#anyway as andrea pointed out in tags on the original ask..

[dreamings-free]

Im not that anon but I remember Bebe gave an interview when she was in UK few years ago and they asked about Louis and she said that he hasn’t answered her texts/calls for a long time. So that anon didn’t lie

hmm.. I’m still gonna need a link or something but thanks for you message, anon

[imogenkol]

— WIP MUSIC MONDAY

I was tagged by quite a few people for wip wednesday last week, so I’ll just put out my tag list today (ask to be added or removed!): @adelaidedrubman @florbelles @marivenah @simonxriley @shegetsburned @voidika @kyber-infinitygems @v0idbuggy @inafieldofdaisies @statichvm @socially-awkward-skeleton @aceghosts @carlosoliveiraa @risingsh0t @unholymilf @thedeadthree @cassietrn @jackiesarch @gwynbleidd @shellibisshe @loriane-elmuerto @katsigian

once again I have been reworking out of date writing for my original works and I always had a soft spot for this moment between my little wolf sisters. This song really hit with it too.

“This way,” Jayde said over her shoulder as she led her sister through the cemetery. 

Graveyards. Cemeteries. Jayde never really learned the distinction, if there was any. Nor had she really contemplated their purpose before she visited this one.

Blades of sheer morning sunlight carved through the clouds to illuminate moss covered stone with engravings nearly too weathered to be legible and with likely no one even alive to recall who they belonged to anyway. She didn't see the point. Whether a mundane grave or a supernatural being, all things fade. The lifespan of a memory is as impermanent as they are. Still, their bloodline should have lasted a lot longer than it had. In a less violent world, maybe they would have been given the chance. 

“So…” Skye dragged the word out slowly as she weaved through the headstones. “Whose grave are we visiting?”

Jayde rolled the stem of a rose between her fingers and barely reacted to the small puncture that the thorn made into her thumb. The one in her palm had already started to knit itself back together in the short time it took to purchase the flowers and take them here. Jayde needed the small sting to ground her. She knew Skye had started to work it out as soon as they pulled into the driveway. Why else would they return home? 

She handed one of the two roses she carried to her sister with a melancholy smile. “Ours.”

“Oh,” was all Skye replied with for several paces. The older sibling sensed the steady rise of her fear until Skye couldn’t handle the silence anymore. “Are we shopping for a nice plot for when we get our tickets punched? ‘Cause I always thought I’d be cremated and have my ashes spread somewhere dreamy like Hawaii. Or Dollywood.”

For once, Jayde felt grateful for the younger wolf’s unabashed wit. It alleviated some of the anxiety twisting up her insides. The first time Jayde visited this spot with Nadya, she had become so overwhelmed that she couldn’t decide if it tore her apart even more or actually started to put her back together. She feared for how her sister would react. 

“Actually, I was gonna kill you,” she replied dryly.

“I knew it,” Skye said with a snap of her fingers. “Is this about the time I scratched up your favorite CD when we were kids? You never really forgave me for that.”

Jayde fought the urge to point out that it had been the very first one she burned with the help of their father, but she only scoffed and said “Everything comes back to bite you eventually.”

Just then, a familiar headstone came into view. One big enough to fit a family of names on its cold, glossy black face. Jayde’s palms grew numb and sweaty. She shook her free hand and wiped it off on her jeans, leaving a small streak of blood on the fabric. A few steps closer and every muscle in her body tensed as if it anticipated a heavy strike to her face. She wished it was that kind of pain. It would make her feel better. 

The sisters came to a stop before the stone. Four names had only endured the test of time for a decade, making them as easy to read as a common street sign. 

Tristan and Andrea Thatcher engraved in bold letters with Jayde and Skye in a slightly smaller font below them. Along with the exact date Jayde witnessed a bullet pierce through her father’s temple. 

It hadn’t seemed real at first. Jayde experienced plenty of nightmares with an image just like this. To know it really existed reminded her that everything else had been very real, too, and it all just felt like the inescapable horror of her loss – a suffering that would never truly end. Not until she actually gets buried beneath the well kept soil she now stood upon. 

Once the shock of seeing it again passed, Jayde felt a different emotion. Not quite comfort, but an understanding. She could see the appeal of a gravesite. Strangely, she felt grateful to have a specific place to mourn her family in what little peace she had been granted. 

Skye stared at the gravestone in silence for a long time. Then she sank to her knees before it and reached out to trace her fingertips along the engraving of their mother’s name. “How did you know this was here?” she asked in a small voice, not unlike a child’s.

“Nadya found it,” Jayde explained. “The official story is that we all died in a car crash.”

“They aren’t even here, are they?” There was no question in Skye’s tone. She knew the answer.

“I don’t think so. Maybe dad is.” The thought gave Jayde pause. What use would the hunters have for a dead werewolf? He hadn’t even died in the more desirable form, so they must have left him for authorities to find and back up the story of an accident. If that were the case, then he could very well be buried here. Their mother, on the other hand, died long after that night. Jayde’s mouth went dry as her mind went through sickening scenarios for the disposal of her body once their barbaric research proved fatal. She shook her head to banish the thoughts. “I’m pretty sure mom isn’t.”  

“I guess it doesn’t really matter.” Skye placed the rose at the base of the stone. “I’m still glad that this is here.”

Jayde set her rose beside the other and sat next to her sister. “Me too.”

Sunlight shifted as the clouds traveled onward and the scent of coming rain and damp earth brought Jayde back home to the ranch only a handful of miles away. On a morning like this, she would have been rushing to get outdoor chores done before the storm made it too miserable. At least that’s how her mother put it. But Jayde had been known to work through torrents of rain just to step inside and have her father clap her on the back as he expressed his pride. His music sounded the best on nights like that. 

Before Jayde knew it, deep shame replaced the tendrils of grief inside her gut.

She broke the silence with a deep breath. “I never told you why it took me so long to come for you after I got out.”

Skye finally tore her tear streaked gaze away from the gravestone, but she kept her eyes down. “Yeah, you didn’t.”

“It wasn’t because I didn’t want us to be together. It’s just that… After everything, I wasn’t the same. I’m not the same. I was scared that you wouldn’t recognize me anymore. And if you didn’t, then they wouldn’t have,” Jayde nodded at the engraved names of their parents, “I couldn’t – I can’t handle disappointing any of you. I thought it might be better if you believed I died with them.”

“Jayde,” Skye started with a sigh. “I might not have gone through what you went through, but I still lost everything just like you did. Both of us are different. No matter how many times we change, I will always know who you are because you’re my big sister. That means they will always know you, too.”

The tears that welled in Jayde’s eyes fell as she tried to blink them away. They brought agony with them that felt just as earth-shattering as ever, but Jayde let herself feel it. She let it overtake her and choked out a devastating sob into the fabric of her sister’s jacket as she leaned into her. But it was okay, because just like the clouds above them, the shadow within her gave way to a warmth that made her feel safe. The embrace of her little sister reminded her that neither of them truly lost everything. They might be the last of their blood, but Jayde still had a family in her own little pack. It was more than enough to not only fight for, but to live for. She knew, not so deep down, that that is what would make their parents proud above all else. 

They stayed until the rain arrived. Jayde felt her grief weigh heavy in her chest once more as she turned her back on the headstone. It would be some time before they returned. A part of her whispered that she may never see it again. Yet, even if she didn’t, it would remain here. When moss creeps through the worn cracks decades from now, it would still be here.

[hoefette]

All the petty things I hate about fate!winx and their shitty universe/world building because

I'd added most if these in tags of other posts but I'm still so mad lmao

The way characters, Aisha and Mrs Dowling specifically make references to explicitly human or American things like instagram and Harry Potter

These people are from a different dimension for ffs why are they concerned with or are even aware of this very earth-specific shit? Do they teach earth classes at school over there?

I understand not wanting to have them be oblivious so Bloom wouldn't have to explain it to them, but it simply could be ✨omitted✨

Why would you go out of your way to date your work like this lmao ew

Ms. Dowling calling Tinkerbell an air fairy.. I cannot breeve with the stupidity why did they keep that in there

Why is Ms. Dowling.. the headmistress.. teaching classes? Where are the other teachers?

We ended up with a trio of antagonists (I guess you could call them that?) by the end of the season anyway so why not give us the trix, why have the characters play double roles as friends of our protagonists and also the villains/bullies? They clearly wanted a delinquent trio, in which case they could've gender bent the trix if they wanted to keep all the unnecessary sexual tension.

It just feels like the production team was lazy, they didn't want to hire more actors, they didn't want to bother with making the world immersive or lived in or believable at best, they just didn't give enough of a fuck

They wanted to make this show and attatch Winx to it for.. what? Like did you even google the main plot points? The abridged version or sparknotes to get details on the very literal, basic characteristics of our main characters or their roles or the world they inhabit????

It lacks wonder and intrigue.. I mean Bloom moves to another dimension, a school for fairies and we don't see her marvel once at anything.. and that's because she might as well have been in Switzerland because she's in exactly the same environment she would've been in over there anyway.

