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elizabeth-holland24 · 24 days ago

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Racing Hearts - Chapter 4

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Wednesday Night — Budapest, Hungary Reader’s POV

The door hadn’t even clicked all the way open when the smell hit her: cedarwood cologne and the faint scent of spearmint gum. Her stomach dropped.

“Hey.” Charles.

She blinked once, then again, as if maybe, just maybe, if she stared hard enough, he’d disappear. Like a glitch in the simulation.

Instead, he stood there in his Ferrari team jacket, as calm as if they were just old friends running into each other in the paddock.

“What the hell are you doing here?” she asked, voice barely above a whisper.

“I needed to talk to you,” he said. His eyes were soft, earnest—the same eyes she once trusted. Once loved, in the brief, stolen months that were theirs and theirs alone. Before she found out.

“Now? You come here now?” she stepped back, arms crossed tight. “After everything?”

“I didn’t cheat on you,” he said quickly, already stepping inside. She should’ve closed the door in his face, but her feet didn’t move. Her body froze, torn between fury and heartbreak.

“Are you kidding me? Really, Charles?! Merde” she didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

“Let me get this straight, so after months of me ignoring you and pretending you are dead to me, and you were doing nothing but being Alexandra's good little obedient pet. You come here and try to explain your side, when we both know that you did in fact cheat on me. Not only that, but she was well aware of everything as well.”

He winced. “That was PR. You know how it is.”

“Don’t.” Her voice raise. “Don’t try to paint me as a fool, Charles. Don’t insult me like that. You still kissed her, you still presented her to the world as your girlfriend when we had something. I get it, we both decided to remain a secret because of being rivals on track. Did you expect me to wait, to act like you didn't hurt me, betrayed me?”

A silence thick enough to choke them.

“You meant, mean something to me,” he whispered. “I didn’t know how to handle it. You... scared me.”

“I scared you?” she replied coldly. “Don't make me laugh, Charles, we both know that you did what you did cause of your pride and nothing else.”

The words cut, and she wanted them to. Because he deserved it. Because she needed him to hurt, just a little, the way she did when she learned that what they had wasn’t real—at least not to him.

“I see you with Glen,” he said suddenly, “and I just—I can’t help but think... he doesn’t know you like I do.”

“You’re wrong,” she replied, her jaw tightening. “Besides, what you do know, I'm not the same girl you think am. You no longer know me, Charles.”

He stared at her, eyes flicking over her face like he was trying to memorize her all over again. But whatever he'd been hoping for, he didn’t find it.

“I just wanted to say it. That I was sorry. That you—” his voice faltered. “You deserved better.”

She didn’t answer.

When he finally left, the room felt colder. Emptier. She curled up on the hotel bed, stared at the ceiling, and let herself feel it—not for him, not anymore—but for the version of herself who thought he might be the exception.

Thursday – Media Day Third-Person Limited

The media room was a zoo.

Cameras flashing. Mics pointed. She wore her Mercedes polo like armor and took a breath before stepping in. She’d done this before. A thousand times. But today, it felt like walking into a courtroom instead of a press briefing.

“So, you’ve had quite the off-week,” a journalist smirked. “Care to comment on being seen with Glen Powell again?”

“I was at an event,” she said smoothly. “And I'm a very social person. That doesn’t mean I’m distracted.”

Another hand shot up. “And Justin Herbert? Rumours say he flew in last night.”

“That’s personal,” she replied coolly. “And irrelevant to my race prep.”

A woman from a European outlet spoke next. “There’s been talk in some circles—questions about your focus. Whether all the attention from male celebrities is... clouding your judgment.”

The words came with a sneer, and something in her snapped.

She stood straighter. "Interesting. Because I don’t see those questions aimed at male drivers when they date models or walk red carpets. But when a woman drives fast, wins races, and dares to be seen as more than one thing—it’s suddenly unprofessional."

The room was quiet. Tense. Cameras zoomed in.

“I am here to win. And I will. With or without your approval.”

Friday – Practice Sessions Glen’s POV

Glen had watched the press conference live on his phone, heart in his throat.

She was fire. Lightning in a bottle. He loved that about her. And yet, he hated that she had to fight so hard to be taken seriously. He'd never been more proud—and more pissed off—at the same time.

When he arrived at the paddock, he kept a low profile, blending in with her crew. Brisket was back at the hotel, but Glen? He needed to be here. Not to make a statement. Not for a viral moment. But because she was important, and he needed her to know that.

He spotted her from across the pit. Helmet off, face flushed, eyes laser-sharp.

Their eyes met. For a second, the world blurred. She gave him a half-nod, unreadable. Then she turned back to her engineer.

He didn’t expect more. Not today.

But damn if he didn’t feel something dangerous rising in his chest.

Friday Night – Surprise Reader’s POV

She found him sitting on the steps behind the hospitality tent, staring out at the track lights.

“You always sit in the dark like a sad music video?” she asked.

He turned, startled. Then smiled. “Only when the soundtrack is your voice in my head.”

She chuckled, easing next to him.

“You were amazing today,” he said. “Press conference. Practice. All of it.”

“I had to be,” she whispered. “They’re waiting for me to fail.”

“They’ll wait a long time.”

They sat in silence, shoulders brushing.

“Why’d you come?” she asked softly.

“Because you matter. And I needed you to know that—off-track too.”

She looked at him, heart caught in her throat.

Before she could respond, another voice echoed behind her.

“Didn’t think I’d see you again so soon.”

Justin Herbert.

Of course.

She blinked. “Justin?”

He smiled, hands in his pockets. “Surprise.”

Saturday – Qualifying Justin’s POV

He saw the way Glen watched her. Like she hung the damn moon.

He hated that he’d fumbled it months ago. That he never took that leap on their connection. But he wasn’t ready to let go.

“Good luck,” he told her before Quali. “Not that you need it.”

She gave him a small smile, then pulled on her helmet.

Glen’s POV

He hated how Justin looked at her.

He hated more that Charles had even been in the picture.

But most of all, he hated the fear sitting in his stomach—because if something happened to her on this track, and he hadn’t told her everything he felt...

He wouldn’t forgive himself.

Reader’s POV – Lap 14 of Q2

She was flying. Clean sector times. Fast corners. Mercedes in her blood.

Until—

Slick patch. Miscalculated line. Verstappen being too close.

The rear snapped.

She tried to catch it.

But it was too late.

Race Broadcast – Commentary POV

“RED FLAG. RED FLAG. Speedy has gone off at Turn 9. I repeat, red flag. Mercedes driver has lost control—major impact on the left side. Marshals are on their way.”

A/N: Soooo yeah. Sorry not sorry, you think I was going to stop leaving you guys on cliff hangers. Anyways that was quite a chapter. Our poor speedy, she has gone through so much, hopefully the author will let her breathe. I want to show through speedy that shes not perfect that shes still human. In other news I think I did well on my exams, tomorrow they are going to give me back one of the exams. Again thank you guys for all the coments and support I love reading and interacting with everyone of you. This chapter is dedicated to one of my closest friend she know who she is. Without your support and you being you I wouldnt know what my life would be thank you for being one of the most amazing persons i could have in my life.

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femmehaljordan · 3 months ago

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Since you were manifesting, here have this thing that's been rotting in my drafts. I can't flesh it out to save my life.

Jason doesn't go home AU, and kinda hangs with Dick in Bludhaven

He looks at the newspaper photos of Batman flying with a new Robin & a memory resurfaces from the cloudy green tinted waters of his mind. An accidental fall. An unmourned death. An accusation.

A disownment.

"I'm not your father, Jason. I don't need your teenage rebellion."

Bruce had promised when he adopted Jason that he would always have a home at Wayne manor. That Jason was his son now & they were a family. For a homeless orphan that meant the world.

But he lied. He'd broken his promise. Bruce buried him out in the public cemetery next to Sheila, not even in a Wayne family plot. He'd washed his hands of his rescue mutt & picked up a shiny new Boy Wonder of proper pedigree before year was even out.

What was the point of vengeance against a man who wasn't his father anyway? Make him choose between his code & some dead boy who wasn't his son?

What a joke.

Jason has no family & no home... right?

"Call me at this number. I've been where you're at, and I'm a good listener."

Dick had never answered, but he was in space on a mission, and Jason hadn't waited for him. Maybe he could try one last time. His brother owes him that one favor, right?

Maybe they could even bond over being disowned & replaced by a newer model.

/breaks into Dick's apartment to say hi/

It takes an alarming amount of time for Dick to realize that Jason's not a hallucination.

Jason is torn between being touched that Dick had missed him enough to hallucinate him and utterly horrified because-

"How often do you hallucinate me, Dick?!"

"..."

"Dick!"

/look he was exposed to a lot of fear&jokes gas in his formative years ok!? it's not his fault/after some hysterical Spiderman Meme pointing they get around to blood tests/

Maybe Robin Magic is real after all because the tests all come back positive in the 99th percentile with an unmistakable trace of Lazarus water.

/A lot of gross snotty crying/

Jason refuses to go back to Gotham & begs Dick not to tell Bruce.

"Bruce is not my father. He made that clear before I- before."

/bruce apparently never gave dick the full story because he hadn't Known the full story & made a bunch of victim-blamey assumptions/Jason talks about Garzonas, but more importantly about Sheila/Dick is heartbroken for Jason but mostly PISSED/

Dick is going to kill Bruce. Some genius he is. When Bruce had adopted Jason, Dick really thought the man was going to do better by the kid. That Bruce had learned from his mistakes with Dick. It had been half the reason he'd been so mad at him & so jealous of Jason in those early days.

Turns out Bruce had learned jackshit.

He promises not to tell. He won't break anymore promises to Jason.

"Can I stay with you? Just for a bit? Till I figure out what I'm gonna do. Where I'm gonna go."

It's almost cute that Jason thinks he'll be going anywhere anytime soon.

Dick's not letting his little brother out of his sight ever again.

"Of course Little Wing.

Jason's face crumbles, burying his face into Dick's shoulder, curling his startlingly broad shoulders in like he was trying to fold himself to fit into his big brother's arms. God, he had gotten so big. Bigger & taller than Dick.

How cruel. How unfair. Little brothers aren't supposed to outgrow their big brothers. It's illegal!

He channels the outrage into trying to squish Jason small again. If he could just hug him tight enough

/more gross crying & a good hug, eventually they sit on the ground with some Swiss Miss cocoa Dick unearths from his cabinets/

"You could be Flamebird!"

"...weren't they like mates or something?"

"Well, kinda..."

"EWW! That's disgusting Dickhead!"

"They were Partners! Most people dont even know that part-"

"well I have to know about it!"

Then Jason eventually goes out as Nightwing's partner: Shrike? Phoenix? (i really don't like Flamebird, it's so clunky) Batman hears about it & is like who tf is that? Dick tells him to f off.

Tim & Babs both get nosy like they do, but Jason visits Babs & bribes her to keep quiet about him with killing the Joker & making it look like an embarrassing accident. She's mad at Bruce about Steph or something & would've kept quiet anyways.

Tim i couldn't decide what to do with. I feel like he would stalk nightwings new partner & rat to Bruce about Jason because He thinks it will fix Bruce even if he was told Jason didn't want it. Timothy (What are Boundaries?) Drake

ohhhhhhhhhhhhh. oh I love this thank youuuuuuuu.

I fear I simply... Do Not Like Tim lol. so I can't help with that bit.

They make me so ill though. I love them

#dc #dc comics #jason todd #dick grayson #dick and jason

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fall0utmind · 8 months ago

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Medical leaks au

OMG

I'm speechless

This was absolutely amazing and I'll be awaiting the next part (and wishing for a happy ending for our Marc)

First of all

'His heart stops beating. The room goes dead silent. He can feel everyone’s eyes on him, his fellow riders watching in confusion. For Marc, it is like watching a train wreck in slow motion. He looks up and catches Alex’s wide-eyed stare. He's sweating, beads rolling down the side of his neck. Shit. Fucking shit. He’s starting to think he’s not going to make it out of this press conference in one piece, torn apart by the gnashing teeth of the media.'

This whole paragraph is just mind blowing

I love how you described the media being ruthless (especially since it's Marc's pov)

'He feels like someone has taken a sledgehammer to his facade, destroying everything he has made himself be'

Destroying everything he made himself be🫠and what if I kms

'Alex is the one person he would do anything for, he would walk through hell and back to protect him. He is the only one who truly knows what happened in 2015, who knows the extent of the demons in Marc’s brain. Now they will have to face them again'

yes yes yes, their bond is something from another planet, obv no secrets between them

They really only have themselves (esp on the grid)

'The other pilots probably think he is pathetic. He doesn’t think he can deal with another reason for the others to hate him. As much as he tries to rise above it, he loathes that his colleagues cannot bring themselves to like him'

and what if I kms x2

It's sad that he thinks that everyone hates him(and will hate him more for the attempts)

He is so isolated from the rest 😭(Vale when I catch you, you better crawl on your knees to make up for what you did)

'disgusted by the consequences of Vale's war on Marc?'

