was to harrenhal.) She and her husband also accused the queen and hand of sedating the king with drugs to rule in his place.

So no. Neither of them was the rightful heir and it most definitely wasn't their birthright. I don't like any of the Valyrians, they're all white nazi trash and deserved to have their dragons killed. So don't go telling me I like a rapist. That argument is stupid and ignorant anyway, the number of times I've seen survivors told they like rapists is disgusting- as a survivor maybe, possibly, idk, THINK ABOUT WHO YOU'RE TELLING THIS BULLSHIT TO. And you can't tell people they like Aegon ii/they're rape apologists without applying that logic to yourself. You like Daemon the pedophile rapist. You like Rhaenyra the racist misogynist (Don't deny it, she's the Caitlyn Jenner of women), and you like Mysaria who wanted to sell Alicent and Helaena to brothels and watch as they were raped and impregnated (Which Rhaenyra agreed to). So shut the fuck up.

[raointean]

AU where Anakin has his BPD breakdown earlier than in canon

And actually gets the help he needs

As the war drags on, Anakin gets more and more stressed. This war is hurting Ahsoka, Obi-Wan, and, most importantly, Padmé!

He reasons that the best way to protect them is to end the war as soon as possible. His reasoning leads him to become even more impulsive and reckless, not just with his own life, but the lives of his men as well.

At first, he's just a little more reckless than usual, but then things begin to escalate. He becomes ruthless, giving no mercy as he ceases to think of the Separatists as people. He doesn't care if civilians get caught in the crossfire, just so long as the Republic wins and the Separatists lose.

His interpersonal relationships begin to deteriorate rapidly as well. After the Clovis arc, he and Padmé fight more and more and he starts trying to push her away so he won't be abandoned. Obi-Wan notices his ex-padawan's ruthless tactics and tries to have a "chat" with him that only results in conflict between them.

Ahsoka, as the person who spends the most time with Anakin, is the most affected. He'll sometimes switch between praising her and yelling at her at the drop of a hat and she doesn't understand why. She tries to speak out against his more foolhardy and dangerous plans and it works... for a while.

Eventually, Padmé gets fed up with the stress of war and fighting with her husband at the same time and decides they should take a break. That same day, he and Obi-Wan have another fight.

The next day, Anakin and Ahsoka are going over a plan of attack in which he intends to use the Separatist locals as hostages and "human" shields. Ahsoka, naturally, speaks out against it, saying that "just because they're Separatists doesn't mean we can do whatever we want with them!"

It's the straw that breaks the camel's back.

In his mind, she's sympathizing with the enemy, which means she's a Separatist Sympathizer, which means she's a Separatist, which means she's a spy. He draws his lightsaber and accuses her of treason. "If you're not with me, then you're my enemy."

Ahsoka is suffering emotional whiplash because DAMN, that escalated quickly. She was just trying to avoid committing a war crime and now her master is threatening to kill her? She knows he's been a little irrational lately, so she draws her own lightsabers in case she has to defend herself.

Anakin takes this as confirmation of her treachery and attacks.

Ahsoka comms Rex and tells him to set weapons to stun and be ready for them. Anakin is so consumed by his anger at her perceived betrayal that he ignores everything she says.

She draws him out to where Rex and the men are waiting. They stun him and take him to the brig. Kix declares him medically unfit for duty, Ahsoka takes temporary command, and they head to Coruscant.

Anakin (who has calmed down significantly from his rage/paranoia episode and now feels horrible about it) goes straight to the healing halls and speaks to a mind healer. He gets diagnosed quickly and begins therapy immediately.

(and Palpatine is exposed and caught and everyone lives happily ever after please?)

[tanoraqui]

hello wonderful children, it's esoteric scifi/fantasy book rec time!!