They could've said Alfea was in Europe and I'd believe it because nothing about the setting makes it feel otherworldly. I'm sorry but I'm not impressed.

Why do the teachers and graduated specialists communicate via facetime ?? In the magic dimension. ??? Why do they text each other and those texts then appear on screen like .. oh look, like a bad netflix teen movie ????? HELLO ??? it's the way technology and magic could've blended in so seamless into the world THE WAY IT WAS ALREADY DONE/SHOWN. Missed opportunity. it just takes you out of it imo every time you see the ugly, bland, gray text bar. Some fucking flavour pls I'm begging

How stupid the specialist must feel clonking around with the skinniest shreds of armor, plastic swords on their backs and battery powered flashlights and cellphones in their bags. R we larping?? I know I'd be laughing and asking why we hadn't already come up with something more effective .. idk like guns. I'm surprised I ain't see one gun in there.

In the beginning Ms. Dowling says some nonsense about fairies having lost the ability to transform to explain why there are no wings, which means they could've transformed before. So are we to assume that this supposed to be set in the time proceeding the original then?? Because something is not adding up with where they should be as a magical society technologically if that's the case

How does the production team want to keep the dark academia vibes with torches lining the walls and also want them to be face timing each other, presumably from miles and miles away in the dark forest???

Pls pick an aesthetic and stick to it everything was so unnecessarily dark. Where do they charge their phones since it's the only device we see that is the slightest bit modern and dont fucking tell me they charge it with magic I will punch you in the face

Why is there only one major monarchy that we are shown? Why are Solaria the only ones contributing to the efforts to defend the school and where is this mysterious battalion we never see lmaoo it's all so bad its laughable.

Is this set in the kingdom of Solaria? And why does the queen of an alleged interdimensional superpower monarchy pull up in black SUVs??????????? Why does she pull up with Andreas?? Is he not the king of Erakleon?? Where are his soldiers and his battalion and just?? Huh!? The world just feels empty like nobody lives here fr

Are we supposed to believe that the specialists get paired up with fairies just as a normal occurence and that they have to 'trust each other' and not because the plot demands it suddenly half way through when all we've seen so far are the fairies doing normalish school and homework, and the specialists outside, being physical everyday all day. This was never even implied that they'd have to work together apart from when we see the faculty as youngins with Rosalind. But even then.. it's like well why are they even together lmao? Is this a special team formed from Rosalind’s protégées? Were they formed after graduating from Alfea or what is this?? Are they the ONLY team of specialist/fairies hunting every single burned one?? What?

Are we now supposed to buy that Musa is being switched to 'support' because that's where her strengths lie and not in combat?? Are we supposed to believe that these girls know hand to hand combat?? When was this established? We see Terra wrapping some baby vines around a dude and I'm sorry is that the practical application of her power? Is this what the fairies are supposed to do once they graduate? Or is it just a switch in curriculum because of the threats outside the barrier?? This is never made clear.

Because if not then what's the point of this?? Why do they suddenly have endless classes together when the expectation was never set for the fairies to be like soldiers or out in the field fighting ?

Where exactly are they supposed to be what was the purpose of including Aster Dell and why is it a joy ride away from Alfea lmao?? Where Bloom is from and also not from?? Plot pls make it make sense

Why are fairies from another dimension vaping or smoking weed?? They are not human so why are they engaging in specifically human vices, yol couldn't come up with anything else to characterize 'delinquents'?? Very lazy very como se dices.. no effort. Nothing a little more spicy yol could invent, at least change the name and some properties holy shit did yol even try ??

So its fairies everywhere, having a lil party in the east wing of a phat castle.. and they are playing beer pong and dressed in t shirts and jeans..

Can you hear me screaming? Can you hear me vibrating with rage?

Not one floating decoration or magical anything in sight. Just purple lights and subpar vibes

Stella's costume design: tragic. I won't discuss further because we don't have the space or time but just know that it was absolutely atrocious and I hated it. Giving very debutante vibes

The entire budget going to that lame transformation sequence that was not a transformation sequence and those horrible, barely-there fire wings

Edgelord bloom and all her fucking leather jackets. Why do 30 yo, white cis men think girls exist in a binary? They could keep her earlier characterization and make her a hothead.. Bloom literally screamed herself into a couple power upgrades in the original come ooonnnn

Let girls be feminine without it being a character flaw what is wrong with yol its 2021. They could make her more mature, more angsty or whatever the hell else and not style her like that

The way Aisha's abilities flipflop between episodes and scenes. Very inconsistent. One minute she's struggling with a drop of water and the next she is moving an entire body of water for her bestie Bloom to fake transform because the plot demands it. Why even add in her struggles at all if you're just going to ignore it?

Why was Stella with them in that scene? She didn't do anything literally.. Aisha pulled the water and she did .. nothing.

Who the fuck is Rosalind? Why would they add her in,, to add nothing to story? The company of light was a thing, they could've plucked one of them hoes to be the antagonist. Why did the winx club need their own Delores Umbridge? Valtor was right there if you wanted an evil educator type character.

The camera work was so bland during the down beats, stagnant and fixed during a fairy party and erratic and ugly and disorienting during the fight scenes

I'm not getting over the fairy party because it was a good opportunity for the production and everyone else to show the differences between where Bloom was and where she is now but instead it just looks like a regular teen high school party?? This could have been set in Switzerland fr.

Everyone's just kind of standing?? You mean to tell me these people are from all different places in the magical dimension and their customs are all the same? They all throw parties like this ??

White and flavorless I am very bored

I guess the main question or takeaway I have is just.. who is this for? Because everyone, including the showrunners keep saying that it's for us, the fans of the original. But apart from the characters sharing some names, there are really no other similarities. So again, who was this supposed to appease or placate or satisfy? Because it sure as hell wasn't the winx club fans.

Overall, this feels very much like something I wrote and probably published on ff.net when I was 13 because I thought girls couldn't be taken seriously if they liked pink, and injected angst into everything that didn't need it and had no idea how to structure scenes or dialogue. It's just bad, objectively and N*tflix will keep making shit like this because apparently some people have bad taste??? Idk yol, be easy

[twdeadlysins]

What Lies Ahead: Part Three

Season two, episode one (3/3)

Pairing: Eventual Daryl Dixon and Reader

Word Count: 5,422

Warnings: Slow burn, minor mention of character death, mention of attempted suicide, the usual walking dead violence, language, blood, and such with possible typos.

Author’s Note: I don’t own anything from The Walking Dead, so all credit goes to their respective owners. This is a twd series rewrite with the reader inserted into the mix. I did and will continue to use dialogue from the actual show because I want it to be similar to what you’ve already watched, but obviously have the reader in it.

If you want to be (un)tagged for this series rewrite, don’t hesitate to send me an ask, message me, or leave a comment and I’ll add/remove you. The same goes for any other fics! I’m in no way, shape, or form a writer. Any feedback is appreciated, but hate is a different story. Thank you and enjoy!

The gifs I use aren’t mine, so all credit goes to their respective owners. 

With tumblr being stupid and all, my Masterlist can be found linked in my bio to catch up or what not. Sorry for the inconvenience… hopefully this gets fixed soon.

Rick had discussed privately with you, Shane and Daryl about the four of you having permission to carry guns while the rest were going to be equipped with some other type of weapon that didn’t require bullets. There was no objection there, no one besides the four of you should carry a loaded weapon since no one else had experience. After the meeting, you exchanged goodnights and decided to make a little makeshift bed in the back of a random pickup truck that was near the RV. You gathered whatever blankets you could find and tossed one into a drawstring bag to use as a pillow before setting your backpack and weapons in the back as well.

Dale had offered for you to sleep in the RV, but you kindly declined wanting to be alone and not coped up in the vehicle even if it was just to sleep. You wanted to feel the cool air and look up at the stars since you knew you wouldn’t be able to fall asleep as quick as you had the last couple of nights. Besides you wanted a space to yourself and call your own. The stars twinkled in the dusk sky giving you a distraction away from the thoughts that crept in your mind and you hoped the trance you were in would put you to sleep, you needed the energy for tomorrow to look for Sophia.

Despite the trouble you had in snoozing off, you woke up early enough to see the sun rise from your spot in the truck bed. It wasn’t like you’d be able to rest any longer since the rays would’ve awaken you anyways, so might as well get a head start. Since no one was up yet, you traded your black v-neck top for a white one and hopped out since you slept in your ripped jeans and combat boots. You strapped on your holsters and secured your pistol and machete along with your collection of knives before peeking into one of the nearby cars in search of food because boy were you starving.

Once you sifted through and found some kettle chips, you leaned up against the back of the truck to pop open the bag to see Rick approaching you with his cop uniform on. You gave him a smile, offering the bag to him to which he smirked and took a few earning a giggle from you. When you two were in high school, you’d both get different things for lunch and share each other’s trays, having a bit of everything to munch on.

“You know there’s a whole stash of food behind that car that everyone gathered,” Rick mentioned with a chuckle as he dusted off his hands, causing you to pause on the chip you were currently crunching on to comprehend what he just said.