Marc, no😭 pecco is just worried (and prob feeling guilty for his mentor's actions)

I hope you will explore Marc's relations with the academy boys in the future

And maybe a Vale pov reaction to the news? pretty please 🥺🙏 (kind of want a pov reaction from pedrenzo and the vr46a too)

Anyway

I think you can tell I loved this fic,

Of course I'll def love any way you take this fic(so long as it has a happy ending)

I hope Marc gets therapy, and Vale, and then they go to couples counselling

This was quite long but oh well

BIG ASK

Haha this is so exciting that you guys have so many thoughts ans ideas from my writing???? Crazy to me

I'm so glad you like the para about the media being awful, o feel like it's such a big part of Marc's real life and it sucks so bad. They're so unfair to him.

Also I really wanted to play yp the idea that Marc is always marx yes but he puts on a bit of a persona for the world and that's all come crumbling down and he DOESNT KNOW WHAT TO DO.

Your comment about Vale made me giggle because a couple of people literally say something like that in the fic later.

I love pecco, I love the idea that he really cares and doesn't want to live with Vales hatred!!!!!

Yes yes yes to the VR46 boys x marx relationship. I'd love to do that. I also wanna do a little bit of their pov/ Vales pov. Maybe as a separate work??

I haven't decided how to make it functional yet lol.

Defo a happy ending!! Don't worry, I've got you on that. There's also going to be some hurt/comfort in the next chapter, it's gonna be like dani,Alex, Jorge, dovi protecting marc as he falls apart hehe

#SO KIND #literally every time someone talks to me about it i get more ideas #so pleaseeee ask #i love ot #my ao3 comments too #ah you guysss

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myaoiboy · 2 years ago

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what are ur hcs for the boscelhira dynamic?

These bitches are so deeply unhealthy on every level lmaoooo

I'm super torn on whether Ocelot ever actually directly tells Big Boss that he's attracted to him, purely out of such a fucked up yandere level of hero worship. Especially before the Ground Zeroes incident I think he assumes a) that his feelings go without saying and b) that bibo is indestructible, and GZ is a huge wake up call for him. I have a fic in my wip folder about this exact thing because I'm obsessed with ocelot I am genuinely rotating him in my brain at all times. :3

Meanwhile Kaz is extremely straightforward. I feel like he has some fucked up ideas about masculinity and sexuality early on, but hey, gay people tend to congregate around all the snakes in large numbers, so any internalized homo/biphobia that he might have had has to evaporate pretty quickly. He definitely makes the first move on Bibo, he tries the moves that he uses on (many, many) women, and ends up getting absolutely plowed.

Big Boss, to me, is an autistic aroace king who doesn't really *get* sex and/or romance, but is down to fuck if only because he knows it's something other people put a lot of value on and it feels good, and as an extension of hand-to-hand combat. Because of that sex-as-an-extension-of-combat mindset I feel like he doesn't bottom much if ever (maybe, *MAYBE* if the Boss were into pegging, but lbr she's probably a lil too homophobic for that).

Kaz is cool with that, especially in the early MSF days. It's like having a tiger on a leash. He basically has a supersoldier to fuck him senseless.

I think maybe BB and Ocelot meet quietly on occasion through the MSF days, but if they fuck at all in this time it's mostly just what BB kind of assumes he's supposed to do, from interacting with Kaz. tbh Ocelot gets off from the weirdest shit so anything *real* is just a bonus.

Ocelot is *extremely* jealous of Kaz, not just for the sex, but for even getting to see Bibo on a regular basis. This fic is basically to me what I think their first meeting would/should be like (actually this whole series of fics is so good i recommend it): https://archiveofourown.org/works/37886539

(There's another fic that I looked for very quickly but couldn't find that includes Ocelot saying a line like "I just wanted to see what all the buzz was about" after they fuck, it may also be a part of that series, but I'm struggling rn lol)

Ocelot pretends it's not jealousy and is instead a totally justified dislike. Definitely thinks of him as Zero's slutty lapdog. He spends the time between MGS3/PO (take your pick on canonicity) and GZ keeping tabs on Snake for what he pretends are totally professional, impersonal, non-obsessive reasons. This is not true, obviously. Definitely hopes that Kaz is dead in the devastation.

Goes on an enormous bender between the attack and finding out that Bibo is alive, maybe the only time that he really, truly lets himself completely lose control. Definitely think at least once he gets REAL fucking close to ODing and gets to talk to the Sorrow for a lil bit. Might be how he finds out Snake isn't dead/won't die.

If they haven't at least hooked up anonymously before, Kaz and Ocelot definitely start to in this 9 year gap. Ocelot knows a lot about the human body and does some fancy acupunctury/knife-y stuff to help with the pain from his injuries because, y'know, they're stuck together for now.

Ocelot totally fucks Kaz because he's the person closest to Big Boss left in the world. Ocelot isn't much of a top himself, but he tops Kaz just to figure out what he's used to, using Kaz to build up this mental model of how Big Boss must fuck using the negative space he's left behind.

I genuinely think that up to this point they REALLY could have saved one another. They're one another's perfect foil, they cover one another's weaknesses, Kaz is all rage on his own behalf but doesn't know when to cut ties, Ocelot refuses to grow a single vertebra if it might inconvenience Big Boss.

I do think that Ocelot spent a lot of time at Zanzibarland, and that Kaz intentionally helped time Intrude F014 for a time that Ocelot wouldn't be there, from some lack of desire to kill his...complicated ex lover.

I think Ocelot would absolutely be furious that he wasn't let die with his boss, and intentionally lets Kaz live in 2005 as punishment (I like biblical allusion and so the idea of Kaz living the story of Cain/Pontius Pilate's doorman, cursed to live a wandering life until the second coming of jesus, or in Kaz's situation, the third(?) coming of Big Boss makes me kick my feet and giggle)

Gonna stop for now cause this is getting like. Comedically long for what you asked lol. But I am more than willing to talk about this forever i love them they're my favorite toxic barbies

but genuinely yall thank you, you're making me think about this which means that I can add a little more to the bunch of fics I have half written and scared to finish lmaoooo

#mgs #headcanon #bosselhira #bosselot #ocelhira #bbkaz #oops i went on way longer than i intended to lol #i am. so sorry lmao

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lovecanbesostrange · 8 months ago

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A quick list about what I loved about the Agatha All Along finale.

Agatha still isn't a good person. She's not completely evil either though. She looks out for number 1, herself. To protect herself she killed witches before and she's still willing to do it again. Which doesn't mean she is completely uncaring either. She has buttons that can be pushed, mostly the big one that says "Nicky" on it. And I love the way she is torn between "Billy reminds me of my son, but he also very much isn't my own".

Billy also has done shitty things. Much like his mother out of not having proper guidance. When he realizes that he created the road and thus caused suffering for others, his devastation is genuine. And he does lash out by trying to banish ghost!Agatha (honestly understandable reaction). But then he doesn't.

And these two form a most interesting pair for a mentorship!! I need more of that. I am not devastated about Agatha's death, since she is a ghost. Hilarious. Being dead doesn't stop her from being a character that can be easily used. And oh, what a death scene that was. Fantastic! Plus how she insists that it was not a sacrifice. Because she is not nice. Nobody ever dare say anything nice about Agatha Harkness!!

The true devastation are those scenes with Nicolas. Her son. The one who started singing a silly little tune and oops, they created the whole ballad together. FANTASTIC! I love everything about that and how Agatha uses it as a con, when the ballad spreads. A lie she can use. Wow. Epic. Agatha All Along!! She said the road was fake and she meant it. But also can we talk how the ballad did become a protection spell for a child by her mother? Best use ever and it hits harder now.

I do wish there had been a scene prior to Agatha being pregnant. To show her with Rio before. Agatha killer her own mother and her first coven and I'm sure that's when Death took note of her. A witch who kills her own coven, who sucks them dry and leaves bodies for her to collect. I think just a short scene from their first encounters would have helped. Also to explain why Rio feels such sympathy for Agatha that she doesn't take Nicolas right away at birth. ONLY FOR AGATHA TO SUFFER MORE BECAUSE KNOWING HIM WAS EVEN HARDER... more wow. It hurt so much. Rio was so gentle, and how she sends him back to kiss Agatha goodbye. Only for Agatha to find her dead son in her arms, unable to do or say anything. And all of that is WORSE. She said she would never forgive Rio and she kept that promise.

I do think it's a bit weird how easy it is that it comes down to "I will take one of you", even though Billy upset the natural order by taking over William's body. And then he did it for Tommy. Holy shit. The deal and natural balance felt a bit... well, not focused on enough. But just the way Billy comes to help Agatha and does give her some of his power, and she actually does stop herself -- these two! (Honestly I wish Agatha could learn about what went down in MoM. If there is one person who could appreciate massacring a bunch of wizard monks just to follow an insane plot to get some children back - it should be Agatha.)

JEN IS ALIVE! And she has her powers back. From Agatha. Fuck it, Agatha All Along, who knew.

Agatha still isn't good. She was an opportunistic witch and now she can be a cunty ghost mentor. The way she says that she is not ready to face her son, breaks my heart. Maybe it's also because she used their song to kill more witches and he didn't like that part all too much.

What a great trip. The big reveal hidden in plain sight. A very character focused emotional journey, yet some dangling threads to connect it to ge greater known Marvelverse, pushing the door open for Tommy (I'm glad they told us right away and nobody has to now make up theories how his soul was around and why didn't Wanda sense him at least). I think it would be fun if this has the greater effect of making the road real and that others can now walk this path (with all the dangers attached), but that doesn't matter and it's probably this isolated event. Jen survived the road and she found sisterhood along the way.

Oh, in that fight between Rio and Agatha, I like how Agatha tried to use the things she learned about protection and healing, also of course listening to Lilia's last warning. Oh Agatha, you would be better off with a coven, you know.

#ramblings #I don't want it to be over #and I don't wanna wait three more years until this storyline is picked up again... ugh

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ihopethisendswell · 4 months ago

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As I said before TPITT is getting a revamp to where I am just fucking around and having fun than having serious plot. That doesn't mean plot isn't there though! Here's some quick descriptions for the main 4.

Ash: The Princess In The Tower, AKA Sleeping Beauty. At least, she's supposed to be? The reality is that Ash was originally going to be the "Cinderella" of her story, only for the real sleeping beauty to switch her fate with Ash's. So while the og princess got to run away from the curse, and later start a family line for 100 years, Ash was asleep for 100 years, as well as her entire kingdom. After 100 years, she finds herself awoken in a "dead" kingdom, deeply confused and worried about her original princess' safety (she does not realize the betrayal that has happened yet). Also at some point she becomes a dragon girl with claws and horns bc I think that's cool. Aaaaand maybe the consequences of having a story that's not your own.

Damien: Not as deep as Ash but here it is: He comes from a family of monster hunters that was cursed after one of them fucked up ( I have not thought of specifics lol). This curse is generational, and Damien is its current bearer. The curse is, of course, wolf like in nature, and can be able to turn the person into what is essentially an anthro wolf. Again, this is me having fun sue me. I guess this is like werewolfism???? Kinda???? Anyway Damien has a curse that's the result of his ancestors mistake and now he Has To Deal With It. He's overall still a gentle giant, a big ol softy. I dunno how exactly his story goes, but I do know he was the one to find Ash.

Lyric: I already talked about Lyric so long story short: Little mermaid that ends up regretting his decision bc he just feels as lonely and as out of place as he did before, even with his so called " true love". He's far too prideful to admit he misses his home though.

Jolee: Kinda already talked about Jolee? She's the princess and the pea stand in technically. A fae that had lost her wings and did not know what to do or where to go until a prince ( lyric's lover) found her and took her in. She kinda has to deal with A Lot Of Bullshit between the Prince being enamoured by her and just having a loss of connection with her fae-ness due to her wings. All of which is wrapped under a bow of " my wings were torn off and now I have back pain so I can't sleep well bc of it".

Some small things I have thought of

The Brothers Grimm and Mother Goose are the gods of this world. The Brothers Grimm are the writers and Mother Goose is the storyteller.

Brothers Grimm are kinda pretentious vs Mother Goose being more maternal. Both groups are still gods, of course. There will always be a disconnect.

" haha what if the prince Lyric has his situationship with be the descendant of the og sleeping beauty that screwed Ash over".

The og princess deadass took Ash's story. Her prince, her future- everything. All because she was desperate to not be asleep for 100 years. And like that's totally fair, but also girl.

