Letters Lost in Time - Karl Jacobs

Diary Entry #...4

The fire is familiar.

I guess it makes sense. From years of hiding under fluffy sweaters and oversized hoodies, from nights of curling up by another's side, from days passing by with warmth blooming in my chest as I spend them with my fiancés. I always had an aversion to the cold, always tended to cling to heat and its comfort. It's no wonder the fire is familiar when I'm surrounded constantly by it, by the conflagrations of war and destruction and the flames of love and affection. It's no wonder the fire is familiar when I let myself get burned by it, when I partake in the conflict that brings nations to ashes, when I let my love swallow me whole and my affections consume me.

But, even under the blistering heat of the wild west, there's a distinct warmth that the sun itself doesn't bring.

His demeanor. His fiery, fervid personality. His loud words wielded like flashy weapons and his pride overflowing from bottomless pools of self-confidence. The inferno that makes up who he is, the towering firestorm that plainly defines his aggressive and uncouth self. The way he simply jumps into any situation, into people's lives with neither decorum nor grace like the unforgiving nature of fire that pays no heed to anything beyond physical barriers. Like a flame, he will go wherever he can. Like a flame, he will burn down the adversaries in his path. Like a flame, he will seep through the crevices of your heart and find his home in the volatile nature of human emotions.

Jack was awfully familiar, I learned. As for his companion...

His eyes. His sparkling, twinkling windows to the soul. His lazy smirk meant to mask his inherent danger and his charisma oozing from an endless stream of allure. The blaze that makes up who he is, the small embers that deceive the true intensity of his passionate and determined self. The way he simply remains unbothered, remains laid-back and lax like the unyielding nature of fire that pays no heed to anything attempting to quell its incandescence. Like a flame, he will do whatever he wants. Like a flame, he will burn constant to prove his undying tenacity. Like a flame, he will not cease to flood you with his comforting warmth and drown you in the heat of his intense and vehement sentiments.

Of course, Mason was no exception.

They are like two sides to fire, one free inferno to one controlled blaze. The fleeting to the constant, the flashy to the restrained. They are like the two halves of my heart, one burnt to the ground from the ardent and the other cradled in constant heat from the gentle. Like a flame, they burn and like a flame, they die.

His now quiet demeanor. His now lifeless eyes. Their now dead bodies, sprawled on the ground. The liquid crimson of their fervid lives drip down to stain the earth with their blood. The inferno had been calmed down and the blaze had been extinguished, the latter by my own hand. I admit I had initially been blinded by rage, by animosity and self-righteousness. However, it doesn't change that firing the bullet like a shot in the dark had brought me the light and finally cleared up the fog in my mind. The clarity brought upon by the resounding peace is startling, to say the least.

It's not entirely impossible, if anything it's actually quite likely. If time travel is possible and a sentient bloodthirsty egg can exist, then surely this can. It should come as no surprise to me that people have multiple incarnations, some even may end up as their direct ancestors or descendants. Had I thought about it just a bit sooner, I would recognize that I had already met reincarnations or ancestors of people I know. Technoblade's signature monotone sarcasm and regality is clearly present in the sheriff and Sir Billiam, Bad's general kindness and passive nature can be found in William and Lord Sebastian, and so on.

What comes as a surprise, however, is how I can never seem to fail to fall in love with all incarnations of my fiancés.

In hindsight, that is probably why Drew and James were so familiar and magnetic. Fate had brought us together once again, and like a fool I am drawn to what my heart holds dear. I recognize Quackity's rowdiness and sharp intellect in both Drew and Jack, and I recognize Sapnap's charm and unwavering prowess in both James and Mason. I recognize them, and I cannot help but fall in love all over again.