“Whoops?” you shrugged, earning your best friend to shake his head with a laugh and you couldn’t help, but to giggle yourself hearing happiness come out of his mouth and how stupid you were.

After the goofiness died down, Rick had folded his arms across his chest and turned a little serious while you placed the empty bag in the truck bed behind you. “You sure you ready to help search? I heard about your hip.”

You sighed, “I’m sure. I’ll be fine, it’s just a bruise besides I have you to look after me,” you playfully said with a smirk, nudging his side with your elbow making him break out into a gleeful smile.

Not long after, everyone started to wake up and come out, so you and Rick made your way over to a car that was close to the RV to finally set out to find Sophia. You took position against the RV as Rick slammed a collection of weapon tools on the hood of the vehicle and unraveled it. “Everybody takes a weapon.”

“These aren’t the kind of weapons we need,” Andrea complained and you rolled your eyes knowing damn well she couldn’t shoot a gun because when you met her, she didn’t even take the safety off, so why should it matter? “What about the guns?”

“We’ve been over that,” Shane blatantly said. “Daryl, Rick, Y/N and I are carrying. We can’t have people popping off rounds every time a tree rustles.” You quietly snickered to yourself at his comment while you doubled check to see if your P99 was loaded and had a full clip.

“It’s not the trees I’m worried about,” she hesitantly clarified.

“Say somebody fires at the wrong moment, a herd happens to be passing by. See, then it’s game over for all of us,” he said all jokes aside. “So you need to get over it.”

The blonde still didn’t look very pleased, but she chose to finally shut her mouth on the situation giving Daryl the opportunity to discuss the plan, where you’d all head to search. His idea was to take the creek up for about five miles, then turn around and come back down on the other side. It wasn’t a bad plan at all, so there was no need for you to voice an opinion especially since he knew the woods better than you did. The creek was her only landmark, so finding her near there was high.

“Stay quiet and stay sharp. Keep space between you, but always stay within sight of each other,” Rick instructed at the group, causing you to nod with the corner of your mouth turned up. That was something the sheriff said to the three of you before going on a grid search or raiding a house, when things were more simpler than the dead rising.

Rick had requested for Dale to keep tinkering on the RV, so once you found Sophia, you’d all be able to get the hell out of the area and back on the original plan, to head for Fort Benning. You still thought it was a waste of time and resources, but it was better than being stranded on the interstate. Before you could head out, Rick had asked for the old man to keep an eye on Carl, but he said he was going with you all which wasn’t surprising to hear, it even made you chuckle.

“You need people, right? To cover as much ground as possible,” Carl said, trying to convince his father which made Rick groan in thought, trying to make a decision on him joining. Rick had turned over to his wife for an answer, but all she did was look at the ground and tell him it was his call. Dale even made a point in saying he had all of you to look after him, so you were sold on him tagging along. His father ultimately agreed, making you grin at the boy after they departed.

“I guess this is finally the hunting trip you always wanted me to take you out on,” you joked in light of the situation, ruffling his hair before hugging him into your good side. “Sorry it won’t be fun,” you gloomily apologized once you loosened your grip to hug his face within your palms.

Carl shrugged his shoulders, “It’s okay. All that matters is finding Sophia.” You gingerly smiled and pressed a quick kiss on top of his head before smoothing out his hair. “Stick with me, kid. I’m going to be real slow out there and I need you to protect me,” you quipped, earning a chuckle in return.

With you and Carl in conversation, you didn’t notice the feud between Andrea and Dale occurring, she wasn’t backing down without her gun that he took from her. “But if Y/N and I hadn’t done what we did, you’d be dead right now,” Dale reminded.

“Jenner gave us an option. I chose to stay-”

“You chose suicide!” Dale argued.

“So what’s that to you? Or Y/N? You barely know me,” Andrea lashed back and it made you uncomfortable that she had felt this way this entire time.

“I know Amy’s death devastated you,” Dale began to say.

“Keep her out of this,” Andrea sternly said. “This is not about Amy. This is about us and if I decided that I had nothing left to live for, who the hell are you to tell me otherwise? To force my hand like that?”

“We saved your life,” Dale confusedly spoke.

“No, Dale. I saved both of yours, you guys forced that on me. I didn’t want the blood on my hands and that is the only reason I left that building. What did you expect?” Andrea questioned.

“Maybe just a little gratitude,” he softly voiced.

“Gratitude? I wanted to die my way, not torn apart by drooling freaks. That was my choice, you took that away from me,” she said, tears ready to spill. “All I wanted after my sister died was to get out of this endless horrific nightmare we live everyday. I wasn’t hurting anyone else. You took my choice away, Dale right along with Y/N and you expect… gratitude?”

You moved away from Carl to take a couple steps forward. “I don’t appreciate being dragged into this because the only reason why I went back into that building was to try and reason with you to not opt out, not force you. If you had still refused, then I would’ve left and dragged Dale right along with me ‘cause then I could say I at least tried. I even said it was your choice and that we couldn’t make you, so I did not force your hand and I sure as hell did not take your choice away. So don’t you dare say I did,” you fumed, tears wanting to be freed, but you refused to let them. You understood being blamed for Sophia, you faulted yourself for it and for not being able to save your aunt and uncle, but you sure as hell weren’t about to be blamed for saving her. It made you risking the chances of being blown up mean nothing.

You began to walk away, not caring to hear any other remarks, but you turned your head to peer at the ground to clarify one more thing. “By the way, you said you weren’t hurting anyone else… well you’re wrong. You would’ve hurt everyone in this group just like Jacqui’s death did.” And with that you strided off hearing multiple footsteps behind you, the search for Sophia was on.

Daryl was leading the way while you were following Lori and Carl, skimming through the knee lengthed grass with Shane as the caboose, trailing behind you. You had the palm of your hand resting on the grip of your pistol while your other hand held your machete. Carl was fiddling with one of your knives in his hands as he walked, but he stopped to show Shane his new weapon. He was telling him how you had given it to him to protect you which made a grin stretch across your face, but it disappeared once Shane had interrupted him in the rudest of ways.

“Keep it down, we’re lookin’ for Sophia. You need to focus on the task,” he scolded as he turned around to search for anything behind. Lori had ushered for her child to keep up, giving you a look that she had heard everything, so you pivoted around to give him a piece of your mind.

“What the fuck was that?” you harshly whispered.

“What was what?” he questioned, preoccupied at scanning the area instead of looking at your face.

You huffed, pointing in the direction of the group with your blade. “What you did to Carl. He was just trying to show you his cool new knife and you had to bring him down with your ‘Focus on the task’ attitude,” you mocked with your fists on your hips, puffing out your chest with a deep voice.

All he did was scoff and press on with you tied to the hip, you weren’t going to let him off that easy. “You know you’re very lucky I somewhat forgave you from what happened at the C.D.C,” you reminded in a hush tone, catching his attention.

“You know I was just drunk, you know that,” he definitively pointed at you, his eyes full of regret.

You scoffed, surveying the area and making sure to watch your step. “Yeah, well, that still doesn’t change what you did, but I’m not going to hang it above your head. Anyways, now that I grabbed your attention, are you pushing away Carl because of Lori?” you eagerly questioned.

“I don’t see why that’s any of your concern or business,” he retorted, giving you a sideways glance.

“It is my business!” you somewhat shouted accidentally and you pried your angered glare off of Shane to see if anyone was looking. Lori’s questioning eyes met yours and you gave her a fake smile before going back to what you were doing. “You are having a feud with my best friend’s- your best friend’s wife,” you corrected, poking him on his arm. “And I want to know why.”

Before he could answer, Shane had tapped you with the back of his hand still keeping his orbs forward and you wanted to slap it away, but you followed his line of sight. There was a tent crowded around with trees giving it a secluded feeling and Shane brought up how Sophia could be in there which wasn’t a terrible assumption.

The four of you that carried guns quietly approached the tent before Daryl gave a signal for the three of you to stay back. He wielded out his knife and got into a crouched stance, ready to strike as he stepped closer to the makeshift home. The archer peeked inside the holes of the tent and waved his hands in an i-don’t-know-can’t-tell way, so Rick quietly called Carol over. He ordered her to call Sophia out softly, if she was in there, her mother’s voice should be the first thing she should hear.

Carol loudly, but quietly called for her daughter, promising that it was safe to come out. It was silent… she wasn’t in there and your heart shattered. Rick and Shane advanced to the tent while you stood beside Carol as Daryl gradually unzipped the tent before lifting the flap. He jerked his head away and covered his senses with the back of hand, indicating in your mind that there was a dead body in there and if it stunk that bad, it had to have been there for weeks. Daryl confirmed what you had thought as he exited the tent, he opted out.

All of a sudden, a sound began to ring out and as you listened closer it sounded like bells, but you couldn’t tell where they were coming from since your concussion prevented you from doing so. Luckily, Rick motioned the way and you all frantically sprinted towards the sound, it could be Sophia.