The reason I came up with Ash becoming a dragon girl is bc The Princess In The Tower was not her story. And thus, a consequence. That being said she kinda finds it cool as fuck. She is annoyed with the horns though.

Jolee's fae form is very bug like, like a moth specially. Even as a "human", her eyes have an ethereal bug like glint to them.

Lyric's gills are no longer on his body but there are markings that show where they used to be. He covers them up with high collar clothes. His teeth are still sharp, something he's insecure about.

Damien is definitely the most normal of the bunch, but he still has some wolf traits, specifically his eyes occasionally flicker into wolf like ones and his nails are sharper than normal - he wears gloves so he doesn't accidentally scratch someone.

Aaaaand yeah! I'm having fun here, hehe :)

#tpitt #the princess in the tower #r rambles

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art-bigotti · 2 years ago

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Art Bigotti: That's the Facts

Art wiggles an eyebrow. "Name's Art Bigotti. It rhymes with naughty. Wanna find out why?"

"Now, you may see those photos and wonder why Madame kept a photo of Pa Grape on her wall, but if you looked especially closely, you would also see a very tiny photo of me up there. Clearly, we go way back, but as to how we knew each other... well, thanks to my years in the Jungle, I simply do not remember. Maybe she snorted coke with me and the owner of the bowling alley! Who knows! Everyone was doing it back then. Maybe she was supposed to be there for our game of Jumanji..." he trails off, looking haunted, as if he is scared to remember and know the truth.

"I remember most vividly what happened when Jumanji finally ended. I spent years trapped in that jungle. The owner of the Bowling Alley was my best friend, and the two of us were sucked into the game with no way to escape, nobody to roll the dice for the next turn. Still, I found the mysterious crystal. I escaped, though to my knowledge, my best friend is still dead in those jungles somewhere. What I've learned is this: never drink drugs and smoke alcohol when playing 'Cursed Board Game' Night at the Bowling Alley. Maybe then... well, it hurts too much to even think about, but maybe... he'd still be here. To this day, I still don't know who rolled the dice, who allowed me to finish my turn. I... I never found what happened to the board game."

"VD. Dad Asparagus. Truly the only real Vegetable Daddy around here, though I refused to call him that at first. He was my first moment of peace, of comfort, after I had found myself back in Bumblyberg following... Jumanji. Yes, who can resist a man who loves bowling and plays the acoustic guitar? What's the word they use now? On that internet thing? Ah, right. He's a DILF. I've never met someone so... terrifyingly wholesome. It thrills me. Being on a bowling league with him and two other unspecified veggies, competing against another bowling league consisting of Bob the Tomato and Audrey 'Rumor' Weed, and two more other unspecified veggies, has been the greatest joy I could've experienced. It's like being given a second chance at life, and life handed me a bowling ball and said: 'you go you fucking freaky bowler'."

"I know what you're going to say. But Art! How is it being back in a time where bowling is passe! Where nobody remembers the famed bowler Art Bigotti? I'll tell you. It fucking sucks. I mean, I had so much money! People practically begged for my attention. Now it's like 'huh?? Art Bigotti? But didn't you get murdered when things went south between you and the bowling alley owner forty years ago?' and I say: 'what? Where the fuck did you hear that? No, I was trapped in Jumanji for forty years'. And then it's all: 'oh, you're full of shit! You think you're Robin Williams? You will never be Robin Williams', and then I have a good cry. But I mean, really, they're right. About the Robin Williams thing. I never will be him. I'm Art Bigotti, after all! I can only be me. The one good thing is, without fame, I can bowl again without getting harassed. I mean, you ever see that Pepperazzi guy go after me? No! He could care less about Art Bigotti, no matter how many letters I send him begging him to please care a little more about Art Bigotti."

"Despite canonically being in Jumanji during the time of this release, I actually make an appearance in High Silk Hat! However, I can explain this, as they actually used a lot of special effects! Mostly archival footage that was cleaned up, but also, sometimes that's a puppet! You really can't even tell. It's amazing!"

"Back in my early bowling days, I knew Nezzer! That's why he gives me this suspicious look. It's a nod to an early... friendship we had at the time. It never got very far, because he had a much stronger... friendship with someone else, and now that I'm back, I've avoided reconnecting due to the complications. You probably know the ones."

#I can't tag this properly now because I decided to use this for the 'here's what we know about Art' page on my blog #but this is my 'established lore' page now lmao #i kinda wanna headcanon his voice to sound like robin Williams but thats also just not the voice I hear for him #that bob bowling picture is a real picture from a set of veggietales birthday cards #and I feel like I recognize it and find it familiar but also I don't remember it #art bigotti lore

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razorfst · 11 months ago

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Maybe that night he should have turned her away, told her then, that way she didn't see him in the light she had since. It might have lessened the blow to know he had caused her that pain had she known right away but instead he kept it locked down, under the lies that he wasn't involved and had no idea who would do such a thing to her family. When in reality the murderer lay beside her in bed every night. The murderer had been the one who comforted her as she cried into his chest and held her tight. How could someone who cared for another do that? Sure the guilt had been eating away at him but he had remained silent the entire time and now it seemed he was meant to have that dug up and thrown back at him. All deserved. Hell, he would have preferred physical pain caused to him over seeing her like this but it was too late. He had done this and no amount of apologies was going to make up for it. The look in her eyes told him enough, if it could strike a man dead then he would lay at her feet. This was an anger he never saw from her and to know this was all his doing? It killed him. No amount of apologies or excuses was going to lessen her angered gaze, nothing except maybe him leaving it. But he couldn't do that right now, his feet were practically glued in the spot.

Hearing her real name, it did dawn on him in that moment. He knew the name. He had seen it on lists as she said but no one had ever fulfilled the contract and now he was understanding why. With her protection now gone, was he going to be offered that opportunity by Wenwu? No doubt she can see all of that clicking behind his eyes and there is a worry that it would be the first time he tells his father no. Being torn between the two, if the time should come, what would he do? He had to shake his head, snap out of it because he couldn't stand here silent and take everything. She deserved answers, despite it all. This wasn't something Andrei did, relationships and letting people close and now he was understanding even more why he had kept everyone at a distance. And yet he still couldn't leave her in the dark, he answered as best he could but he knew it wasn't going to be enough. The words the followed from her, however, hadn't been something he expected. Maybe it was because he thought himself as someone who wasn't capable of loving or being loved but it felt like a punch to the gut when the words left her lips. Knowing he caused that pain to someone who had loved him? It tore his heart apart. "That's not....." He has to stop, jaw clenching as he swallows and shakes his head. "That's not what I'm saying. I just....Fuck, Payne or Cassandra, I don't know what you want me to say?" He is looking down at her, the hurt behind his eyes isn't something he should be feeling, he had no right to, but it was there anyway. "Leave then, you don't love me. Don't say that, because that's not what this is...." Push her away, make it easier for her to leave, that’s what he’s telling himself. Why should she stick around anyway? After what he did, she shouldn’t. He understood no matter how much it hurt. “I’m not someone you love, we both know that.” He straightens up and moves towards the door to his place. “I’m not going to force you to do anything, I’ve done enough.” Andrei places his hand on the door handle. “So…go. I’ve hurt you enough.”

HER FAMILY WAS DAMAGED, had been since the day her mother had died. and her father truly lost his reason, for pretending to be good. and she herself had lived her life, bowing to his commands. committing the dark arts he asked of her [ ... ] to simply survive. which was why she wasn't truly grieving the death of that father. she was grieving the death of the father, who had supported her career, had understood her reason for leaving. and had spent as much energy as he did committing crimes, to protecting her. that was who she was missing. ( who she had cried for ! ) but still what she had learned, from all the contacts she'd gone digging too. had felt like a punch in the gut. one she wasn't sure she'd recover from. she'd tried her hardest to deny it [ ... ] to convince herself that it was wrong. but the proof was there. SOMETHING UNDENIABLE. that no excusing it could make it go away. and it was the reason for her rage. oh she knew she'd had issues with him, had maybe felt a bit of rage before. when they'd been enemies. but this rage was something worse. something dark and consuming. and she was truly scared of it. as well as the tornado of emotions she felt inside. her heart was torn in many directions. and it was making her head swim and she just didn't know. which way was up any more.

❛ my real name is cassandra richards. so trust me I'm on a list fucking somewhere for the shit I've done. especially now with the digging I had to do ..... ❜ she shouts. this time her anger has multi layers. most of it at his flippant disregard for what she had asked. he wasn't confirming nor denying he'd have killed her. if the job had asked it of him. but also she was angry at herself. for once more making those who wanted her dead, aware of where she was. of who she was. and soon she'd be hunted. by people like him. merlin she wouldn't be surprised if he is the one who gets the contract. finish the whole family off. wipe them from the face of the earth. ( away from hurting anyone else again ! ) her look is incredulous as she looks at him, not even truly believing he had said those words to her. and It takes her a moment to truly comprehend what it was he had said. staring with nothing but pure anger burning in her eyes. but there was also a twinge of pain. and it shows in the way her lip was threatening to wobble. to give into her urge to cry. to let out a loud scream. to let loose the catastrophe of emotions that she felt inside. still she scoffs slightly, as an eyebrow raises. fighting through her emotions. ❛ and what, I'm supposed to just fucking live with the knowledge. that the man i fucking love, yes love, is the one who murdered my father and brother. what do we just play happy families as though fuck all has happened. just because you made sure they didn't suffer ! ❜ the delivery of her words is vicious, as she growls them into the air. her eyes burning into him, as though daring him to speak out against that. daring him to once more come up with an excuse. something he could shrug off. as truly she knew they had secrets, but she never once, expected this.

#hellsurvivr #🔪 — тeмpeѕт and υrge вυιld wιтнιn ╲ ( verѕe 14 )#🔪— υnwaverιng loyalтy ╲ ( qυeυe )

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henrysglock · 3 years ago

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Literally no one cares but I need to put the vision into words otherwise it'll eat me up. So.

I've been listening to The Ballad of Jane Doe on repeat lately (it scratches so many brain itches) and I can't help but think about what it might be like if it had been a pseudo-duet between Jane and John Doe (ignoring the plot of Ride The Cyclone, of course, singling the song out as a stand-alone song).

Thinking about the lyrics as an emotional dialogue of sorts, where Jane is monologuing to John, and John is non-verbally monologuing back to her (and us) through his expressions, thoughts, and actions.

Jane and John speaking to each other that way. Jane who can't remember who she is lamenting her amnesia to John, who she can't remember and who can't remember her either. Jane and John, who each know the other is important to them, but can't figure out why. Jane and John, drawn by gravity alone. Jane, pleading for her memories back, begging John to remember something, anything, because it feels like he should. John, lamenting that he doesn't remember her even though it feels like he should.

And of course this makes me want to craft a theory about s5 (just for my own fun tbh). It combines the "Will is being erased from the memory of every person who knows him/loves him" birthdaygate theory with s2 Will's memory loss during his possession.

I have a ficlet of sorts written about it below. it's kind of messy, and I'll be polishing it up a bit later and sticking it on ao3 for shits and giggles but...If you want to read my cringefail writing now, you are more than welcome to it.

but like y'know. if you don't have something nice to say, don't say anything at all. thanks!

Say we've got Will, wiped out by Henry, his memories either completely erased or completely hidden from him so that he no longer resists Henry. This happens in a major burst of energy emitted from the Upside Down, a shockwave of mental force from Henry. Will is locked out of his own memories. He's simultaneously wiped out of the memories of everyone who ever knew him and who happened to be in the blast radius...but ONLY the memories occurring AFTER his funeral in 1983. Will Byers existed once, but not anymore. Not since November 1983, certainly not in 1988.

In light of that, we have Will and the Party, who were investigating the Rifts as a team, being hit by Henry's blast and subsequently waking up together. It's El in the woods all over again. Mike, Lucas, and Dustin can't just leave this bewildered and clueless boy out in the semi-Upisde-Down wilderness alone, so they take him home, hoping someone will recognize him.

(I'm highlighting his "name" because it just feels so wrong to call Will by a different name without constantly reminding everyone that that's not his real name)

No one recognizes him, of course, and evidently even he doesn't know who he is. So, he becomes John. John Doe. The name fits like a shirt one size too small, a scarf wrapped too tightly. It's not like he knows any better, though. So...John it is.

History repeats itself. Something about this boy reminds Mike of his "dead" best friend (who, if we're being honest, he never really believed was dead). He doesn't tell John about Will, but he offers an olive branch, brings John one of the (slightly stale) bags of chips the group had stockpiled for special occasions. They talk, and the feeling that they should know each other grows. Mike sticks himself to John's side like a burr. For John, it feels like coming home, like a warm fire in the winter. For Mike, it feels like he know this boy, like reading a book you once read as a child, like a memory half-forgotten. It can't last.