Why You Should Reach the Paradox trilogy by Rachel Bach, a list by me:

Scifi action-adventure romance

The basic premise of this series is that Devi (Deviana Morris) is a professional space mercenary who really wants to be one of her god-king's elite guard/agents of badassery...but in order to get tapped for a thing like that, she needs to boost her resume. So she deliberately takes a job on an "unassuming" little trade ship notorious for having bad lethally luck.

in narrative terms, this means taking her Book 1 Protagonist self and becoming a supporting character in someone else's...you know the phase late in the series when a Protagonist has made most of their defining moral choices, gathered their team of loyal misfits, and they do more monster-of-the-week adventures than we clearly see on page, until suddenly the series finale starts? Devi walks into that. And then the series finale starts, with her in the middle, completely stealing Caldswell's Protagonist slot.

Devi "there's no point in doing something if you don't commit to it 110%" Morris

Devi "wow, this child soldier thing you've got going is DEEPLY fucked up. thank goodness my military-obssessed planet where we all know it'd be an honor to give our lives for our saint-king is nothing like that" Morris

(Arguably the narrative backs this up, but because it's all 1st person pov, I'd argue Devi just never picks up on the hypocrisy. Also, the others guys ARE doing much more fucked up things than some sketchy absolute monarchy and required military service.)

Devi "shut up, you do NOT get to decide if I forgive you. I decide that, and I do. Forgive you. But also I'm NOT in love, I can handle this on my own but I can't afford any weakness; shut up and stop being hot and dedicated near me" Morris

Relatedly, Rupert "the concept of not committing to something 110% is inherently incomprehensible to me, so I guess now I'm committing treason and following this madwoman's lead to hell and back" Charkov

Tbh in book 1, I was like, "I get why he's falling head over heels for her, but I feel like she skipped right from 'he's badass, usually nice, and REALLY hot' to 'oh no I'm in love.'" But by the end of book 2, I was on board. You see, they're simply BOTH categorically insane.

I CANNOT get over him being named "Rupert" though. This author makes the hottest possible man - tall, thin-but-muscular, soft hair and piercing blue eyes! sexy accent! spoilers but let's just say he's VERY lethal and monsterfucking isn't out of question! And he cooks! And then to balance all of this, she names him the LEAST sexy thing possible.

for those who want The Representation Facts: it's heterosexual romance, nothing too novel about it, but complex female protagonist who fights fiercely to maintain her agency, despite the efforts of most of the people around her. A lot of the plot centered around giving some young women back their stolen agency, actually. There's 2 gender-nonconforming characters, and they're both aliens but they're GNC in ways suited to their own cultures, not human, which I thought was pretty neat? Race doesn't come up, iirc more people are described as pale than not but some are dark-skinned and some just aren't described. Uhh no disability rep except arguing with medical(ish) professionals who think they know best but are just assholes…what else do you want. Woman has guns, armor, flaming sword, rage.

The books are Fortune's Pawn, Honor's Knight, and Heaven's Queen. They're not full of great themes or stunning writing, but they're full of well-paced intrigue, action, and morally suspect people making what they're convinced in the best choice for the greatest good. I read all 3 in the space of about 48 hours.

Devi "stop trying to explain chess to me and tell me what's actually going on" Morris

Devi "if my beloved armor is marred one more time, I'm going to kill everyone on this ship and then myself" Morris

I really enjoyed that the moral position it landed on was, “doing something terrible to save billions of lives when you have no other options IS okay. The sin is never looking for a better solution, but rather doubling down on maintaining the terrible thing.” I think that’s a wonderful and probably correct gray position. Often the many IS more important than the one, or even than the few…but you can’t just settle in grittiness. You have to hope and work for something better.

Author Rachel Bach is known as Rachel Aaron when she writes fantasy, and I'm gonna go hunt down some of that, now.

[hello-nichya-here]

Could you go more in-depth about the Zucest Arranged Marriage after they return from Ba Sing Se? Or at least that's what I think it was you mentioned.