You were keeping up with the group pretty well considering your injured leg, but then Rick and Shane paused trying to pinpoint the sound again. It wasn’t just your hearing then, the woods were affecting it, bouncing off of trees or what not. Carol and Glenn made a good point, if you could hear them, then Sophia could hear them too or someone was calling for others or maybe she was ringing them herself.

There were trees hovering over your path, but you could identify a clearing and a white building. Once you pushed passed the leaves, a church came into view, but it didn’t have a steeple or bells to cause the ringing. Rick ignored Shane’s observation and began to dash towards the godly building. No one was in grave danger, so you chose to speed walk while the others followed the southern quickly. After you caught up with the group, Rick and Daryl were positioned on either side of the door ready to breach in with Shane in front.  

The doors were pushed open and three walkers craned their heads to look at you. One was in a bridal gown and the two others looked to be in matching attire, well that was a wedding to remember. You left the killings to Rick, Shane and Daryl since it was only three plus your hip was bothering you.

“I’m telling you, it’s the wrong church. It’s got no steeple, Rick,” Shane said after the walkers were put down. And it triggered in your brain, there wasn’t a steeple or bells, but it did come from this church, just like the one you went to with your aunt and uncle when you were younger. Before you could voice your theory, the bells began to ring again causing you to wince and hold your ears as they ran out the door, your concussion was doing a number on you. “Guys it’s automated!” you shouted, but they didn’t hear you.

When you stumbled outside, the persistent ringing had finally stopped and you spotted a speaker on the side of the building. You exhaled a sigh and dragged your feet back into the church and sat on a pew in the back, leaning your elbows on the one in front of you as you rested your chin in your hand and stared at the statue of Jesus hanging on the cross. Rick, Carl and Daryl were standing in the back while Lori was in the front row for Carol’s comfort.

You overheard Carol pray out loud, asking for forgiveness even though she knew she didn’t deserve it. She had prayed for a safe trip to Atlanta, punishment on Ed for laying his hands on her and looking at his own daughter which made your stomach turn. She continued to talk about Sophia and how she pleaded for the Lord to bring her back to her. How her wanting Ed dead was a sin and Sophia shouldn’t be punished for it, just her.

Once it was silent with the exception of Carol’s whimpers, you began to quietly pray yourself. You didn’t consider yourself a very religious person, yeah you believed in a higher power since you also believed everything happened for a reason, but you didn’t pray as often as you should. When you were sixteen, your aunt and uncle, well mainly your uncle, was cool with allowing you to get your first tattoo. With it being your first tattoo and all, you decided to get something small and meaningful, you never wanted to get inked unless it had significance to you. The first thing that came to mind was a cross, not only as a symbol of your faith, but for your parents as well. You wanted to believe they were in better place, that they were looking down on you with proud smiles on their faces.

“Yo what up Christ,” you joked with a nervous chuckle before shaking your head at how much of an idiot you were. “I haven’t done this in well… only you would know besides you can tell from- whatever,” you scrambled your hands in the air before linking them together in your lap.

“I just wanted to say that I don’t blame you for what happened to Jolene and Chris… and I know you wouldn’t want me to blame myself and I’m getting better at not doing so. This is going to sound fucked up- ‘scuse my language Lord- I’m kind of glad it happened because I didn’t want them to have to live in this world. To go through the things we’ll have to go through because they deserved better than this world we live in now. Hell, the people I’m with deserve more, but just because I’m thankful that they don’t have to go through everyday surviving doesn’t mean I wish death upon these people- upon Sophia,” you solemnly whispered, staring at the statue and the ceiling from time to time.

“Please guide us to her or her to us, we just want her alive and safe, to be with her loving mother and us- the people who care about her,” you pleaded in a hushed tone. “In the name of Jesus, Amen.”

After you finished, you stood up and turned to get out of the aisle. Once you did, your eyes connected to Daryl’s and you knew he heard everything you said by the soft look in his eyes, but you still wished he somehow didn’t. You averted your gaze quicker than you had looked at him and stepped out of the church with Rick following you out.

Shane had trekked where the two of you were telling you the group had to get a move on since there was only a couple hours of daylight left and that there was a long way back. Rick didn’t want to stop and you didn’t want to either, but you were spent. There was a whole lot of ground to cover and not enough hours in the day unfortunately.

“Her being out here is my fault,” Rick said, leading you to abruptly shake your head.

“No it isn’t. You did everything in your power to keep her safe, you lead those walkers away and made sure she was hidden, gave her directions just in case,” you assertively said. “It’s my fault. I could’ve done a lot of things, but chose to be a hero instead of thinking. I learned to come up with tactics and ideas in high pressure situations in the military and when it came to a little girl-,” you paused, taking a deep breath. “I didn’t use anything.”

Shane halfheartedly chuckled which caused you to frown his way. “That’s great. Now they got you both doubting yourselves, huh.”

“What about you? You doubt me? You doubt her?” Rick inquired, but knowing Shane he’d just maneuver around the question.

“Hey, we can assign all kinds of blame,” he began to say, making you lift your hands and smile in disbelief, you couldn’t have been more right. Rick had gotten in his face saying how finding Sophia meant something, that they couldn’t give up, so Shane patted the two of you on the backs as he walked passed.

Shane cleared his throat and told the group that they’d follow the creek bed back and that Daryl was in charge. He then explained how the three of you were going to hang back and search the area for another hour or so. You were sort of exhausted, but not enough to stop looking, you could manage a couple hours. The redneck questioned the idea of splitting you all up, but Shane assured you’d all catch up.

“I want to stay too,” Carol spoke up, causing you to quirk a brow and shift your gaze on the little boy to his father for an answer. “I’m her friend.” You smiled at that and Rick exchanged looks between you and Shane, wondering what he should do, so you just shrugged your shoulders. You didn’t see any harm in it, bringing him out was a big decision in itself, a couple more hours wouldn’t hurt.

Lori ended up giving the okay as she told him to be careful. “When did you start growing up,” she teased, kissing him on the head as she gave him a hug. Rick went to bid a brief see-you-soon hug and kiss and you noticed the look that Shane and Lori had as they did. Shane and Andrea even gave each other a look leaving you to wonder what the fuck was going on. What were you missing?

Rick offered his wife his gun, but she denied, not wanting to leave him unarmed. Daryl had a spare from the tent he retrieved, so he handed it to her leaving Andrea to shake her head in disbelief. You understood her frustration since only four people were allowed to have guns, but the three of you were separating. They needed another person with a loaded weapon. She just needed to grow up and not take everything to heart, life was unfair, so you rolled your eyes at her behavior.

As the rest of the group headed back to the interstate, Rick had asked for a minute before you all started back up again, so you hung out on the steps and played rock, paper, scissors with Carl. Rick was in the church most likely praying which was something he never did, but who were you to judge? You were a believer and barely talked to the Lord yourself.

You wanted to continue the conversation you were having with Shane before you all found the tent, but you didn’t want to do that in front of Carl. He was already getting dragged into it by his mother and Shane, he didn’t need to be engrossed into all of this drama… if that was what it was.  

“Okay, how about whoever gets the best out of three gets,” you tailed off, thinking of what the grand prize would be. “Gets to have those double chocolate chip cookies at the highway when we get back,” you smirked, wiggling your eyebrows. Carl giggled and agreed to the terms, bragging about how he was going to win which caused Shane to try and suppress a smile.

One, two, three. You= paper, Carl= rock  

One, two, three. You= rock, Carl= rock

One, two, three. You= rock, Carl= paper  

You had a feeling he was going to choose rock next since every time you two would play, he would do whatever you did last next for his turn. You had chosen scissors and Carl had done rock, and when he realized he had won, he sprouted up and began cheering making Shane laugh and you fake pout with your arms crossed.

“Looks like you get the cookies, Carl, nice play,” you annoyedly faked in defeat and gave him a lousy high five before Rick came out. You stood up and ruffled Carl’s hair before stepping down to follow his father. He didn’t look too happy and Shane had picked up on that too since he gave you a look, so you shrugged your shoulders in return.

Daryl’s POV

“So this is it? This the whole plan?” Carol complained and Daryl understood, it didn’t exactly turn out the way he envisioned. He didn’t expect for the group to get smaller which he still thought wasn’t the smartest thing to do.

“Carrying knives and pointy sticks,” Andrea mentioned, peering over jealousy on her face at Lori who was unzipping her backpack. “I see you have a gun.”

Lori didn’t take no time in replying back. “Why you want it? Here take it.” She handed the gun over with attitude, fed up with the blonde’s. “I’m sick of the looks you’re giving me.” Andrea scoffed, but took the weapon anyways, isn’t that what she wanted?

Daryl thought Andrea was overreacting, that it wasn’t a big if she didn’t have one. It wasn’t like any of them were going to be shooting any walkers, they’d resort to his crossbow or the bladed weapons. No sense in making noise when you don’t have to.