John is struggling with this pattern of knowing things (like the fact that he loves Mike, that he'd give anything to stay by Mike's side) while being unable to understand why outside of "it feels right". Mike, meanwhile, is facing criticism for what the Party perceives as him trying to make John fill the Will-shaped hole that was torn in his life 5 years ago, without ever actually telling John about Will (maybe they're on to something there. Mike would never admit it, though). Mike begins to distance himself, and he doesn't tell John why. John notices, of course. He pushes it away, it's not like he even really knows Mike anyway. The tension and confusion can only grow so much before something gives.

(This bit is the scene I was thinking about, the beginning bit is just for context and backstory.)

Then one day in early November 1988, John feels a pull to the UD. He doesn't question it. Why should he? He marches himself right through a gate to pursue it. Mike can't lose this boy, his almost-Will, too. He chases after him, and the gate closes, locking them both in the Upside-Down alone.

While searching for the source of the pull, there's nothing to do but talk. Well, quietly regard each other and wait for the other person to speak.

John breaks first. He asks Mike, theorizes if this pull he feels coming from the hellscape is his soul. Where is his soul? Is it here, rotting alongside Hawkins? No soul, and no name, he laments. He feels like an imposter, a sham. Is he even a person at all? Was he ever a person? With no one to tell him, and no way of remembering on his own, he feels like a shell at best. Like the label "person" doesn't belong to him.

Mike watches and listens as he continues, quietly, sadly trailing just behind John. He tamps down the part of him that wants to swoop in and label him as Will, the part that wants to assign anything that ever was Will to this blank slate of a boy. It would be so easy for Mike to say "Wait, I know you! You're Will Byers!" and fill the gap for them both. If he didn't have to contend with the Party (and the Byers family, whose son/brother is still dead, for fucks sake), he would do it in a heartbeat. He would have Will back, in a sense. He would spend eternity loathing himself for it, for imposing Will on this boy (for betraying Will). He doesn't think he'd regret it, though, and if he thinks about it hard enough...he doesn't really think Will (perfect, angelic Will, too good, taken too soon, has it really been 5 yea--) would hold it against him either.

John turns to Mike, visibly upset. He tells Mike that he feels like Mike should know something, that maybe he does know something, that maybe he's just refusing to say it.

"Why won't you just tell me who I am?" he questions, "Shouldn't you know? You should know me, Mike. You and I...We feel like an old song, one that someone heard on the radio once and almost forgot, but not just yet. One that's going to keep lingering until we figure out what it is. Only us. You and me, forever, eternally, John and," he gestures vaguely at Mike, "Jane Doe."

John immediately realizes the implications of his words. He turns away, heart stuttering in his chest. He didn't mean for it to be so obvious. The way it sounded. The way he feels, the things he wants. The way Mike might take it, like he's saying they're soulmates or something. The way he maybe, kind of (totally) meant it. He turns his frustration towards the situation, but his ranting is still directed at the only other person present: Mike.

"I just want to know why, Mike. I mean...If this is how I die, Mike...Why be left with no family and no friends? If I die here, I'll get no celebration, just the consolation that time will eat us all in the end. If I died...who would care? And whatever this," he gestures between them, "is? It'll be just another sad, forgotten song that no one knows. That's just how it goes! Just 'Jane' and me, forever, eternally, John fucking Doe!"

Mike winces as John's voice rings out in the empty street, his desperation and frustration echoing into the spore-riddled air. He places a hand on John's shoulder, and John turns to him, refusing to meet his eyes. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have yelled. I just...I clearly lived in Hawkins. Isn't there anyone who can tell me who I am?" John's voice drops to a whisper. "Does no one care?"

Mike can do nothing but surrender to the urge to pull John in for a hug, trying to convey how much he cares. He can feel John's shoulders shaking with silent sobs and pulls back just enough to tip John's face up by the chin, staring directly into his teary eyes. Mike brushes a thumb across a grimy tear track and abruptly notices how close their faces are. They've been in the Upside Down for two full days now. They're filthy. He doesn't care.

"You must think I'm crazy. I sound crazy," John murmurs, breaking their eye-contact to stare blankly at a button on Mike's shirt.

Mike's breath catches, and he immediately shakes his head, still cupping John's cheek. He replies in the gentlest of tones, "No. No, no, no. I would care. I do care. You're not crazy, John, but even if you were...Well, we'd go crazy together, then."

John's eyes snap up to Mike's, the hazel meeting mahogany in a moment of glorious recognition. He's heard that before. Someone said it to him once. Someone he loved, someone who meant the world to him. Someone who...loved him, perhaps. A hazy picture forms in his mind, a boy in a tan jumpsuit with a dark hair and dark eyes, freckles splashed across his sloping nose.

"Crazy...together," he whispers, processing the words, how they feel in his mouth. They're still only inches apart. John can feel Mike's breath on his face. That boy couldn't be anyone but Mike. John is certain of it; he's never been more certain of anything.

"It's you. I know you, Mike. I know you. I...I remember you. It can't be anyone but you," John chokes out, barely audible, his voice thick with tears and wonder as the memory sharpens.

Mike stares at John, eyes alight in equal parts confusion and intrigue. "It...can't be anyone but me? You remember me? You mean..." He trails off, mind whirring as he attempts to catch the thread connecting John's statements.

"Mike. A tan jumpsuit, 'Venkman' stitched into the upper left side. In your basement. You said we'd go crazy together," John chuckles wetly, shaking his head, "It couldn't have been anyone but you. It could never be anyone but you."

Mike knows he's missing something, a vital piece of the puzzle. His eyes dart across John's tear-streaked face, brows furrowed as he searches desperately for a clue.

Then John smiles at him. It's a small, delicate thing, filled with nothing but adoration. That's his smile, Mike thinks offhand. And then it clicks. The missing piece snaps into place. That's his smile. The only person who ever smiled at Mike like that was Will.

Mike shudders with the force of his gasp as his entire reality shifts, the events of the past months slipping neatly into context. "You...How..." His voice drops to the barest of whispers, afraid that saying it any louder would shatter the dreamlike moment, "Will?"

The name settles into John's bones like gravity. The shirt fits right, the scarf loosens from around his neck. Will. He's Will. He nods at Mike, fresh tears rolling down his cheeks. They stare at each other, adrift in the revelation.

It feels like an eternity. It's a split second. Mike moves first, surging towards Will in pure need. They meet in the middle, Will's hands tangling in Mike's dark hair, and Henry--no--Vecna's curse crumbles away. Every stolen memory returns in a rush of light, swing-sets and hospitals and a painting in the back seat of a dusty pizza van (You're the heart, Mike--) flashing past in a dizzying handful of seconds.

They part for air, and Mike drops his head to bury his face in Will's shoulder. He's trembling with the force of the entire experience, but also with the realization of what he just did. He feels Will pull him closer, hold him tighter, and he allows himself to lean into the embrace, his shaky knees finally giving way. A sob tears itself from his throat and the floodgates open, fear and grief and longing burbling up from his chest and out through his eyes in burning tears.

They sink to the ground, Will refusing to let go for even a second as the love of his life breaks down in his arms. He hushes Mike gently, and reassures him, "It's okay, Mike, I'm here. I'm not going anywhere."

"You were dead, I remember grieving you," Mike chokes out between sobs, "He took you from me. You were gone for so long, Will--"

Will cuts him off, "No, Mike. I was never gone. I was hidden in plain sight, but you found me. Again. You always find me, Mike, no matter where or who I am."

With a shuddering breath, Mike slowly moves to gaze up at Will, as if he's afraid that this is all a dream that could dissipate if he moves too fast. "You're really here...You were never gone...It was all him. And--and you..." He trails off, nervous to speak the words.

Will smiles down at Mike, eyes warm and bright. He knows. He also knows he doesn't need to say it, but he wants to. "Yes, Mike. I love you too."

An astonished giggle bubbles out of Mike at Will's words, elation replacing the grief that had made a home inside his heart since Henry's attack. "Holy shit, Will..." Mike stares up at Will from his place in his arms with starry eyes, sniffling quietly as reality fully settles in his mind.

"I know, Mike," Will reassures him quietly, using his shirtsleeve to wipe the tears from Mike's cheeks. "It's okay, you don't need to say anything. I already know."

The pair lingers in the moment, unwilling to let it go. There are battles to be fought, a hellish dimension to escape, a demon of a man to destroy. For now, though, they'll sit huddled together on the damp, cold ground of the Upside Down and allow themselves to bask in the small sphere of warmth and light they've created.

#this is my first written piece. be gentle.#i'm *not* a creative writer by trade so like. do with this what you will.#byler #byler fic #byler fanfiction #byler fanfic #rated T #i guess? for cursing and angst?#angst with a happy ending #byler angst #will byers #mike wheeler

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graniairish · 4 years ago

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Walking on eggshells

So this is my first own story here. I hope it is written in an understandable way. (Please ignore any grammatical errors. English is not my mother tongue.)

Title: Walking on eggshells

Words: 6761

Warnings: language (some explicit words), harassment and insults, heartbreak

Summary:

Daryl and reader have been close friends since the early days in Atlanta. They are deeply in love with each other but have no clue about it.

At some point new people join the community, including a young woman who is immediately after Daryl.

Reader is not exactly thin, no size zero, but also not fat, rather curvy, feminine. Even in this apocalyptic time. (you are just the way you are.)

Daryl has withdrawn more and more from reader, avoids contact. Reader believes he does that because he now has a perfect woman by his side.

However, Daryl avoids reader because he does not know how to deal with his feelings.

One day reader goes on a run that goes wrong. To save their group, the reader does a suicide stunt, that can cost her life.

--------------------------------------------------

"Ya even know what ya're doin’?"

Those were the first words Daryl Dixon had ever said to you.

It was still at camp in Atlanta. Daryl stood over you, the sun behind him, as he looked down at you as you made a stew from a basket full of leaves and mushrooms.

“Believe it or not, I know what I'm doing here. My mother taught me as a child which mushrooms and plants are edible, and which can be used as medicine."

He nudged his nose up in a nod.

"If ya say so."

With that he dropped something in front of you.

"Maybe the whole thin’ tastes like somethin’ with that," he said before he turned around and made his way back to his brother.

Your eyes followed him - confused. Only then did you notice that he had thrown about a dozen freshly hunted squirrels in front of you.

Maybe the grumpy redneck was not that bad after all, you thought to yourself with a smile as you started to skin and gut the dead animals.

It was not long before a friendship developed between you. You were the only one he really let near him after the disappearance of his brother and Sophia's death. And after the farm was overrun by Walkers, he was by your side to comfort you.

He was always there for you, just as you were for him. You cared for each other.

But you only noticed how deep the feelings really were on your side when Daryl - after the incident with Woodbury - had turned his back on you and everyone else and disappeared into the woods. Just to be with his brother.

The realization that you were infinitely in love with the withdrawn redneck hit you hard. And just seeing him walk away hurt you so much that you could not breathe.

Without knowing it, Daryl had broken your heart into a million pieces.

It felt like he took a part of you with him.

More and more you withdrew from the others. From time to time, you even slept in the old management office of the Prison, far away from the cell block, from everyone else, from your family. You just wanted to be left alone in your grief and heartbreak.

In the first time you had gone through hell emotionally and a psychological breakdown would not have been long in coming. And if it had not been for Maggie, you probably would not have found your way back.

She had been your solid rock and, without you really noticing, had become your best friend - your sister.

And after a while it got better. It did not hurt that much anymore. Although it was not quite true. It still hurt - hurt infinitely - but the distances that those waves of grief hit you grew larger.

And then suddenly Daryl was back.

It was a shock to you.

And the moment he moved back into his cell in the cell block, you moved out. There was no trace of you or your belongings in the whole building anymore.

Quietly, and without anyone noticing, you moved into the management's office - permanently. The thought of being so close to him - physically - without actually being able to be close to him was just unbearable for you.

And so you had retreated.

Daryl did not seem to mind. It almost seemed as if he had not even really noticed it.

You hardly had any contact with each other. He rarely talked to you, and if he did, then only what was necessary and as monosyllabic as possible. He even seemed to be avoiding you.

But that's how life works - hard and unfair.

And you cannot choose who to fall in love with.

The greatest thing you’ll ever learn is just to love, and be loved in return. But it only worked like that in movies and love songs, right? It did not work that way in real life, at least not for you.

As time goes by you had devoted all your concentration to your small farm. Your mother taught you how to handle plants as a child. In your previous life - before the apocalypse - you also had a vegetable garden with which you mostly tended yourself. So you knew the job and it was easy for you.

You lived in your own little world where you worked side by side with Rick and spent your meager free time with Maggie. Sometimes Carol would join you, but you had already noticed that she somehow always dropped a few comments about Daryl.