I've mentioned the possibility a few times because I do love that scenario, so HELL YEAH, I can go into some more detail

The basics of this idea is that Ozai was very impressed by his kids’ accomplishments (conquering Ba Sing Se, killing the Avatar, essentially ending the war, capturing Iroh, finding out about the invasion that will happen during the eclipse) and comes to the conclusion that it is in his best interest for Zuko and Azula to always work as a team. He decides that marriage will be the best way for this since it practically forces them to work together, assures there’ll be no treason after an heir is chosen since this will have then both as his heirs in a way, and guarantees that no overly ambitious noble-men or woman will be able to marry into royalty and kill the actual royals after having an heir or two. 

He starts considering that possibility as soon as he hears about Ba Sing Se, and by the time they’re home it won’t be long before the wedding takes place, whether they agree to it or not. That leads to a few possibilities:

If they’re already in love and their family has a history of incest

This is, ironically, the one that is gonna end up pissing Ozai off the most, despite being the one that allows his plan to play out as smoothly as possible (at first). With no drama that could stop or delay their marriage, they’d just enjoy finally being happy and loved for once, and they’d be very protective of/loyal to each other - to the point that when Zuko decides to leave the Fire Nation, he doesn’t hesitate to tell his sister-wife, who will go with him, leaving Ozai humiliated, without heirs, and knowing that his prodigy daughter will be helping the Avatar with firebending.

The Gaang doesn’t really know how to feel about the whole incest thing, but these two weird royals are their only real chance of winning the war, so they’ll put up with it, and be surprised to find that they actually like the two walking fire hazards. They help Aang as much as possible, and once he defeats their father, they’ll rule their nation side by side, their reign being suported by pretty much everyone both in and out of the Fire Nation because they’re just they know to create that ballance between “Scary, powerful rulers of a scary, powerful nation” and “The honorable, merciful King and Queen that are key to keeping the peace”

If they’re not in love yet, but their family has a history of incest

They're gonna be a little surprised by their father's decision... but not that much, and mostly just because they didn't expect Zuko to be on his good graces so fast. Despite not having feelings for each other yet, I don't see either of them objecting - Zuko proved himself worthy Azula, she is the reason he is home, and due to their family's history they grew up knowing that was a possibility. They're still gonna bicker and have second thoughts every now and again, but mostly they'll be getting along just fine, and it won't take long for them to start falling for each other.

Once Zuko leaves the Fire Nation, either Azula is going with him like in the first scenario, or The Last Agni Kai will be him trying to convince her to give up on Ozai and be his queen. Even if she refuses and he has to defeat her, he will not want to end their marriage, and it will be only a matter of time for her to go back home with him.

If they’re already in love, but their family has no history of incest

This is pure CHAOS. For them, for Ozai, for the Fire Nation, for the Gaang - everyone. Their father basically gave them the green light to go “Fuck tradition, fuck morality, fuck compromise, fuck anything that is trying to get on the way of our love.” They’re incredibly commited to that idea of “We’re the only two people that matter” and everyone in the Fire Nation is scared - scared enough that they know not to openly oppose their union. Ozai only didn’t give up on the plan because, well, you kind of can’t do that after you just randomly decided to force everyone to accept an incestuous marriage and threatened to kill anyone who tried to ruin your plans. You especially cannot let it show that your two children low-key terrify you. He’s actually relieved when they both change sides, and once he is in prison he can at least rest assured that those dumbasses are the Avatar’s problem now, not his.  

Speaking of the Avatar, the Gaang sees the fire siblings less like friends (despite liking them) and more like the almost completely unhinged incestuous couple that just happens to be on their side and whose help they accepted out of sheer desperation. They help end the war, but they’re a fucking manace the second anyone so much as gives them a minimally disgusted look. They’ll “find out” about Azula’s pregnancy on the day of Sozin’s comet, and say it was a blessing and a sign that they ARE meant to rule the Fire Nation (either Azula found out about it a little before that day, or they started trying to concieve around that time, be it before of after the actual day, so no one can prove anything anyway). The whole world is SOOOOO glad Aang managed to teach them some pacifist ideals because otherwise they would have likely started a new war against anyone who they so much as imagined could be against their love.