“All of you,” Lori began before directing her attention to Carol. “Honey, I can’t imagine what you’re going through and I would do anything to stop it, but you have got to stop blaming Rick and Y/N. It is in your face every- time- you- look- at- them,” she emphasized. “When Sophia ran they didn’t hesitate, did they? Not for a second. I don’t know that any of us would have gone after her the way they did or made the hard decisions they had to make or that anybody could have done it any differently. Anybody?” she questioned, wandering her orbs over everyone, looking if anyone would speak up.

Daryl wanted to think he could, but deep down he probably wouldn’t have done what Y/N and Rick had done. He wasn’t there in the moment since he was aiding T-Dog with his arm, hiding them both under corpses so the dead would pass by. He risked his life for him which made him take a second to think back about those times he had scolded Y/N for doing the exact same thing he did. It wasn’t a blowing building situation, but it was sort of like Sophia and he had shouted at Y/N for chasing after her since she had a concussion. He had a justified reason for everything that he did, so why did he feel so bad?

“Y’all look to him and then you blame him when he’s not perfect. If you think you can do this without him, go right head, nobody is stopping you,” Lori angrily said, now only talking about Rick since even Y/N looked to him for answers, he was like an older brother to her. He could relate, Daryl always had looked up to Merle even when he was a dick, didn’t change the fact that they were blood, that he loved him.

He also didn’t blame Y/N for what had happened with Sophia. She had bolted after her the minute she heard something go down and that said a lot about her character. She was caring, put others before herself, strong, and an all around good person… something Daryl still didn’t believe he could be.

After Lori’s rant had ended, Andrea had handed back over the gun and advised that they should keep moving, so Daryl motioned for them to get in front while he stayed in the middle just in case.

Y/N’s POV  

The four of you had been casually walking through the wooded area, still searching for Sophia in silence, not wanting to get distracted or make noise. The pain in your hip was a distraction in itself and you were curious as to what it looked since it had been a whole day. While you continued to limp as you followed closely, you gestured for Shane to hold your machete. Once your hands were free, you quietly undid your belt and stretched down your jeans to reveal your now multi colored bruise. It had to have had all the colors in the rainbow including black which indicated a bone bruise, you’d have pain and the look to go with it for weeks. Shane had given you a remorseful look as you zipped up your pants and buckled your belt frustratedly.

“Y/N,” he whispered cautiously and you quickly gawked at him only to see him point at your arms. You reluctantly shifted your gaze over to your forearms to see redness around your wounds and what looked to be blisters. You had a damn infection and would start coughing and catching a fever soon. What in the hell were you going to do now?

A sudden snap of a twig pulled you out of your worried thoughts and so you motioned for Shane to hand you back your weapon as you pushed Carl a little behind you, stopping to hear for anything else. Rick had pointed to where the noise came from, so you slowly moved forward with caution. Once you saw Rick stop, you followed his line of sight to see a deer coming through the clearing where you stood, sniffing for food.

Shane went to aim, but you and Rick both muttered his name and nodded to Carl who was intrigued by the creature as he approached closer with a smile plastered on his face. You grinned seeing the first animal you’d seen since the world went to shit, this was the best moment to bare witness to. Everything seemed so eerie with death and Sophia missing, but this… this was what made fighting that much worth it.

You continued to stare with curiosity with a hand on your hip with your bad leg stretched to the side as Carl itched closer and closer with each step. The three of you had exchanged wondering looks, but the lively expressions never left your faces. You heard a twig lightly break under Carl’s feet and the deer brought it’s attention over to the source, gawking at the little boy. The moment of the two of them having a staring contest seemed to have gone on for minutes when in reality it only went on for seconds and within those seconds a piercing shot rang out and you saw the deer right along with Carl fall to the ground with a thud.

_____________________________________

Thank you for reading! What did you think of this part? Any feedback is much appreciated and I would love to hear your thoughts, criticism, suggestions, etc! If you’d like to be tagged or removed, don’t hesitate to let me know!

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[unfortunatelysirius]

Chocolate Frogs and Love Notes [Part 3 of ?]

💟☼💟 PROMPT 💟☼💟 ☾ ¡Original! ☾ Remus Lupin and Y/N L/N have anonymously exchanged notes through library books for over six months. When Sirius and James start meddling, they put Remus’s love life in jeopardy. 💟☼💟 A/N 💟☼💟 Sorry for the lack of updates and the lack of posts. I’ve been incredibly down lately, and literally don’t have the motivation to talk or do anything, really. I love you all and I hope I can start writing more this summer! 💟☼💟 WORD COUNT 💟☼💟 2773 💟☼💟 TAG LIST 💟☼💟 @kapolisradomthoughts @rageofcaliban @saucyleftovers @bunnymother93 @siriuslyr5 @apareciumimagines @random-quartz @ruefulposts @teacupwizard @sunny-day15 @themissinghippogriff @bellawolfi @semifunctionalhomosapien

                At first, Slughorn looked hesitant—and rather suspicious, too, considering this was a bloody Marauder offering insight to his mischief-plagued brain—but then, his face lightened. His marred forehead, tense jaw, and unpleasant frown disintegrated, and Slughorn looked almost joyous. “It is rather interesting!” he cried cheerfully, and James beamed with smug happiness, his inner diabolical menace whirring in contentment that the plan was going into action. “Veritaserum, for those of you who don’t know, is a very powerful truth serum. One little drop, and anything someone asks you, you will be obligated to answer! All your darkest secrets, spilled out for the world to see and gawk at!”

         “Darkest secrets, aye?” Sirius said, lounging against his chair with a certain aristocratic swagger unable to be found anywhere else. “Wonder what would come out from you, dear old Professor Slughorn. Something delightfully embarrassing, maybe?”

         The girls giggled, and James and Peter even shared a little snigger at Sluggy’s expense. Slughorn looked simultaneously unfazed and unimpressed, turning his gaze to Sirius without an ounce of hostility in his bright, jolly eyes. “Since you seem to be so active-minded today, Sirius, why don’t you volunteer to be our subject for an old bottle of Veritaserum I have in my office?” He raised his bushy eyebrows.

         “Nah, my secrets will stay dark and secret,” Sirius said, giving a dismissive wave. The suave nature in which he replied caused many of the surrounding girls to sigh and swoon, but the gears in Sirius’s head were turning and he had a brilliant—a bright idea! The boy grinned. “I’m sure Remus wouldn’t mind playing teacher’s pet.”

         The brown-haired, soft-eyed werewolf froze, looking at Sirius with a look of intense fear. What if I reveal I’m a werewolf? he thought in sudden panic, not even thinking about the potential of him revealing that he was pen pals with someone in his year—maybe someone in this class. “I would rather not, Sirius,” Remus said, expression taut and strained, but his eyes glared daggers in Sirius’s direction. The look of utter betrayal on the quiet boy’s face caused the shaggy-haired dog to laugh aloud.

         Professor Slughorn sighed, glancing around the room for someone studious and eager. “Lily!” he called with a smile. “What about you, m’dear?”

         “No thank you, Professor,” Lily said nervously, sharing a panicked look with Marlene.

         “Marlene?”

         “Nope.”

         “Alice! How about you?”

         “I’m sorry but I have terrible anxiety, Professor—”

         “Oh, alright then.” He glanced between the rest of the class. He wanted to choose a Gryffindor as the subject. He laid eyes on James. “Why not you, James? You were the one who suggested Veritaserum as our next potion of study.”

         A look of confidence appeared on the boy’s angular features. “I’m much too interesting. You all wouldn’t be able to take my secrets,” James said arrogantly, smirking at his professor.

         Slughorn sighed in exasperation. “Y/N!” he said finally, looking hopeful but disappointed. “I suppose you wouldn’t share a different opinion, but I’ll still ask.”

         Y/N looked frozen for a moment, eyes flickering between her peers and her professor with a look of confusion, but she settled for disinterestedly shrugging. She hadn’t been listening to a word he said, instead choosing to doodle on her parchment while muffled voices entered and exited her petite ears. “I’d love nothing more.”

         James and Sirius looked at each other with ecstatic expressions while Slughorn clapped happily. “Great! Come on up, then, my dear,” the balding man said, ushering her on up.

         Y/N looked confused, but she shrugged anyway, getting out of her seat without the slightest struggle. She eased her way on up the aisle, confused as she watched Slughorn head eagerly to his office. What did she just get herself into? A helpless look gleamed in her eyes, and she stared at Marlene and Lily with a desperate plea for an escapade in the way her jaw locked, and her eyes blinked, but the two girls could provide nothing of use—simple shrugs were what sufficed as responses.

         “I didn’t agree to something like this!” Y/N whispered, expression reminiscent of a squirrel’s when a Muggle vehicle comes trucking on, intent for a collision. When Marlene and Lily gave her their signature ‘Really, Y/N?’ looks, Y/N huffed and nervously twiddled her fingers. Some friends they are… thought the girl, her eyes now swaying across the tiles as a way to avoid the gazes of her classmates.

         Unbeknownst to Y/N, James and Sirius were jumping for joy. Sirius craned back his head to look at James, and he gave him a mischievous grin, complete with a raise of his eyebrows and a sloppy thumbs-up. James returned the gesture, but instead of raising his eyebrows, the bespectacled boy winked. And unbeknownst to the two boys, Remus was staring them down, hard. He was confused as to why they seemed happy that Y/N had volunteered herself. What the hell was that about?