You did not want to talk about the redneck, let alone think about him. So, you ignored her as best you could - or at least her suggestions.

But it was not that easy. Your whole prison family knew how deep your feelings were for Daryl. No matter how hard you try to hide it, hide yourself from it.

Then Woodbury fell. New people came to the Prison and with them a young woman - Michelle. Probably only in her mid-twenties, model type, blonde, pretty. A typical homecoming queen.

To you, she made it seem like she had never worked hard in her entire life. She was the type of person who always muddled through, for her own benefit.

And just a few days after moving in, she was permanently on Daryl's heels. She asked questions, talked to him, spent most of the days near him.

But worst of all, she was openly flirting with the man you loved, and he did not seem to mind. Your stomach cramped painfully at the sight, and you had not been able to eat for two days.

Your heart, painstakingly patched together, broke one more time. After that you had avoided Daryl and his blond girl for almost a week, avoided them like the devil had shunned holy water.

But it could not go on like that. And at a certain point you realized: as long as Daryl was happy, nothing else mattered. At least for you.

To make matters worse, there was that cruel little voice in your head that kept whispering to you why Daryl was interested in Michelle and not you. It kept talking to you, all the time.

And then the little wheels in your head started spinning until you were caught in a vortex of thoughts.

She was thin and delicate; you were rather well built.

Her shoulders were narrow; yours were broad.

Her stomach was flat; but you had unmistakable love handles.

She had a firm, shaped ass; you childbearing hips - as your mother used to call it.

Her golden blonde hair always fell in gentle waves down her back. You always had your y/h/c ones in a messy bun. And after hours of hard work in the gardens, you always looked like a half-plucked chicken.

You would never have any chance of comparing yourself with this beautiful, gorgeous woman. Michelle was perfect.

You were just you.

But the worst part of this whole thing was that this woman could not leave you alone. She had won, the man was hers. What else did she want from you?!

Every now and then she dropped small comments, out of the earshot of others. But so that you could hear them very well.

"Hard to believe how one can be so well fed.”

“Are you secretly eating your way through our supplies?"

"Given your size, a whole bunch of Walkers could get fed up with you for a week."

It hurt, hurt infinitely. But you were willing to endure everything. You did not want to make a scene. Did not want to get upset, maybe to draw more unwanted attention to yourself.

In the depths of your heart, you only wanted one thing. You just wanted Daryl to be happy. Everything else does not matter to you.

But what you failed to notice in all your self-doubt and self-sacrifice was: Daryl was not happy.

You were both blind to each other's intentions, had no idea why the other acted the way he was doing.

But the inner circle of your family, especially Maggie and Carol, knew what was going on. And having to watch the two of you - while you did not notice it yourself - slowly but surely drove everyone to despair.

The whole thing was like a fucking soap opera!

You and Daryl had barely spent time together and avoided each other as best you could, so you had not noticed all the little signs that spoke volumes to all the others.

How his ears turn red when you have been near him.

How he sometimes looked at you a little longer than others.

How he changed his shifts in the guard tower just so he could take care of you when you were near the fences during your work.

The moment Daryl faced you for the first time since his return, the floor was torn from under his feet. When he saw your y/e/c eyes looking at him, he felt his heart swell. Warmth spread in his chest and he had thousands of butterflies in his stomach. The redneck had never felt anything like that before and it terrified him.

It was something he could not handle.

He knew he screwed up when he left you because of his brother. The way you behaved towards him was unmistakable. Daryl did not want to endanger the little friendship that was still between you. He could not risk losing you for good.

So he gave you your freedom and just adored from a distance - without you noticing.

But from a certain point in time all his thinking was focused only on you. Or rather, to hide what he really felt about you - how much he loved you.

Daryl was so busy hiding the love he felt for you that he did not even notice how much this young woman from Woodbury was constantly flirting with him. Of course, it had not escaped him that she ran after him like a lost puppy; and yes that annoyed him.

But weren't all of these newcomers a pain in the ass?

He was not interested in this blonde woman, not a little bit. Daryl does not care about her; he does not even listen to her most of the time.

If he was honest, he did not even know her name.

---------------------------------

In the last few weeks, it had become routine for the redneck to be on guard duty in the early hours of the morning. Not just because he was an early riser- and finally got some peace up here from the intrusive people from Woodbury - but because you went to work in the vegetable gardens shortly after sunrise every day.

And from high up there he had the opportunity to watch and admire you unnoticed.

You have always been used to working hard, and everyone who saw you knew that you had no problem with it and that you could lend a hand. Rick once joked that you could overshadow any Amish when it came to your work ethic. You just shrugged your shoulders and replied that you had no problem with that as long as you didn't have to pray for hours.

So you and Daryl spent the mornings together - without your having a clue about it. You, lovingly watching over the plants in the vegetable patches, he on the guard tower, lovingly watching over you.

As the sun rose higher and higher on its way across the sky, it made the sweat shimmer on your skin as you patiently devoted yourself to each of your tasks without taking a break. The black tank top you wore on that hot summer day stuck to your body and framed it perfectly. Your figure was like an hourglass, and each of your curves came out sensually.

At least as far as Daryl could tell. For him you were perfect, just like you were. He could watch you for hours without getting tired of it, could watch you for the rest of his life.

Only when the crotch of his jeans became uncomfortably tight did the redneck look away from you. His thoughts had taken a suggestive course, and the images that emerged in his head were by far no longer suitable for minors. Daryl would surely spend this evening in his fist again - dreaming of how you would feel lying under him, how you would smell, how you would taste, and what sweet noises would come over your lips if he would touch you where you needed it most.

"Everything's okay," he heard a familiar voice next to him.

Damn it, did the time really go that fast? Was his shift already over?

"Are you okay? You seem a little distracted to me."

Carol had come to relieve him. But Daryl, in his fascination for you, had not even noticed her.

"’m okay."

"Yes, of course, and your thoughts were on the task in front of you the whole time."

There was unmistakable amusement in Carol's voice. With a knowing smile, the woman leaned on the railing and watched you work for a while.

"Can you please finally tell Y/N that you love her. So that we can finally all get on with our lives? It's really not nice to see you two walking around each other on eggshells."

Daryl was embarrassed. He was caught with his hand in the cookie jar by Carol. Still, he tried to stay as cool as possible.

"I have no idea what ya're talkin’ about."

But the woman was not easily fooled. She knew very well what was going on in the man in front of her. Just as she knew how you felt about him.

"I hear what you say, but your ears say something else.”

Daryl flinched. Sometimes he hated the way his body betrayed him.

“What the hell,” Carol had to keep from laughing “I didn't even know that they could get so red."

"Stop it woman."

Again and again, Carol tried to get her friend to finally confess his love to you. Because in her eyes you were both wasting valuable time. And being able to spend time with loved ones was the most important thing now.

You had not noticed any of this. You were too busy tying up the tomato plants and removing the leaves so that they brought the greatest possible yield. After all, many mouths had to be fed, and you all needed supplies for the coming winter.

And it was precisely these necessary supplies that prompted Rick to ask you to go on a run the next day with others. Of course, you immediately agreed, after all, everyone went on these runs at some point. It wouldn't be your first time, and certainly not your last time, that you would take part in something like this.

But who could say that in these uncertain times?

What you did not know at the time was, that Michelle would be there too. Maybe then you would have refused. But now you sat in the back seat of the pickup truck in silence, staring stubbornly out the window.

Michelle just a few inches away from you.

It had been clear to Maggie from the start that this constellation would not bring any good. However, even the young woman would not have expected what dimensions the whole thing would take. And in what a heartbreaking catastrophe it would end.

During the entire journey Glenn and Maggie tried to break the mood. The four of you sat in the truck and drove a few hours until you finally arrived at your destination.

It should be a simple thing - in and out, quietly, quickly, unseen.

But what no one had expected was the behavior that Michelle had displayed when it came to doing her part. She had absolutely no desire to be actually a part in this job.

And Michelle let the three of you feel that very clearly.

She neither wanted to help find the necessary supplies nor carry them; even found it outrageous that she had been asked by Rick to join in and risk her life. She had never had to do this before, why now?

It took you so much strength to stay calm and not yell your opinion on Michelle's face - or beat her across the street.

You did not like this woman, not a bit. For you, she was a narrow-minded, self-centered, selfish slut who cared about only herself. And what Daryl saw in her was incomprehensible to you.

But when Michelle began to risk all of your lives because of her loud behavior, even Maggie's patience ran out. The eternal insults in your direction were just the cherry on top. Maggie would have liked nothing more than to give this snotty brat a huge slap in the face.

But to make a shitty day even more shitty, that was unfortunately your smallest problem.

Michelle's loud complaints drew the attention of more and more walkers, and at some point, you had difficulties getting back to your car.

You had just successfully cleared a pharmacy when you saw the horde slowly approaching on the street.

That was by far the worst scenario, and your greatest fear.

It was all happening so quickly, and the only thing you thought was that Michelle had to make it back to the Prison alive. You could not risk Daryl losing someone he loved again. No matter what a fucking bitch she was. You knew it would destroy him.

The way back to the pickup was long and the Walkers unfortunately closer than wanted. The heavy backpacks did not make it any easier to escape them quickly. So you stayed back when Maggie, Glenn, and Michelle started running back towards the truck. You knew your partners needed a distraction to make it through.

And what could be a better distraction than you.

"Come to me you damn motherfuckers! Here I am! Come and catch me you bloody bastards! You ugly fuckers!" you screamed on top of your lungs, tried to make as much noise as possible.

The walkers slowly turned to you and came to hunt you down - to kill you. You would be their lunch. Scared to death your heart was beating so hard in your chest that you thought it was about to pop out.

From that point on, you could not remember anything. Your brain just shut down, went into survival mode. You only ran on instinct, no more active thinking.

In a way, like the Walkers you tried to escape from.

Maggie turned when she heard your voice, and the blood froze in her veins. She thought you were right behind her, but you were still near the entrance to the pharmacy and the horde of walkers was on the way to you.

"Y/N!" her voice was desperate.

She was about to turn back to you – to help you - but Glenn could not and would not let that happen.

"Come on Maggie, we have to get the car. We'll come back for her; I promise."

Glenn took his girlfriend's hand and pulled her forcefully with him.

Michelle had not noticed anything of that, she was the first to take a seat in the pickup and firmly locked the passenger door behind her.

When Glenn finally started the engine and Maggie - now in the back seat - turned her eyes back to the pharmacy entrance, you were gone.

Your best friend was in a panic.

"Where is she? Oh my god, where is she?"

Only then did she see you on the canopy of the building - the backpack with the bandages still firmly strapped around you.

"On the roof, Glenn, she's on the roof! We have to get her!" the young woman screamed in desperation.

She could not and did not want to lose her friend. Not now and not like this.

“and preferably before these things figure out how to climb”, was Glenn's addition when he turned the truck and drove towards the pharmacy.

"Are you crazy," squeaked Michelle, "do you want to die just to maybe save her life?"

Maggie's eyes darkened, and Glenn realized immediately that she had now reached the limit. Another word from Michelle and his girlfriend would feed this woman to the Walkers with no trace of guilt.

"You shut up now, bitch! You're to blame for all this shit. If you’d shut your damn mouth and done what we've all done hundreds of times before, none of this would have happened! These fucking things would never have noticed us."

Michelle gasped to give Maggie a neat answer, but Maggie was faster.

"If I hear one more word from you, if you just beep, I'll feed you to these Walkers!"

Michelle's reply was interrupted by the gruesome sound of breaking bones as Glenn brutally drove through the horde of walkers who were now confused and trying to understand what was going on around them.

You were still standing on the roof. Your gaze was focused on the scene before you but not fearful, as if your self was not there at that moment.

"You have to jump," Glenn called to you when he brought the pickup to a stop right under the roof.

And with that you jumped onto the back of the truck. The fall was higher than expected, and there was a thump as you hit the flatbed. Immediately Glenn had accelerated the car again and drove away as fast as he could in the direction of Prison.

Desperate, Maggie kept calling your name, but you just did not answer. Maybe you were in shock. After all, it was not common practice to voluntarily sacrifice oneself as a meal for these monsters.

A few miles out of town, Glenn finally stopped the car, and Maggie was by your side in an instant. But she was not prepared for what she saw. You were passed out and a small pool of blood had formed under your head. The thud she had heard - when you landed - had been your head when it hit the loading wall.

"Oh my God."

Immediately Maggie was at your side, looking for your pulse with trembling hands. And there it was - weak - but she felt it.

"Please open your eyes Y/N/N", the young woman pleaded as she lovingly brushed the hair off your face.

"Maggie?" Glenn's voice was timid, almost frightened, as he stood next to the pickup and stared at your broken body.