If they’re not in love yet and their family has no history of incest

By far the one that has things playing out a bit more simmilar to canon. They're both gonna be furious and miserable, but there's nothing they can do. Disobeying their father is not an option, and nobody is going to say no to the Fire Lord, no matter how obviously out of his mind he is. Life at the palace is going to be hell until the wedding night. After that they're gonna be having hate sex every night, so they'll be more chill.

Zuko is going to leave by himself on the day of the eclipse, and they'll have a battle "to the death" like in the show, but Zuko will try to help her recuperate after her breakdown, and eventually they'll end up realizing that there's just no one for them but each other.

[sourwormsaresour]

You dared me, and so I am here

ah, my favorite child of sorbet and gelato. i'm sorry but your parents still die in this au. but there's a slight difference! slight.

i mentioned this scenario in a post before, but in this au sorbet and gelato (renamed sorbetto and stracciatello) aren't in la squadra together. instead, stracciatello is a part of a team named hitman team #99 and sorbetto is a part of a team named hitman team #47.

not much is known about sorbetto and stracciatello besides who they were in canon. they were rumored to be former enemies turned lovers that often preferred to do their own thing and both were charismatic enough to be beloved by their team members- even recruiting and mentoring a few of them while they were still alive. it is rumored that their stands combined are nearly invincible, though what the stands themselves are is still unknown. because they were lovers, teams #99 and #47 also ended up becoming closer with each other outside of work, bonding over shared interests and considering themselves as close friends as a result.

this isn't great for the boss, who believes that the two groups might also talk about taking over and possibly bring more people together if they're able to connect this well. but sorbetto and stracciatello decided to find the identity of the boss themselves without telling their own teams of their plans, thinking that nothing bad would happen if they fail or were caught.

just like their canon counterparts, the two of them are killed and their bodies are found by their respective teams soon after. the boss decides to take advantage of this and ask both teams who was the actual mastermind. it didn't help that various rumors within the syndicate and local communities began to spread regarding what had happened and who was responsible for committing such an act of treason. soon enough, #99 and #47 began distrusting each other, claiming that their team is innocent and that their beloved team member was actually coerced by the other side to betray passione. the boss also encouraged this breakdown by promising whatever team could convince him that they were innocent would be spared from further punishment and humiliation. in the end, #47 was able to win back favor and #99 became the scapegoat.

#47 was able to convince the boss that sorbetto was coerced by straciatello's team to betray passione in order to protect his team and playing it off to make it look like sorbetto was more of a martyr than a traitor. by now, the friendship that the two teams used to have are non-existent and no one realized that neither sides were actually at fault. everyone was too busy mourning for their lost member. stracciatello's death affected his team the most. because he was "proven" to be the instigator, passione refused to fund a proper burial and many teams still view him badly for his apparent action of betraying his own lover.

it wasn't until word about the boss's daughter that team #99 realized they can not only seek revenge for the humiliation they had to endure but also avenge their fallen member. team #99 wasn't a pawn for passione anymore. they were going by a new name, which came from their own leader, instead: team bucciarati.

plot twist.

[goldens0422]

How Anakin and Padmé would've ruled the Empire

So, obviously, we've seen many, many fanfictions and AUs about Padmé joining Anakin and ruling the Empire with him. They've all given their takes on how their Empire would go, and this is no different.

So, without further ado, here's my take (this'll be pretty long):

If Padmé joins Anakin, he'll be a lot more composed once he faces Obi-Wan, and something tells me Padmé would've just shot Obi-Wan before the two could begin their duel (sorry, Obi, but at least you're not necessarily dead). Padmé gives birth like normal, so Luke and Leia are pretty alright.

Anakin's still very much pissed off by the Jedi, so he won't let any of the surviving Jedi return and will still have them on their hitlist, but instead of saying that the Jedi committed treason, he'll simply say that the Jedi failed to protect the galaxy, so he and Padmé will do it themselves. That's also his explanation for his hatred towards the Jedi to Padmé.

Anakin, however, will eventually put a bounty on Ahsoka in the hopes to get to her, with an "Alive Only" condition along with stating his genuine intentions to get to her.