         Slughorn came trudging from his office, and in his hands was an old-looking bottle of Veritaserum. “Would you be comfortable answering questions your classmates ask you?” asked the jolly man, giving Y/N a happy-but-reserved expression. When Y/N hesitantly nodded, his own reluctance disintegrated and Slughorn smiled. He looked at the class as he gestured for Y/N to unlock her jaw and sequentially administered three drops of the serum onto her tongue. “I’m trusting you all to be mature,” warned Slughorn, giving both James and Sirius a very distrustful look. “Raise your hands and I’ll pick and choose which of you to ask questions. Do not ask things that will purposefully embarrass the girl.”

         To James and Sirius’s surprise, a lot of hands rose. To even more of their surprise, bloody Lily was the first to raise her hand. Slughorn smiled as he rested his eyes on his favorite pupil. “Yes, Ms. Evans?”

         Lily looked at Y/N and smiled, hiding her mischief with innocent green eyes. “What’s gotten you so nervous lately?” she asked teasingly.

         “A boy,” said Y/N instantly, her eyes widening as she realized she’d revealed too much. “He likes all of the things I like and he’s very eloquent.”

         Lily pushed herself into Marlene, the two of them giggling and whispering frantically. It made Y/N blush heavily.

         James found an opportunity in this question and he jumped up, waving his hand around like he’d just seen a family member that he hadn’t seen in years. Slughorn raised an eyebrow but passed his eyes over him, instead choosing to answer a question from a Slytherin student.

         “Yes, Mr. Goyle?” said Slughorn, a gloating look in his eyes as he glanced at a peeved James.

         Goyle looked at Y/N impassively and quite stupidly as he asked, “Why do you hang around Halfbloods and Mudbloods?”

         Y/N’s nostrils flared and before Slughorn could open his mouth and take away points from Slytherin, she barked out, “I am a Halfblood, first of all—and second of all, Halfbloods and Muggleborns are much better company to keep than disgraceful Purebloods such as yourself.” She glared at Goyle, heat and anger evident in her eyes. “I hardly even know how you made it into this class. I doubt you passed half of your OWLs. And honestly, is there a single person in this classroom—in this world, even—that wishes to hear you open your mouth? To hear the idiocy that you speak? To—”

         “Y/N,” Slughorn said sharply, seeing the extremely malevolent glares she was receiving from Goyle and his posy. He then glanced at Goyle and said, “Five points from Slytherin for using such a horrid word.” The Slytherins protested, angrily stating that Y/N deserved just as many points deducted, but Slughorn ignored them.

         Slughorn could see that asking Slytherins would not have potential for benign results, so he then began to call on Gryffindors, Ravenclaws, and Hufflepuffs instead. He called on the leggy Ravenclaw who had been flirting with Sirius all throughout the class.

         “Yes, Ms. Sava?”

         The girl—Andrea Sava—smirked, twirling a piece of hair as she stared at Y/N. “You’ve got a bloke you’re crushing on, right?” Y/N nodded her head, eyes wide as she regarded Andrea nervously. “Does he have a name?”

         The look of nervousness intensified on Y/N’s face and she nodded her head, but it was slower this time. And the interest intensified on Andrea’s. “Is he in this room?”

         Y/N nodded again, her eyes staying on Andrea’s face and never straying. If she did, people would start guessing and she would hide in her dorm for the rest of the year.

         Slughorn could see the discomfort on Y/N’s face. “No more questions, Ms. Sava,” he said loudly. He begrudgingly looked at James and muttered, “Yes, Mr. Potter?”

         James grinned. He was eager to continue this game even after today’s lesson, so he decided to be subtle. Well, subtle as James could get. “Do you visit the library often?”

         Y/N looked confused by his question, but she nodded her head regardless.

         “Do you study there?” He raised his eyebrows and grinned.

         Y/N rolled her eyes. “No. I don’t.”

         “Do you read?”

         “Yes.”

         “Do you write?”

         “Yes?” The girl was eying James now, her expression extremely confused.

         James grinned. “Do you enjoy writing and reading?”

         Y/N nodded. She glanced at Slughorn, but the jolly man merely seemed perplexed and slightly intrigued. He was probably just as confused by James’s questions. Otherwise, he would have stopped James and moved on with another student by now.

         “Are you ever with anyone?” James raised his eyebrows.

         “No,” Y/N said, shaking her head.

         And finally, James had the most brilliant question. He went to ask it—regardless of how it would probably ruin his chances at subtlety since it was something that would catch Remus’s attention inevitably—but Slughorn shook his head and said, “No more questions, James. You’re interrogating the girl.” James went to retort, but Sirius gave him a silent shake of his head since Sirius would most probably be the next pick. James was pleased, and his annoyance evaporated when Slughorn went, “Yes, Mr. Black?”

         Sirius was curious. If Y/N knew the name of her crush and knew he was in that room… did that mean she was aware of who she was writing to? Did that mean she was crushing on Remus? The bloke grinned and suavely asked, “Am I friends with the bloke you like?”

         Y/N looked uncomfortable as she muttered, “Yes.”

         Sirius nodded to himself. And then he asked something he probably shouldn’t have, even though it was off-topic and just something Sirius wanted to know out of curiosity since it had a good chance of capturing Remus’s attention, “What’s your favorite book?”

         Y/N’s answer was automatic. “Great Expectations by Charles Dickens.”

         And that did it. James heard a sharp intake of breath and he looked back to see Remus staring at Y/N with wide, unbelieving eyes. Then, an impassive look glazed over his eyes. He looked in shock, that much was obvious.

         What Sirius and James didn’t know was that in a previous note, Y/N—or Rosy, as she had named herself in their exchanges—had described her love and appreciation for Great Expectations. She’d went on for paragraphs on how it’s her favorite book. How she loved it so much that she could hardly express it—but she did. She was so eloquent with her words. And this girl at the front of the classroom—this shy, beautiful girl who was friends with Marlene and Lily, who had been put in a month’s worth of weekend detentions for jinxing the entirety of the Slytherin boys in their class just last year—was his pen-pal? A girl who Remus had once watched longingly at Quidditch games and in the library was who he’d written to for months?

         No. No, this had to be a coincidence.

         Remus shot his hand in the air, just as Slughorn was opening his mouth to close today’s demonstration. “Yes, Mr. Lupin?” said Slughorn with a look of bemusement, and even Y/N looked shocked.

         “What’s your favorite band?” asked Remus, not even glancing at Slughorn as he stared at Y/N.

         Y/N’s answer was, again, automatic. “The Beatles.”

         Remus’s heart was beating loud in his chest and he nearly let his disbelief and shock and nervousness show on his face, but he forced himself to look impassive… to be impassive…

         James was glaring at Sirius, having seen the realization that had dawned in Remus’s eyes. “Great going,” he mouthed at his friend, and Sirius just shrugged apologetically. Truth be told, Sirius was just happy that he’d speeded along the process of Remus and Y/N getting together.

         “That’s it for today, class,” Slughorn said, giving them a small smile. He casted a sorry glance over at Y/N, trying to communicate an apology for putting her through this interrogation through his eyes, and the blushing girl simply gave him a shrug, as if to say, I put myself here. “You’re all dismissed.”

         James and Sirius immediately ran over to Remus, where the tall, chestnut-haired bloke was petrified to his seat. He seemed stuck in his mind—so much so that the troublesome, well-aware duo came to a halt and shared an unsure glance. Were they comfortable with disclosing that his revelations were all part of the plan?

         Probably not. After all, Remus would be angry and want to hex them into oblivion for knowingly doing such an exploitation—but in Sirius’s humble opinion, the lycan should and would be thankful. He couldn’t have exchanged letters with Y/N without ever wondering what she liked like and who she was; that was just strange. And mad, actually. Who in their right bloody mind would anonymously write to someone without wondering what their face looked like? The mere idea was preposterous!

         “Remus…” James started, giving the boy a wary glance. He didn’t know how his friend would react upon the news of his and Padfoot’s mischievous doings. But the boy didn’t let Prongs finish.

         “It’s her,” he breathed. “It’s her… All this time, I-I’ve been—”

         “All thanks to me!” Sirius burst in gloatingly. “Didn’t know you’d figure it out with that question, of course, but I speeded it along, didn’t I? Now you can get together with the girl from your letters—”

         “My letters? Did you search my trunk?” Remus asked suddenly, face paling into an ashy white as he glanced up. He was no longer frozen in his spot. And shockingly, he didn’t ask the question that should have been burning on his tongue.

         “Obviously not!” the shaggy-headed prankster said indignantly. “When you picked that bloody flower the other day, we got a bit… curious. Watched your lovely lady pull that same flower out of a letter, and we just-so-happened to put the pieces together. Figured your loony behavior had to have something to do with a bird.”