"We have to get her to my father as soon as possible!"

Maggie's harsh words seemed to loosen Glenn from his stupor.

"Okay, no problem, I can do that."

And with that Glenn was back behind the wheel and gave full throttle. Maggie stayed with you on the flatbed, took off your backpack and trying to stop the bleeding on your head.

-------------------------------------

Rick and Daryl were in the courtyard of the prison, discussing the next runs when the pickup truck drove through the gates with screeching tires. It was immediately clear to both of them that something bad must have happened.

Without wasting time, the two men ran towards the car.

"What happened", Rick called out.

But Daryl could not hear Glenn’s answer. Everything around him fell silent and vanished when he saw you - bleeding, passed out - in Maggie's arms.

Without thinking further, he jumped on the flatbed and leaned over you. He caressed your pale cheek with trembling fingertips before desperately looking for a pulse on your neck.

Frightened, he held his breath until he felt it, your heartbeat.

Even but so weak.

"We have to take her to my father."

Maggie had not even finished the sentence when Daryl had already taken you in his arms - bridal style - and was on the way to the infirmary with you.

With a lover's desperation, he clung to you as he ran all the way.

“Don't do this to me. I beg ya, please don't die to me."

-----------------------------------

Daryl never left your side for a moment. He sat like a statue and held your hand. He did not say a word, did not move. Neither when Hershel examined you, nor when he sewed your laceration.

He listened quietly to the vet's diagnosis and what he thought might happen in the next few hours or days.

Only when Maggie came with a bowl of water and a cloth to wash off the dirt and blood did he break free.

"Let me …" Daryls voice cracked, and the knot in his throat made it difficult for him to say anything else.

He took everything from Maggie's hand and put it on the little table next to your bed.

The redneck looked broken. The young woman could clearly see how much he loved you. And she knew that if you died, Daryl would vanish. He would just cease to exist.

“I'm so sorry,” Maggie said quietly, and a tear rolled down her cheek, “I thought she was right behind me. But … but she wasn't."

"It's not ya’ fault." Daryl's voice was barely perceptible.

Slowly he dipped the cloth into the warm water and began to carefully wash the blood off your face.

"Daryl I’m ... I’m"

"I know."

“Y/N is strong, she is tough. She will be okay."

Daryl just nodded absently while he concentrated fully on washing the blood off your temple.

And so Maggie left the redneck alone with you in the infirmary.

With trembling hands, he began to clean your neck. Little by little he washed your whole body- took care of you quietly and lovingly- making dirt, blood and sweat disappear, made you as clean as he saw you before you went on that fucking run.

Then he sat there, hour after hour, just looking at you, holding your hand. You looked so fragile. You lay there injured and pale, almost like a corpse. Only your quiet, even breathing told Daryl that you were still with him.

Inside Daryl, everything contracted painfully at the thought that you might not wake up again. Slowly he leaned towards your face. He looked at every birthmark, every wrinkle, every freckle, as if he wanted to burn them into his memory.

“I don't know if ya can hear me,” he finally began with a trembling voice.

“But I ... I ... I “, he had to laugh bitterly.

“’m a bloody coward. Why can' I jus’ say it?"

Daryl took a deep breath, he had to get his fear under control somehow. He had to tell you. He would never forgive himself if he did not do it now.

What if you died.

"I love ya Y/N. 've been in love with ya since ... I actually have no idea how long. But I love ya. I should have told ya much earlier. I don' know why I didn't. But I love ya."

Daryl fought back tears but lost.

"Oh God please, I beg ya, please come back to me. Give me a chance to show ya how much I love ya. Just one chance to prove myself to ya." and with that Daryl collapsed on top of you, crying and sobbing.

----------------------------------

It took you two days to open your eyes again. Two days in which Daryl had not left your side. Two days of going through hell and back again. In which even he had sent a quick prayer or two towards heaven.

It was as if you had been awakened from a deep sleep far too abruptly. And it took a while before you knew where you were. You felt dizzy and tired. Your head hurt like hell. And you were confused.

First, why you were in the infirmary, and second, why Daryl was sitting next to your bed looking like he had not slept in days – your hand in his.

"Hey," he whispered, "how are ya feelin’?"

"Tired", your voice was scratchy from not using it for a long time, "my head hurts."

“You hit ya head bad. Hershel had to patch ya up."

"What happened?"

"Can't ya remember."

"No ... Yes …. but not ... not really ... only up to a certain point."

You were nervous, were not used to Daryl being so close to you. You did not want to make a fuss about yourself, and yet you liked the attention this man was giving you.

“I can still remember the horde of Walkers who came up to me, but then … nothing ... I can't remember what happened then."

You had not noticed that tears had started to run down your temples until Daryl lovingly wiped them away with his thumb.

"Hey ... shh ... take it easy. Everythin’ is okay. Everyone’s fine. Please don't get upset, ya have a concussion. Hershel says ya need a lot of rest now."

And suddenly you were silent. Never before had Daryl spoken to you with such a loving tone in his voice or had touched you in this way. You did not understand what was happening here.

But he said you had a concussion. Perhaps it was to blame for this filter through which you noticed this whole interaction.

“I'll let Hershel know that ya woke up. I'll be right back; promise."

Confused, you looked after the redneck. Something had happened that you had no idea about. But you did not want to worry about it now. Your head hurt too much, and you just wanted to sleep.

---------------------------------------

When you opened your eyes again, Hershel was sitting in the chair on which you had previously seen Daryl.

"It's nice to see you again with your eyes open Y/N," said the older man with a friendly smile, "you worried us very much."

"‘m sorry. "

"It's okay. How do you feel?"

"Okay. Tired, head hurts."

"Something else?"

"No, except that I feel like I'm wrapped in cotton wool."

Hershel sat and listened to you before nodding.

"Daryl said you can't remember what happened."

"Not really."

"Don't worry, that's nothing unusual with this type of head injury."

He patted your shoulder encouragingly.

"Will I be able to remember one day?"

"You know kid, sometimes it is really good not to be able to remember some things."

"Probably."

“But now you should rest first. I know you have questions, but answers will come later. After all, you have to regain your strength."

------------------------------------------

You knew you had slept, but not for how long. Because the next time you opened your eyes, Carol was sitting on that same chair. But there was something else. Could it be that it smelled of her venison ragout?

"How are you, Y/N/N?"

"Still tired, but the headache is almost gone."

"Good to hear. You gave us all a real scare."

"I'm sorry."

"Especially Daryl. I've never seen him so frightened."

You looked questioningly at the older woman next to you. You were used to it that she kept dropping allusions about Daryl - at least when she talked to you. But you just did not understand that statement at all.

Daryl was never afraid of anything. Why would he ...

"Well. Are you hungry?" Carol had a friendly smile on her face when it broke your train of thought.

At that moment, your stomach made a loud rumbling noise.

“I'll take that as a yes,” smirked the gray-haired woman, “Daryl went hunting so that I could cook this. He knows it’s your favorite."

Unsure you looked at Carol before you took the bowl from her hand and slowly began to eat. It was true, that was your favorite food - if there was such a thing at all in times like this.

"You know that he loves you," she suddenly began out of nowhere

"Of course, we are family," did you try to belittle the matter.

“Okay, let's reformulate the whole thing again. Daryl is in love with you, absolutely and one hundred percent madly in love with you. A 'you're the only one for me' love. Without any misunderstanding."

When she said that, you choked on the stew right away and now you sat in front of her, coughing and snorting.

“And I know you love him too. So don't try to deny it at all. Everyone here knows that. Or how blind do you think we are? Although ... apart from Daryl. He has no idea. He probably wouldn't even understand if it bites his ass.”

At this picture you had to laugh.

“Sometimes you have to take a leap of faith in order to reach their goal. You two really have to start talking clearly to each other. You two belong together like pepper and salt Do you actually notice how much you waste your precious time? Neither of us knows how much of it is left. You should know that now, because honey it was damn close."

---------------------------------------------

Sleeping was your main occupation right now. A concussion took time and a lot of rest to heal. So it wasn't uncommon for your life to consist of short scenes at the moment.

With a sound - like a purring cat - you stretched in the hospital bed before opening your eyes. You no longer had any sense of time, and only the sunlight falling through the barred windows told you that it was probably afternoon.

"Hey."

Only now did you notice that Daryl was with you again.

"Ya feel better?"

"Yes."

Daryl seemed kind of nervous. But that wasn't possible, why should he?

"I've been here before, but ya slept and I don't want to wake ya", his words just gushed out of him.

Could it be? Was he nervous?

"Okay ... yes ... uhm ..."

You were easily overwhelmed with this situation, and somehow your head just seemed to have been swept clean. You could not find any words.

"We take turns. Hershel thinks there should always be someone with ya. Because of the concussion. Rick has already been here, and Maggie of course."

"And Carol."

"Yea."

"I wanted to thank you."

"For what?"

"For the food. Carol said you went hunting especially for it."

"No problem."

“I still appreciate it. And for ... that you are here ... with me."

He nudged his nose up in a nod.

And then there was silence. The conversation with Carol kept going through your head. What she said. Could it really be true?

You knew that Daryl has always been more of a man of action than a man of words. And it was clear to you that if you did not take the first step now, you two would probably never get anywhere.

"Carol spoke to me", you started when you sat up

The man across from you was obviously nervous now. You could tell all too clearly by the fact that he was starting to chew the inside of his cheek.

"With me too."

"Apparently something like an intervention is going on here, could that be", you smiled, trying to loosen up the mood a bit.

"Seems so."

Daryl looked at you for a few moments. You could see the wheels turning in his head.

"I'm a coward, Y/N," he finally began.

You had expected a lot, but not a statement like that.

"No, you’re not. How did you come up with such an idea?"

"I was a complete idiot and too cowardly."

"What are you talking about Daryl."

In your opinion, this was going completely wrong right now. You actually wanted to tell him you loved him, and now it seemed to end in a vortex of self-doubt.

"I love ya, Y/N.”

And with that your thoughts became silent.

“I am terribly in love with ya. And out of fear I didn't say anything. But then I saw ya lying on the flatbed of that fucking truck, covered in blood and passed out. At that moment, my heart stopped. And I swore to myself that when ya're okay again, when ya've got throu’ this, that I'll finally tell ya what I feel for ya. Y/N I love ya. "

During Daryl's monologue you forgot how to breathe and just listened intently while thousands of butterflies fluttered around in your stomach like they're having a bloody party there.

It took you some time to realize that Daryl was waiting for a reaction from you as he gnawed his thumb in fear.

"I love you too," it gushed out of you before you even realized you had said something.

And then there was silence again. You and Daryl just looked at each other. Unsure what to do now. After all, you were both in uncharted waters.

"And ... and now," you asked uncertainly.

"Don't know," Daryl just shrugged.

"I mean ... um ... are ... are we ... together now?"

You carefully ventured out of cover.

"Um, yea ... if ya ... if ya want that."

"Oh my god, yes please", you replied in one breath.

Suddenly the tension between you had dissolved and you both had to laugh. It was so surreal. Two adults acted like teenagers in love who had no idea what to do.

But then Daryl slowly leaned in towards you. Your heart was pounding when you could finally feel his breath on your face. But before your lips touched, he stopped. He wanted to give you the opportunity to evade him if you did not want this.

But you wanted it, wanted it more than anything else in your life. And when you had overcome the last few inches, you finally felt his lips on yours.

The feeling was amazing. As if at that moment an electric shock had run through your whole body, and at the same time it was like coming home.

Everything around you no longer existed, was no longer important. Here and now, it was just you and Daryl. The way his lips moved with yours, how his fingers slowly ran up your arms until they were in your hair.

Everything was so intense. And when you finally parted to take a much-needed breath, Daryl leaned his forehead against yours.

"Ya have no idea how long I've been dreamin’ about this."

"Probably as long as me."

-------------------------

When Rick was about to visit Y/N in the early evening hours, he saw Carol and Maggie standing in the door to the infirmary.

"Everything's okay," he wanted to know.

The two women turned around with their index fingers over their lips.

"Shhhh."

Both did at the same time.

"Be quiet and come here," Carol whispered, "you really have to see that."

Rick approached the two women curiously. What could be so interesting that Carol and Maggie were half-hidden behind the door, staring into the infirmary?

He was confused, but when he saw what fascinated them so much, his heart swell. A satisfied smile played on his lips, as he was seeing what was going on less than five paces away.

Daryl was lying - half sitting - on the bed. His back supported on the wall behind him. Y/N was snuggled close to him, head on his chest and her arm wrapped around him. Absently, the fingers of his right hand traced patterns on her upper arm as he read to her from an old paperback.

Everyone could see the love that bound these two people. And thank God the two finally understood that.

"Seems like we finally have a happy ending," said the former deputy with a broad smile.

