dead weight, /ˈded ˈˌwāt/, noun -a heavy or oppressive burden or responsibility. -something that makes it difficult for development, progress, or change to happen. --- Where should I even begin? Where did it all go wrong? Our moment of triumph was so fleeting it might as well have been nonexistent. We had lost more than we could have ever gained then. And just where are we supposed to go from here? Do we keep going, headfirst into certain death? Do we give up and run away like cowards? Is there even anything that can be done now? Despite all this, I hold but a shred of hope within me still. It's small. But it's there. Here's hoping it doesn't wither away with the rest of me. --- (a rewriting of Madness, about an AU in which Jesse contracts wither sickness following the events of episode 3.) content warning for mild language.