Once he is sure Padmé, Luke, and Leia are alright, he'll excuse himself to make an official announcement.

By this point, he'll reveal his marriage to Padmé and name her his Empress, explain the Jedi's failure, open up the military force to the population, put Padmé in charge of the Imperial Senate, and establish a new Order for Force Sensitives, but of course, the people registered into that Order will be allowed to form attachments and get to know their parents (let's call it the Skywalker Order)

Eventually, Ahsoka will be found and brought in, and Anakin will explain everything. She appears super reluctant at first but will eventually give in to her gripes with the Jedi Order and join Anakin. She'll be the Master of the Skywalker Order, only behind Anakin who is the Grandmaster.

Anakin will return to Padmé, and she'll be a tad bit confused as she fell asleep after giving birth. He'll explain that he was now the Emperor and she was now the Empress and that they could make their dreams come true, whatever they were.

Anakin and Padmé will live in Padmé's apartment for a while. Anakin will manage just about every part of the Empire for a bit as Padmé takes baby duties. She'll also eventually meet Queen Jamilia who states that Naboo will remain loyal to the government. She'll resign from being Naboo's senator.

Anakin and Padmé will eventually meet the Naberrie family. All will wonder why Padmé suddenly sided with an Empire but will understand it at some point. Sola, Jobal, and most of the family will warm up to Anakin quickly, but Ruwee will remain skeptical for quite some time. However, eventually he'll warm up himself.

There'll be some assassination attempts on the two for a while, but people will eventually warm up to the Empire as Anakin continuously targets slavery across the galaxy. Like the brilliant couple that Anakin and Padmé is, they'll scuff out the rebellion with time.

Anakin will probably write the Skywalker Code at some point (with some help from Padmé to make it sound more poetic):

With passion, I am strong.

With peace, I am strong.

Passion fuels my heart, and peace fuels my mind.

With only heart, I am unwise.

With only mind, I am unkind.

Forever should I hold passion and peace, then forever will I be strong.

I will not shut away my emotions, I will control.

I will not be ran over by emotions, I will control.

Forever should I control, then forever will I be strong.

Forever am I strong.

The Skywalker Order will not expect all Force Sensitives to be in it, however, but all Force Sensitives should be expected to be registered as Force Sensitives and will be given basic training to control their inherent powers. Still, the Skywalker Order will be a whole lot better than the Jedi Order and Sith Order.

Once Padmé is a lot more capable of heavy workloads, Anakin will hand over the entirety of political affairs to her while he focuses more on the military affairs. Speaking of the military, he'll also make Ahsoka the Supreme Commander.

Anakin also eventually finds a way to scientifically slow down one's aging, and he uses the serum that his team developed on him and Padmé. The two are also considering using it on their children as it didn't have much drawbacks.

Once the two get really comfortable in their new Empire, they'll establish a dynasty, so the Skywalkers remain in power. Anakin and Padmé will also adopt Ahsoka because that's been one of their dreams for a while, but they won't decide who'll inherit their throne just yet.

So, now, we have:

His Majesty The Emperor (Anakin)

Her Majesty The Empress (Padmé)

His Royal Highness The Prince Luke

Her Royal Highness The Princess Leia

Her Royal Highness The Supreme Commander (Ahsoka)

Eventually, Anakin will get a hold of Yoda who would've reminded him of Ahsoka had she not sided with him, but she did so...Yoda just gets killed. Obi-Wan is possibly dead already, so no point in bothering with that.

Anakin and Padmé planned on having only one more child, but they loved each other too much and ended up having five (not that they didn't love the five so much).

Once Ahsoka reaches her late 40s, she'll step down from Supreme Commander and simply be the Master of the Order, and Luke becomes Supreme Commander. Leia eventually ascends to the throne and falls in love with Han.

Padmé established a rule that the sovereign can choose to either make their spouse a coregent or a consort. Leia makes Han a Prince Consort instead of Emperor (not that Han is salty about it or anything - it made sense).

All of their kids end up happily married because as much as they're all so different, they're all drop dead gorgeous.