         Remus stared at Sirius, his expression full of anger—wait, anger? Oh, no… that wasn’t part of the plan. “You did this… you did all of this… to get me and her together?”

         Sirius nodded, not really understanding the heated glare in Remus’s eyes, or the strain on his jaw.

         James felt a bit uneasy and he nudged Sirius warningly. “We just wanted to help you get the girl, Remus,” he said, trying a hand at soothing the situation, but Remus was beyond angry. He was seething.

         “That—that is a whole new level of cruel, even for you two! Do you know how embarrassing that had to have been for Y/N? For me? Merlin, you idiots—what the bloody hell did you think you were doing, exploiting the two of us like that? We both agreed to keep identities hidden until we were comfortable enough to meet each other, and now you’ve fucking ruined that!” Remus all but snarled. Thankfully, all the other students had left the classroom, and Slughorn was in his office. Even Peter had left, which was unusual in itself. “I… I like her so much. Even without the letters, the anonymity… And now, I-I can’t. I can’t write to her without feeling the guilt eat at me! I can’t fucking—” He stopped, looking at Sirius and James with utter contempt in his gaze; it caused the two to reel back in shock. James opened his mouth to speak, but… “Don’t. Just don’t.” Remus grabbed his things and without a look at his best friends, he was storming from the classroom.

         In all of James’s life—in all of Sirius’s life—the two boys had never felt so utterly guilt-ridden. How the hell were they going to fix this?

[wolfwhiteflowers]

speculating on the future of new TWD

I haven’t really thought of what’s next after Carl’s death ..or s9. I’m like in denial or actually I just want to see how s8B goes first, and then decide and wonder. (winter hiatus ugh so much to wonder and go crazy) I guess most people are doing that or they quit now. Well I did some thinking anyways, since I keep seeing people asking ‘what about comic-Carl’s arcs?’ and not what’s the premise now?-well maybe they are asking that. 

I also speculate on other characters and my ships. my head is going crazy.

*comic spoilers! *tv spoilers!

- check out my tag #*twd s8 spoilers or #*twd for more of my thoughts.

vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv

 Anyways, so I just think anyone can take (after the time-jump) comic-Carl’s multiple plots, and the show goes like as usual-adapting and some remixing from the comics. The show have done it already with comic-Andrea(one of the big characters). So, Daryl, Enid,Henry, Judith could take some comic-Carl’s plots??? 

There’s that premise of the show, ‘father and son’ thing and seeing ‘son becoming a leader’. If the show really wants to keep continuing that same premise of ‘father and son’, then it’s like Rick and Judith playing that way, and some other arcs. I kinda wonder about Henry(kingdomer) and Carol as the mother and son trope thing. It could be Rick as father and Henry as the son/future leader and they both be that way back and forth in the story. But, that seems confusing, outdated, and well he’s not Carl. 

So, I’m hoping ep 9, the writers will say what’s the new premise or something that would make sense of when looking back at TWD as a whole. Merging both premises. (I know people have different reasons for watching. Some don’t care of the premise or casual watchers, or don’t care to look at the big picture but just to keep going forward in the story.) Um, I’m hoping to see Carl telling his dad to thank him for raising him and ... Oh I’ve seen some quotes from Riggs saying that Rick will follow Carl’s lead, his hopes. I think Rick will honor Carl. So, then the premise is changed and explained. I hope it makes sense and done right ..to me in ep 9 and on. Also, it reinforce that TWD show is always about Rick and will always be. Not like the comics, where it will be about Carl’s story. If the writers didn’t explain the new premise well and not makes sense for me, maybe I would lose interest in the show or so. I probably lose more trust on the writers (which is bad thing to feel that way). Idk just my opinion and I liked that they showed Carl as a hero in ep 8. There’s no right answer to it. (ofc also want the show to end it on the writer’s terms and not unexpectedly cancelled etc.)

The death of Carl really changes the story and really diverted from the comic’s story. Like Idk even know what Carol, Daryl, Tara, and Morgan and others will do. Even Enid too. It’s harder to speculate now. These characters that are not from the comics or living longer than the comic counterpart. There’s now more options that one of those characters could take comic-Carl’s plot and stuff. This also give opportunities for the writers to do original stories too like before but now more than usual. (Grady hosp., the scavengers, oceanside?)

-Caryl. Thinking of the worst, I really hope Daryl doesn’t take comic-Carl’s part of meeting (adult) Lydia and starting that relationship. That’s would suck and it’s not the same in the comics as in that it’s comic-Carl’s first love. What about Enid, who is Carl’s first gf and adapting from comic-Sophia. It’s all confusing. So far, imo, Lydia isn’t that important in that plot. It’s the part of introducing the Whisperers and learning about them ..from Lydia. So TWD could not make her a love interest or just have someone who informs us and the team family. So, I hope they don’t pair Daryl with Lydia. I’m hoping for Caryl to happen soon or canon off screen after the time-jump. This Caryl thing is hard. I love this pairing, still feel that they’re still Caryl~. But I really don’t know what’s next based on the comics and we wait a long time and nothing more happens with their relationship. I want confirmation of what they are. idk maybe they be canon at the end of the series sigh.

-Speculating on Daryl, I can kinda see him being like comic-Dwight like what they did in s7. I kinda see some plots from comic-Carl (wanting to kill Negan), ..comic-Michonne ..in the way of leaving Rick/ASZ. I don’t know.

-I really don’t know what’s next for Carol. I do think the writers are foreshadowing Ezekiel’s death. So, if she starts a romance with him, it’s sad because he’s gonna die anyways and she’ll be sad again. Based on the foreshadowing, I think Ezekiel will die in s9. She’s been following comic-Michonne. But, oh boy since Carl died, I feel that changes Carol and Michonne’s arcs. Well, with speculating on the comics that the writers adapt and remix from. I know tv writers can change it up anytime. It kinda makes me think Michonne will go back to comic-Michonne’s plots.

-I’m kinda thinking of Richonne and I’m like OMG there’s so much heavy stories potential for Richonne. It’s not just Richonne but also just Rick and just Michonne. We already saw some glimpse of Michonne’s PTSD, losing two sons, moment when she slaughtered the savior guy.  So, I think Richonne will live till the end of the show. Richonne are like the leading characters of the show. “Rick’s show” But it’s like close to being “Richonne’s show” because they’re both are honoring Carl’s hopes. They’re Carl’s parents. This is so different from the comics. Comic-Rick and Andrea didn’t deal with this situation during AOW. So, whatever Richonne will do in s8B will be original. And in s9, I think will be still original or their dynamic really is different than comic-R&A.

 -I also think the writers thought ”to kill off Carl or Michonne die based on comic-Andrea”, and they chose Michonne to live. Or, other TV/business reasons. I think that is based on comic-Andrea.  I would really hate if Rick will lose Carl and Michonne after the Whisperer War.

 IF, the show lasts that long and writers thought Rick needed to have something in common with Negan-losing a wife(I think). I don’t like this idea. I read the comics and I still don’t know what’s the point of comic-Andrea’s death yet. Losing Carl already impacted Rick, so losing Michonne later on..just makes it’s so hard on Rick. Is comic-Andrea’s death is to kill off comic-Rick later on? But he’s not losing his mind and he still has comic-Carl and Mikey(kinda adopted son) right now. So, I think Carl is based on comic-Andrea’s death and that it also starts up Negan’s redemption and I think that the writers wanted to do that early in AOW and not WW. So, no need to kill Michonne, imo. The writers said they’re bridging the gap or hole for why Rick wants Negan to live in prison cell (Carl’s hope) and not be killed off. I guess I’m also saying that I think the writers are thinking that comic-Andrea’s death relates to Negan’s redemption. (in the comics, I think Negan’s redemption was done well, imo. I hope tv version can show it well too.*maggie) I guess I’m also saying that Negan is big character too in the story. He is in the comics and that’s how it is...so if anyone hates Negan..stop watching it then, I guess. Negan is like one of the main characters and impacts the story a lot during this time in the show and still is in the comics. Idk it depends on how long the show lasts and what the writers will do, but I think Negan is gonna be important in the story. So I guess writers thought killing Carl will start up the new premise of the show and set up the redemption arc for Negan, and Michonne lives on.

So there’s a lot of changes and it’s all up in the air. It just depends if I still trust the writers or still the show. I do think s8B and s9 & on is gonna be like a new show.  “Rick’s show” 

Here’s an article to read of the show and AL.