"Thank God", Maggie exhaled, "nobody wanted to watch this puppy love shit anymore."

“Yes,” laughed Rick, “but you have to admit there was something exciting about the whole thing. As if it had been our very own little soap opera."

"You're right, but I prefer my best friend happy."

"And what do we do now. I mean this seemingly endless heartbreak theater has come obviously to an end."

"Gossip- Rick is afraid he'll get bored?"

Maggie's voice was teasing.

"No, that's not how it was meant."

"Don't worry, Rick," said Carol with a smile, "I think the whole thing has a sequel anyway."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, has someone told Michelle yet?"

All three looked at each other with big eyes before they having to resist laughing convulsively.

This story could get really interesting after all, they agreed.

part two

#Daryl Dixon #Daryl Dixon x Reader #daryl dixon fanfiction #Daryl dixon imagine #daryl dixon x plus size reader #daryl dixon x reader #daryl dixon #daryl imagines #daryl x reader #daryl dixon drabbles #daryl dixon fluff #daryl dixon imagine

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becauseplot · 1 year ago

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i woke up at 5am :'D it's ok tho im officially coherent enough to form words letsgo

"I am genuinely not as bad in these fandoms as I have been in some." Goddamn so something worse than child endangerment and child torture. Okay (<-FEAR) And yeah makes sense, Ordem Paranormal already has enough character death, no need to add to it lmfao. And yeah whump as a form of venting is soooo real. If I was more comfortable writing needless whump, I'd definitely do it more often. Love putting my guys in the angst blender after a hard day. My problem is like "ohhh I'd love to do terrible things to this character unprompted" and "okay so what should I do to them?" and then [crickets]. Whump prompts work sometimes, but figuring out the Situation that gets the character to the whump is a struggle somehow lmfao. It's a lot of fun when I can manage it tho.

Yea yea yea, you get to fill in the gaps! And having Lucie's death simply narrated to you (with an amazing backing track tbf), describing how she was slowly torn limb from limb, hearing her lower spine break, how she felt all of it, was conscious for all of it... It's a level of detail that you can't get in a purely visual medium (in this, you know exactly what is happening to her and what she's feeling, you are immersed in her experience) but at the same time, without explicit visuals to guide/distract you, you are forced to imagine all of this on your own. It makes your mind fill in the gaps! For me, watching it was definitely one of those experiences where I was like, "Wow this was absolutely devastating and my brain chemistry will be altered forever and I will not be sleeping tonight. Fantastic writing 10/10 would watch again."

(Yeah the subtitles on op and osnf are incredible, the fact they distinguish between IC and OOC. Epic.)

God yeah the way that the players balance IC and OOC knowledge. I think I've mentioned before (maybe??) that I adore the way that the players will put being in-character before "winning the game" in every single decision. Countless times, the players will known better, but they honor their characters and only act in how they think their characters would act. Can't think of a specific example but it happens a Lot. And yes, Arthur does deserve better than this. Obsessed with the theme of being unable to unsee/unlive/unlearn whenever a character comes into contact with the Paranormal, as I talked about with Thiago's hearing loss earlier. Once you're in it, you're in it. You can't go back to a normal life afterwards. Cursed by knowledge. You either end up working for the Order, end up insane, or you end up dead because...what else are you going to do? The horrors will follow you now. And Arthur has literally nothing left except for Ivete and her bar which she can't afford to keep open anymore.

Assuming Arthur survives this series (PLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASE), I'd love to see him as a recurring character with the Order. Even if he only gets cameos/references, I want to see how he might fit in with everyone else, if he finds his place there like Liz and Thiago have (PLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASE).

Fhjdfj yeah it's like that princes bride meme. "This qsmp au still has potions!" "Oh, so you'll use them to make the characters feel better, right?" ":)" "So you'll use them to make the characters feel better, right." (I mean I am still healing them! The potions are in fact healing them! You can't deny that! (Unless it's that fuck-you-bleed-forever-idiot potion you mentioned.))

The one time a high roll on healing kinda sucked ^-^; I'm happy to hear your Words once I get caught up.

(Cultish is right what the fuck is goin on here.)

Ohh neat. Just so I can understand, you n your team(?) host these sessions and ppl come play? Like how does this actually work lmfao. You don't need to respond w anything in-depth if you don't want to I'm just curious. I know like nothing abt larp apart from like that one scene in Hawkeye where Clint has to work with some larpers and he gets roped into "fighting" them. (<-barely remembers this series)

Yeah I'm the same way with minecraft. I barely ever play it but I lovelovelovelove working game mechanics into my fics and also just the world building and the way that the "story" in the game is told almost purely by environment alone and and and!!! For the record I once wrote a (small) essay about the Minecraft End Poem and how it relates to Mysticism for one of my classes. Let me reiterate, AN ESSAY. ABOUT BLOCK GAME. FOR MY CLASS. AT UNIVERSITY. THAT WAS WORTH A GOOD PORTION OF MY GRADE. (I got a good score on it and the professor liked it and the poem so much he said he might actually fold the Minecraft End Poem into his curriculum as another example of Mysticism in modern media, so we win these.) I'm normal about Minecraft I swear. I played a lot when I was younger, and I started playing probably around the same time as you maybe? Idk all I remember is that Enchanted Golden Apples were still craftable when I started and apparently that's Old.

Huh. If I think about it, I'm still playing in the world of Minecraft, just in a different way. Neat.

Bastille music!! They've certainly got a vibe. (Icarus still remains one of my favorites. The animatics in my head go crazy you don't even know.) (Face down on the floor you don't even know.) (Why did I have to choose to be a writer all the animations won't ever leave my brain.)

finished ep 10 of osnf (long post under the cut oh lord)

crying sobbing kicking over chairs screaming CELLBIT IS AN EVIL EVIL MAN WHY WOULD HE DO THAT. FOR WHAT REASON. POR CUAL RAZÓN. LO ODIO. <-said with the utmost adoration and respect of a writer but the fury of a fan who just had to endure all of that my hearttttt 0(-(

god fuck i have thoughts and feelings regarding episode 10 of osnf. obviously. i don't even know how to start.

okay. first of all the way that he was able to orchestrate the like 57839 different POVs of the nightmare happening at the same time was actually pretty smooth, all things considered. being able to forcibly mute/deafen the others is a good thing to be able to do yesyes.

second, im losing my mind over how he hides the fact that "it's all a dream" WITHIN the "it's all a dream" trope by having the creatures be manifestations of dreams/guilt in "reality" themselves. idk if i'm making any sense, but like, you get it, right? like, it's the fact that we thought we had already discovered the dream-based deceit in the segment because of what the "Hotelier" told Joui at the start of it, but it turns out that THAT was a red-herring of sorts for the TRUE dream-based deceit, that EVERYTHING was a dream, not just the creatures. god there are fucking layers to this im foaming at the mouth that's soooo good.

i guess that's what makes the "it's all a dream"-style trope present here feel less cliche. because, you know, it is a trope, and it's not really a trope that i'm fond of, but because there's actually more going on, it feels less cheap. what certainly helps is that the fact that it's roleplay, so the reactions from the characters are so much more raw, and there are some irl stakes (character dead = out of the series = can't play anymore). that definitely keeps you on the edge of your seat.

edit: something i forgot to mention—what i dislike abt the “it’s all a dream” trope the most is that it is very easily something that can be so, so cheap. all angst, no stakes or consequences, no lasting impact on the plot on the characters. however, not only is there a “physical” impact via several characters losing SHITLOADS of sanity (something not easily recovered) but we get to see a little more into the psyche of the characters. which i suppose is often the point of the “it’s all a dream” segments, but this dream—one with a lot of references to past major character death and itself contains major character death—rings especially true for the themes of the series: the world they live in is dangerous, and the work they do is lethal. people have and will die. and they do and will feel guilty, reguardless if they are at fault. it’s not a horrifying death dream just for the sake of being a death dream, it feels grounded in their reality, and i love that.

third, man he did not hold back. when Arthur was being beaten to a pulp by not!Brúlio, i was actually in shock, i was screaming. plus, i think the fact that Cellbit rolled a 001 when not!Brúlio attacked actually helped to hide the fact that this was a dream. it made it look like it was bad luck rather than the segment was designed to kill the characters (well, at least until he revealed that the damage was 1d4+1d6, but i'll get to that later).

gosh the narration of how not!Brúlio killed Arthur. holy shit. i don't. i don't even have words, that is DEVASTATING. that is probably one of the worst ways for a person to go. i know it's a dream but if i were Arthur i would be emotionally fucked up beyond belief. beaten to a bloody pulp by the father who once loved you so much, screaming at you for abandoning him and that it's your fault he died a horrible death. and then he drops your body on the ground like you're nothing but a pile of useless meat. god. damn.

and then Liz. ohhhh Liz. i just. i was devastated. her whole struggle with Alex, the man she treated so horribly. yes it's true the real Alex never would have said these things to you, but how do you know he wasn't thinking it? that he didn't want to? that what not!Alex says doesn't hold some truth? christttt. and of course the way she dies: in complete agony. and did she forgive herself? because, unlike with not!Brúlio, the creature turned into that weird wispy black thing just as she died, and i would assume that means she forgave herself (if those rules even apply considering this was all a result of the parasite's deceit (holy hell my brain is melting i am the man with the hand on the conspiracy board)).

fourth: the 1d4+1d6 thing! when he read that out, i was stunned. that is a LOT of damage considering all of the characters have ~10 HP. with an extreme roll, that's basically an insta-kill, or it's easily a two-hit-kill. i thought Arthur was unlucky, but when Liz also went down, i was---well, devastated, at first, because that's Liz, she's my absolute favorite and i love her, but i started going through all five stages of grief at once, and at some point i arrived at "no that can't be right" because Cellbit is a good writer. and to deliberately construct a scenario where it would be VERY hard for a character to survive while still in the middle of the story? yeah. and yknow the fact that there's still 6 other episodes fhdsjk. (then again the series continues regardless if a character dies and i haven't looked at other episodes' thumbnails or anything like that for this exact reason. so. i was going in as blind as i could reasonably be.)

in any case, realizing and connecting all of this and then hearing the "Hotelier" start yelling at Joui right after Liz died explicitly blaming him for it sealed it for me: this is a trick of some sort. this is a dream sequence of some sort. these aren't real deaths. (a smaller part of me was still scared that they were real because i know that Cellbit does not shy away from killing off his players' characters, if op and opq are anything to go by. but i digress.)

and then the characters turned to black goo. and i just about threw my computer. rip Luba who got absolutely targeted by the GM lmfao.

anyway uhhh that's about it regarding the dream sequence! loving luzidius!joui and how he just keeps switching back and forth. ((and it further supports my little side-theory that the mysterious blond woman last seen with Team Kelvin was a luzidious we win these.)) i was surprised to see Liz thinking it was so cool when she's been so suspicious of everything in Santo Berco since she got here, but i think she could definitely be using it as a distraction from what she just went through, and honestly she's just happy to see Joui is okay. (the way she gave on up words and just hugged him, the way she held his face in her hands, the way she dragged him down the hall to show Thiago and Thiago was just telling her to fuck off (/aff) because he was getting dressed, my heartttt i love these three, mentor-mentee dynamics my fucking beloved)

also new outfits! sweet! istg the new outfits are so Cellbit's way of apologizing for putting his friends through that. "hey sorry i killed your character in the most emotionally devastating way possible it will happen again wOAH LOOK AT THESE NEW CLOTHES AREN'T THEY SO COOL YOU SHOULD TRY THEM ON!!!"

i've been having mixed feelings about the sudden setting/genre change since the group arrived in Santo Berco. i really, really loved the urban horror-fantasy vibe that they had going on in op and the first 8 eps of osnf, but evidently, this is good as well. the genre is most definitely still horror yippee. i definitely miss the urban-modern setting, but i think i can get adjusted to this. (i'm just,,, not the biggest fan of the auto-heal crystals im sorry i had to say it they feel too op i know their use is limited to visiting the doctor but knowing they exist lowers the in-world stakes for me im sorry---)

anyway, ep 10! you beautiful monster! i have been typing for an hour! i need to go eat food! k bye!

#curlyosnf

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raymond-reddington-ruminations · 2 years ago

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okay, reviewing two episodes in one night. Not easy!

Thoughts on 10.15, no spoilers.

Lol, what an episode!

I think this might be my favorite episode of this.. I don't know what to call it. A 'lull' period? Whatever we're to call the period between Wujing dying and the catalyst for the end.

It kept me guessing. And it was one of the few rare occurrences where I'm guessing right along with the task force, instead of just watching what they're doing and being a little bit ahead of them because we get Reddington's side as well, giving us insight. This time whenever the task force voiced a question about the nature of their work, it was only seconds after I started asking the question myself.