While all that is going on, Anakin and Padmé, still drop dead gorgeous in their 60s, eventually step down and retire to a private vacation house temporarily as they sought to enjoy the rest of their lives together.

[lycienne]

Idea for a Jacob/Staci fic

Jacob still has Staci captured, but doesn't condition him or anything. At first, he's just confined to a room (maybe even one with an arcade) gets regular meals ect. When Staci promises Jacob that he won't run away he becomes kind if Jacob's assistant. Staci follows him everywhere, taking notes, commands some of the lower level soldiers when Jacob has no time for that, runs errands which doesn't involve leaving the Veterans Center's grounds.

Somewhere along that way they become attracted to each other. Jacob is happy having someone around who has his own mind, doesn't just follow his orders, who isn't just grossed out by him and most importantly isn't related to him. Staci is stubborn and rolls his eyes when Jacob starts again with his religious ramblings and is the only one to point out that Jacob doesn't even believe them himself. But he's clever enough not to cross a line since Joseph has his spies everywhere.

Staci on the other hand is happy that Jacob respects him, treats him well (compared to what he has heard about Hudson and Burke) gives him a certain amount of freedom. Jacob protects him from jealous cultists who don't like the idea that a "prisoner" gets more access to a herald than they get (Jacob even shot one of his chosen who attempted to kill Staci, and proceeded to yell that anyone else trying to commit treason would face a much harsher punishment).

Later, Jacob would take Staci with him when meeting with his brothers and Faith, much to their surprise. He justifies it by saying he needs someone to check that Faith doesn't but any Bliss in his food and drinks, that he doesn't trust his soldiers enough to keep Staci safe while he's gone. Staci is a hostage after all, and if one of his soldiers might "accidentally" hurt or kill him they might lose an important gambling point to the resistance which so far has maintained a low profile in the Whitetail Mountains compared to the other regions of Hope County.

The fact that Jacob just likes having Staci around conveniently falls under the table. When time goes by, Jacob relies on Staci, who has proven himself loyal to him (and be it only to save his life) more and more. Since Staci is around Jacob at almost all times, it's inevitable that he witnessed a PTSD breakdown, most likely when they are alone finishing some documents for Joseph after a hard day of training new recruits.

It's the first time Staci sees Jacob cry, apologizing to some guy named Miller, and cursing over and over again that he just wants a normal fucking life. Staci tries to comfort Jacob by awkwardly padding his back, but it doesn't take long for Jacob to pull him into his lap and hug him like Staci is some kind of teddy bear replacement. Staci just let's it happen, hell he even hugs Jacob back, he just can't stand the sight of the person who has had so much mercy on him crying. Shortly after that Jacob tells Staci everything. There's news out that the rookie deputy has killed Faith and is moving to his region next, for some reason sparing John.

Jacob wants Staci to know that he (Jacob) has to die to fulfill his brothers prophecy,that his life doesn't matter, that Staci has to flee to John's region once he's dead, so he can be saved. And God, how Jacob wants Staci to be saved. If anyone deserves to walk through Eden's Gate, it's him.

Staci of course is furious. He knows that Joseph is manipulating Jacob and he knows that Jacob knows he's being manipulated by his brother. Jacob is a monster, maybe even a psychopath (although Staci doesn't believe that for a second) and Staci did his hardest in trying to hate him, but it didn't work. Both of them have danced around each other for so long it's almost heartbreaking. And Staci snaps. He walks over to Jacob, pulls his head down and kisses him. Tells him Jacob won't him to sacrifice himself, that he will stop him, no matter the cost. Jacob doesn't know if he should laugh or cry and decides just to kiss Staci back as if his life depended on it.

A few weeks later that theory should be tested, as Rook has come to kill Jacob while he and Staci where patrolling the area. Jacob went alone went the first noticed Rook, telling his chosen to restrain Staci until he came back (not that Jacob was planning to return, since he was aware that the time to fulfill his brothers prophecy had come). For the first time in years Jacob prays to God, thanking him for his time with Staci and begging him to keep Staci safe should to collapse really come.