[arplis]

Arplis - News: The Countdown Is On! 18 Tips For Moving in a Week or Less

Whether by circumstance or by design, some new homebuyers find themselves needing to pack up and move in a week — or less! While a short timeline can seem overwhelming, experts say it can be done. In order to compile these tips for moving in a hurry, we spoke with Ann Hoke, a top-producing real estate agent in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, who works with 74% more single-family homes than the average agent in her area, and Andrea VanHorn, who gained years of experience making quick moves as a military wife. They agree that some strategic thinking can help take the stress out of a quick move. Source: (Startup Stock Photos / Pexels)1. Plan ahead (as much as you can!) When you’re in a rush, it can be tempting to just dive right into the tasks at hand, but skipping the planning stage will cost you time later. Take a moment to organize your thoughts and supplies so that you can be properly prepared before you begin. Sorting supplies: Obtain bins or boxes for donation, trash, and possible sale so you can work faster during the sorting stage. Food supplies: Have food and drinks on-hand for helpers. Don’t overbuy! Using up food in your fridge, freezer, and pantry will save time. Packing supplies: Get your moving boxes, bubble wrap, packing paper, and tape ready now! Hoke recommends tapeless packing boxes for homebuyers who are in a hurry. They’re about 60 cents more than traditional boxes, but their innovative folding design saves time and hassle. 2. Keep a running checklist Since you’re in a hurry, you’re likely to think of things that need to be done on the fly. But changing course to do those little things as they pop up can seriously derail your productivity. And some things simply must be done at the last minute. Keep your mind clear and focused by writing your to-do’s down either on paper or in your phone. Some examples to get your list started: Call utilities (turn off and turn on) Forward mail Update address for credit cards, bills, magazines, etc. Contact your insurance agent Pull things out of the attic Clean inside appliances VanHorn says, “I designate a folder that holds all paperwork associated with the move in one place.” She then writes notes regarding her current residence on the inside cover and jots lists about her new home inside the back cover. 3. Ask for help Assemble your moving squad early, so you’re not scrambling later. Will you need movers? At what stage will you need them — packing or loading? Can you enlist some friends to help you pack and move? When are they available? Make your calls immediately, as moving company schedules are often set weeks in advance. When help arrives, be prepared with forthright assignments. You have no time to waste on directionless helpers. Set each helper on course with simple, polite instructions, such as, “John, can you please pack the books?” or “Terry, will you be in charge of cleaning the bathrooms, please?” Source: (Milada Vigerova / Unsplash)4. Take photos Are there certain configurations or setups that you’ll want to remember once you get to your new home? Take photos now before well-intentioned helpers start packing things in a less-than-perfect way. For example, you may want to take photos of your electronics plug-ins, your closet organizers, and anything that may need to be disassembled (such as bed frames). 5. Sort the big items first Figure out which furniture and appliances can and cannot go with you on your move. If you think you can sell or give away any items, take photos and start the rehoming process early. Schedule donation pick-up for anything that you can’t get rid of on your own. For items that will be making the move with you, put color-coded sticky notes or tape on items that require special handling. That way, you’ll be able to give your movers and helpers good directions. For example, you could ask someone to put plastic wrap around all items with a blue tag. 6. Pack your ‘overnight’ bag Before you really start the packing craziness, be sure to pack a bag with all your essentials. Think as if you were vacationing for a few days. In fact, Hoke tells her clients to imagine they were going to a remote cabin for the weekend. What would you need or want if you were “roughing it” in the wilderness? Clothing Medications ID, wallet, and cash Phone, tablet, computer, chargers Toiletries Bath towel Shoes Important closing documents (get details from your real estate agent) Source: (Kelly Sikkema / Unsplash)7. Set aside your cleaning supplies Whether you’re leaving it for new buyers or you’re hoping to get a security deposit back, you’ll need to clean your current residence. For ultimate time savings, consider hiring a professional cleaner to come in after you move out. Otherwise, be sure not to pack up your cleaning supplies — you’ll need them at the final stage and also at your new place. 8. Tackle the delicate stuff Artwork, decorative items, and anything that’s breakable or might require extra care should be handled first and then moved out of the way. This is a good job to outsource to a careful friend who may not be able to help with heavy lifting. Make sure you have plenty of soft packing material, such as bubble wrap or packing paper. Or multitask by wrapping fragile items in hand towels or table linens. 9. Pull out your luggage Suitcases and duffle bags need to be moved anyway, so you might as well fill them up with stuff! Hardside luggage is great for breakable or electronic items. Softside luggage can be used for games. Duffles can be used for clothing or towels. Also, if you have any original manufacturer’s packaging for small appliances or other oddly shaped items, now is the time to pull it out. Source: (Alyson McPhee / Unsplash)10. Pack (most of) the kitchen last The kitchen is one of the biggest and most complicated rooms, but it’s also the room you need to use the most. That can put you in a moving conundrum because you don’t want to put off a major task, but you also don’t want to pack up things you may need in the final stages. As a general rule, try saving most of the kitchen for last if you can. This will help you avoid the panic of not locating a can opener when you’re trying to finish up the soup in the pantry. However, there are certainly some things you won’t need at this stage, such as the waffle iron, wine glasses, and serving platters. If you’re in a lull — or if you’ve got a free helper that you trust — go ahead and pack those little-used, specialty items. 11. Donate and toss as you pack As you go through your things, move as quickly as possible, and make decisions about whether to keep or toss something. Put your packing items right next to your trash and donation bins, then sort as you go. Be ruthless! At this point, you don’t have time to question yourself. If you haven’t used something in the past year, do you really want to go through the effort of moving it at this point? Move trash out for pickup right away in order to clear the space. Ask a friend to drop off donations for you on their way back to their own place. 12. Clear one room at a time As you pack things up throughout your home, consider going room by room in order to give yourself some mental clarity. Once a room is completely packed, close the door and move on to the next space. This could help protect you from feeling scattered, and it could also save time by keeping you from running back and forth between rooms. However, if you’ve got lots of helpers (hooray!), then it may be best to divide and conquer. Having lots of people in one room may actually waste time if you’re constantly bumping into one another. Instead, consider assigning one room to one person. Make sure each helper has proper sorting and packing supplies. Source: (HiveBoxx / Unsplash)13. Load boxes wisely Don’t make any box too heavy, or you’ll waste time trying to lug it into the truck. Use smaller boxes for books and other weighty items, if possible, or layer some heavy items on the bottom with some light items on the top. Leave boxes open until they’re full. You never know when you’re going to find a spot for oddly-shaped items, so don’t tape up any box until it’s completely done. Also, you don’t want your items to shift around inside and get broken, so be sure to use every square inch. 14. Keep items inside furniture if you can Consider keeping clothing inside your chest of drawers to save on both time and truck space. When it comes time to move, you can simply remove the drawers to reduce the weight and put them back in once the chest is inside the truck. Don’t forget to use painter’s tape to keep drawers closed, or else your clothing might spill out! Kids’ toys might be able to stay inside toy chests or cabinets, as well. Again, make sure that tops and doors are secured. VanHorn offers another space-saving and time-saving tip. “I always put clean sheets inside the dryer for a move,” she says. “Moving is exhausting. At the end of the day when you can finally sleep, you don’t want to be rummaging through boxes to make your bed. The dryer is easy to find, so stashing sheets in there makes it easy to make the beds quickly.” The exception to this “keep-items-in” advice would be office desks and filing drawers. Small office items are guaranteed to get jostled and likely will fall out. And no one wants their filing drawers coming open in transit — Instead, use filing bins or boxes and tape them shut securely. 15. Trash bags have multiple uses Trash bags don’t have to be just for trash! Use them for clothes, blankets, towels, and any other soft items. They’re very packable inside truck spaces, trunks, or wherever you can make them fit. In addition, you can pack your clothes still hanging on hangers in trash bags to save time and space. Simply bundle up your hangers with a rubber band or wire tie, slide a trash bag over the bottom of the clothes, and tie it neatly at the hook of the hangers. Source: (cottonbro / Pexels)16. Label everything clearly Don’t skip this step! Labeling everything may take a few extra seconds, but it will pay off big-time later when you’re sorting things out at your new home. Keep a marker in your back pocket for easy access. Hoke recommends writing the destination room in bold print on the side of each box and also noting the major contents on the top of each box. Without room labels, your movers or moving friends will have to keep asking you where things go, and you’ll lose focus. And because your boxes may be filled with an unusual mix of items, a quick note on the top can go a long way during the unpacking stage. 17. Establish a dedicated ‘done’ area Create a clear space to get packed boxes out of the way. This might be a clean guest room, a garage, or even just a corner of the living room. Consolidating “done” items makes it easier to see what’s left to do, and it also makes it easier to clear your house when the time comes. Consider separating your area by what will go in the moving truck and what will go in your car(s). That way you’ll have an easy reference point for helpers and movers later. Things like televisions, lamps, cleaning supplies, and your “overnight” bag should stay with you in your car. 18. Take one final look Finally, in your haste to leave, don’t forget to walk through every room one last time. Look for anything that may have been left behind, such as rugs, shower curtains, drawer organizers, and other items. Turn off all lights and ceiling fans, too. Don’t be afraid of a quick move! Remember, your real estate agent can always provide references if you need professional help at any point. You’ve got this! Header Image Source: (Joaquín / Unsplash) All product names, logos, and brands are property of their respective owners. All company, product and service names used in this website are for identification purposes only. Use of these names, logos, and brands does not imply endorsement or any affiliation with HomeLight. #MovingTips #Homeownership #Buyers

Arplis - News source https://arplis.com/blogs/news/the-countdown-is-on-18-tips-for-moving-in-a-week-or-less