Staci, on the other hand, struggles and finally breaks free out of the chosens's grip, just to run after Jacob. He finds both Rook and Jacob on a nearby hilltop pointing guns at each other. That God nobody is hurt yet, but how things are going, that's only a matter of seconds. At some point Staci thinks he's getting suicidal, too, when he steps between the two. Both Rook and Jacob are startled since they were so caught up in the chase they didn't even realize Staci was coming.

That's the dumbest thing he's done in his life, Staci is sure of that, but he can't just have Jacob sacrificing himself, not here, not yet, not ever. Despite what he has done. There's a curious disconnect in Staci's brain between Jacob the herald and Jacob the person. Jacob the herald might be a monster, evil, a psychopath and everything else people say about him, but Jacob the person isn't. Jacob the person is a soldier who wanted a family to come home to, who's happy when he has people to protect who love and cherish him or what he does, who spends hours hunting just to find the perfect animal for his brother to stuff.

When Staci dares Rook to shoot him to get to Jacob, all three of them are shocked. Rook, because he couldn't believe his colleague would risk his life for a certifiable monster, Jacob, because Staci actually managed to escape his chosen and tries to protect him with his life rather than running straight into the arms of the resistance and finally Staci, because his brain caught up with his actions.

Rook was the first one to come to his senses, shouting for Staci to get out of the way, get somewhere safe, "until that problem is solved". He doesn't physically move or try to get Staci away from Jacob though. Staci knows at this point it's all or nothing. In seconds Jacob will awake out of whatever stasis he's in and shove him out of the way. Staci wants to explain everything but theres no time, so he acts. He turns around and kisses Jacob with all that he's got. All that he wants to say in one action. Are here tears on his face? Staci doesn't know, doesn't care. Either he and Jacob both survive the next seconds, minutes or they don't. It's simple as that. "I'm sorry Rook, I love him, I just love Jacob", is all he manages to say and he means it. Staci doesn't even realize it's the first time he confessed his love to Jacob.

At that moment the world suddenly starts to move again. Jacob grabs his hand and runs. Through the forest, away from Rook. Staci faintly hears shouts and gunshots in the distance, but he doesn't care. He runs and runs and runs next to Jacob until they arrive in one of his hiding places. "We have to talk to Joseph", is all that Jacob says between hastily shared kisses full of love and desire. When Staci asks him later why, his only answer is "because I want to live". For some reason that makes Staci happier than anything else.

It's only been two days and they're on the way to John's bunker to meet with Joseph, since John's ranch had been taken by the resistance and Joseph's compound had been abandoned by the time the reaping started. Jacob and Staci have barely set foot in the bunker when the bombs drop. The Peggies are quiet. Staci is quiet. John and Rook, who stand next to each other for some reason Staci doesn't want to know, are quiet. "I was right", Joseph says into the silence, "I was right".

During the following days Staci learns q lot if things. That Rook took so long to take Faith down and get to him was John's fault, for example, because he wouldn't stop messing with Rook, in ways Staci didn't want any further explanation.

Staci also learned from Rook that it wasn't some God who decided to punish humanity, but that WW3 just happened, and Staci wasn't sure which was worse. Either way, he punched Joseph right in the face during one of their "family dinners", for making all of them suffer so much. Jacob wasn't pleased but Staci didn't care at this moment.

The last thing that Staci learned was that all of the Seeds bunkers were connected and that radio transmission was still possible. That meant two things: he could contact his still lost colleagues he learned fled to a bunker called "Wolf's Den" and that a sizable number of people survived the bombing. For the first time in his life he was happy preppers existed.

And after everything, Jacob was alive, he was alive and his friends were alive. That was all that counted in this moment. Staci didn't now what the future would look like, he just was happy that he could share it with Jacob.

PS: If anyone wants to use this plot go for it, I'd be honored (Just tell me before because I'd read the heck out of that). I just love the idea of Jacob and Staci having a relationship that doesn't involve torture or brainwashing or conditioning. Both my babies deserve better than what they got.