The core question I had was if this was a throwback to what Blacklist episodes were like prior to Elizabeth's death, with multi-part puzzles that would connect together eventually, or was this more like the current run of episodes.

And it turned out to be a hybrid of some sort, which certainly made for a weird and interesting viewing experience.

There is still some forward thrust on an overall plot line but that's very subtle. There's that whole Senator situation, but maybe the more continuing plot is truly a character plot. I've been saying from the very beginning of the season, Red is in a very weird headspace. This episode put just a little bit of extremely direct focus on that, in several different ways.

And Glory hallelujah, one of those ways was with a conversation with Dembe.

Thank god. That is such a balm to my soul. I have been needing and wanting and pleading for Dembe to try to connect with Red all season. In my opinion it was a starting conversation, not a progressive or a finalizing one. They just finally got into approaching real conversation, and the real topic. I'm Hoping there will be much more of this to come. It's desperately needed. I believe he lied to Dembe at the end of that conversation. He lied to himself.

As to what I think is going on with Red, here goes.

He never healed from Elizabeth's death. And nor should he. He doesn't know what to make of his life without her. And nor should he. It seems to me that Red has shown a pattern throughout this series, of not being able to understand his own soul. When it's torn up, he'll deny it. He'll hide it. And then when he can't hide it he runs away. In the past it always resolved itself. Elizabeth wasn't really dead, and then Kaplan wasn't really dead either, so he got to let himself off the hook somewhat.

This time he can't. He couldn't hide from his pain when Elizabeth died in his arms, so he ran away and distracted himself with the sisters. Then he came back and had the distraction of finding out what really happened. Now there's no urgent task for him, and the sisters are gone. Or at least one of them is, he's hoping to get the other one back. Because of course he is, he needs distraction. I don't think it will work, the opening scene of this episode gives me hope that it will not work at all.

I'm profoundly hoping I'm reading the situation right, and I'm profoundly hoping that Weecha herself can also read this situation. And that's why she stayed away. She isn't his path forward, he has to find that for himself.

#the blacklist #raymond reddington #10.15

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monaluisa · 2 years ago

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14. Dumbest reason for fandom drama

19. Has anyone ever gotten mad over how you've portrayed an character or over a headcanon or something?

20. In what ways do you think this fandom should step outside it's comfort zone

4. Best historical Hetalia takes

6. Shout out to someone on Tumblr who has the best takes for your favorite character

12. What makes this Fandom different in a positive way compared to other fandoms

14. Probably the USUK/FrUK shipping wars in the days of yore. This is my second stint in the hetalia fandom; the first one was circa 2015-2017 when it was starting to die down, and I was pretty young and inexperienced, so I heard more about the drama then I really saw, but I think any shipping war is pretty stupid. I was into ATLA early in the pandemic and somehow I got caught up in the Zutara vs. Kataang wars even though I don't really ship either of them, so I've seen how irrational shipping wars make people.

19. Not yet, because I haven't made much, but I'm always terrified of it happening lol. A central plot point in the fic I'm working on now is that Greece is trying to kill Turkey to avenge Byzantium's death, and I preemptively put a disclaimer on the fic that it wasn't a commentary on Greco-Turkish relations just in case someone got mad.

20. I know that Hetalia isn't meant to be taken seriously at all, but I love to see when people do. I'd love to see more people explore the worldbuilding of it, like their immortality; I take it that they can die (ex: falling in the ocean and drowning or something) and then come back, but we know they can also die for real because it happened to Rome and Holy Rome, and I want to know at what point they die for real. What does death mean for them when it works like that? Also, what are the implications of the nation's existence? How much do they identify with humans and human culture, and how much are they seperate from it by virtue of immortality and literally being a political entity? Are they more in charge of their nations, or are they just immortal puppets to their boss of the day? What does family mean to people who cannot die and who are rarely (if ever) biologically connected to each other in the way that humans are? And how have all these things shaped them each individually as characters? Now I'm just listing stuff I like to write about lol.

4. The HRE, Austria, and Prussia were all children together; Austria and Prussia grew up, but Holy Rome, being pretty weak, never did, and so Austria essentially became his caretaker, and watched him wither away from the 30 Years War until finally succumbing to the clusterfuck that is Napoleonic Europe. Austria was so torn up that he ordered the creation of Germany (or the German Confederation) primarily for political reasons, but also maybe as a way to replace Holy Rome as a person. Germany then spent like 1815-1866 torn between what Austria wanted him to be and what Prussia wanted him to be, all while Prussia is slowly taking the reigns from Austria and essentially forcing Germany to grow up too fast into war and conquest, ultimately pitting him against Austria in the Austro-Prussian War. Taking all of my own headcanons into consideration, I just think that Prussia, Austria, and Germany are really interesting characters to examine.

6. It's hard for me to pick a favorite character (Probably Prussia or Romano) but @sailorgreywolf-german has some of the best takes on the HRE I've seen.

12. First of all, there's the fact that you can never leave it, so like the theoretically-immortal characters, it's hard for the fandom to truly be dead. Second of all, the only thing really uniting the fandom is the concept of the show and the loosely-agreed upon characters in it, and you have all of history to work them into, so for a history nut like myself, that mean ideas come fairly easily. I wrote a fic about HRE dying where I briefly mentioned Byzantium throwing Greece off of the wall of Constantinople, so then I wrote a fic about that, and now I'm writing a fic where that wall-yeeting (and the subsequent fall of Constantinople and death of Byzantium) is a big sticking point of Greece's character. Hetalia is the gift that keeps giving lol.

#hetalia #best and worse times ask game

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trashy28 · 4 years ago

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Get Some Rest (Tech x Reader) Pt 2

Warnings: anxiety, angst-y ?, mentions of death/near-death experiences, blood/gore, mentions of violence, fluff at the end i promise (i would say im sorry, but im not) (bet you didn't expect this right after a fluffy first part >:))

Pairing: Tech x GN!Reader

Word Count: 5.1k

Part 1, Part 2

Summary: Oh no! It's a mission gone wrong trope! I wonder what could possibly be underneath this keep-reading cutoff! It totally cannot be where the reader and the bad batch go on a rescue mission only for something to go awry leading to treating injuries, and feelings.

"Everything is going to be okay. It will be alright. You got this y/n, you got this." You mumbled to yourself under your breath as you hid behind a convenience stall on some Outer Rim planet.

Something had gone wrong, VERY wrong. The mission was supposed to be easy: get in, get the prisoners, and get out, but it had all gone downhill faster than you could say dank farrik.

Earlier in the day, Tech had tapped into a secure Separatist transmission when messing around with his datapad. The Separatists were broadcasting a signal from a supposed neutral Outer Rim planet back to their base only a system away. They had taken the native people as prisoners and were going to use them for something, but none of you could figure out what. From then on, Hunter had taken charge, deciding that there was no time to ask for approval on the mission.

When the five of you reached the planet, you couldn't help but whisper to Tech next to you, "None of this seems right. If the Separatists did take these people as prisoners wouldn't there still be ships and droids?"

Tech simply looked at you before saying, "Not if they wanted to be secretive about it," and going back to his datapad.

You let out a huff. Things hadn't been that different between you two after the kiss you shared in the cockpit of the Havoc Marauder. When in private there would be shared tender moments, like there was nothing in the world that could come between you two, but with his brothers, Tech would regard you as the friend they all viewed you to be. They all knew something was going on between you two, and you had even taken it upon yourself to rant to Crosshair one night. He said he 'reluctantly' chose to listen, but he had calmed your anxious babbling about how you thought that Tech was embarrassed that you two were something now. That brought up another fact about how you two never addressed what you could call yourselves. Any time you tried to bring it up to Tech he would either cut you off with something else he was wildly researching, or one of his brothers would walk in and need either one of you. Crosshair's words did help to remind you that "That's just how Tech is sometimes. Clones were made to be fighters, not lovers." Leave it to him to say something like that. Out of every one of his brothers you knew he was the one who wanted a normal life the most even if he didn't show it.

As you and the rest of the group began your walk from the Marauder to the closest town you found yourself falling into step next to Wrecker instead of your usual placement besides Tech. Looking down at you, he asks, "Something bothering you? It sure looks like something is,"

Looking up to make eye contact with him you say, "I still don't feel like this is right. Everything seems to be falling into place too easily. This never happens to us!"

Wrecker turns his attention back to the surroundings passing a glance over the open area before stating, "Honestly, it is a little odd, but I trust the others and their intuition as much as yours."

The finality in his tone stood true as neither of you said anything for the rest of the walk into the town square. Walking past the empty booths would have been enough to send normal civilians running at the sight, everything was ruined. Curtains torn, fruit on the floor, and vendor booths destroyed. It was a depressing sight to see, but sadly one that the group was used to, it was a time of war after all.

After a little longer of walking and reaching the heart of the city, Hunter holds his fist up and all of the groups' motion ceases. "Tech," he says, "Can you pick up anything else from that transmission or anything that could give us a clue as to what else happened here?"

"I'm working on it, have been since we landed. The Separatists have scrambled all signals, so it’s taking me a while to try and find the frequency again," Tech answers before looking around the surrounding area, "As for what happened here, I think the evidence speaks for itself."

Hunter sighs before saying, "Alright, we'll split into two groups to cover more ground. Tech, and Wrecker you're with me. Crosshair and y/n, I expect no arguments coming out of this grouping."

Crosshair scoffs as you roll your eyes and make your way to stand next to him. "Didn't plan for arguments but maybe I'll start a few just to piss you off now," you say as you turn back towards Hunter.

"Just make it back here in one piece, we'll meet back up here at 1500, and if anybody is late, we assume they have gone missing and this was a trap," Hunter says before turning away and starting to walk down one of the many deserted alleys.

"Looks like we're stuck together again Cross," you let out before elbowing his side and starting to walk forward.

Following you and shoving a toothpick in his mouth he says, "As long as you don't complain about your problems with your boyfriend the whole time this might just be enjoyable."

"Yeah, yeah, let's just get going you karking toothpick lover."

It had only been around half an hour or so of walking before you and Crosshair could hear blaster fire in the distance. You ask, "Hey Cross, am I dehydrated, or is that actual blaster fire?" Turning around to face the said man, he already had his eyepiece down checking for heat signatures and was pulling you by your arm into a space between two buildings.

"There's nothing around us, but I'm assuming the others encountered some clankers. They must have found something because well, we found nothing and have no one after us," Crosshair states before tilting his helmet down to you and reading your facial expressions, "You want to go back and help them, don't you?"

"Of course I do Crosshair! Don't pretend that you don't want to either, I know how you care for your brothers. Let's just try to make it back without alerting any of those damn droids," you reply.

Crosshair tilts his head towards a stack of boxes and towards the roof of the buildings, you were situated between. "I think I have an idea."

"Why the hell did I let you come up with the idea to get back to your brothers. Running from roof to roof isn't exactly easy and leaves us out in the open," you complain before hopping another gap in-between roofs to catch up with Crosshair.

Crosshair stops short in front of you on the next roof almost causing you to walk into him before turning around to face you, "Look, I'm just as anxious as you to get back to them, but they are all capable enough to take care of themselves and I trust them with that. You of all people should know that as well," he spits angrily, and could almost hear a growl with his final punctuation.

"I know Crosshair, I get that you are worried, but I just can't help thinking that something had to go wrong. Let's just hope that my intuition is the wrong thing," You say before putting a hand on his shoulder, "C'mon, let's make this fast."

By the time you had made it back to the town square, to your luck, you still had not encountered any droids except for the ones who were scattered all over the floor in pieces.

"Looks like Hunter got to work on these guys," you say as you bend down to touch the large gash left by a vibro-knife in the torso of a droid.

Crosshair is examining another droid with its head ripped off only a few meters from you, "Looks like Wrecker got these guys too. But the question remains: where are Hunter, Wrecker, and Tech?"

At this, you paused and drew your focus away from the droid and instead survey the area, "The real question is, why is there no evidence of Tech fighting back? There are no electro-proton bombshells and even no blaster marks on any of these guys."

"Maybe they split up," Crosshair looks at you before pointing down one of the alleys.

"Fuck, I hope you're right."

It didn't take both of you that long to find Hunter and Wrecker, but it also didn't take long for another set of droids to ambush you. That's how you found yourself pressed behind the convenience stall mumbling under your breath. You had managed to take down a few droids but were forced to take cover. The others were still scattered around picking off droids one by one just as you remembered that Tech was still nowhere to be seen. Your mind was rushing faster than you could've ever thought trying to find out any idea as to where he could have gone.

Suddenly the blaster fire stopped as you heard a final clank from a droid hitting the ground. As you stood up you looked around cautiously, and deciding the coast was clear you jumped over the stall to group up with the rest of the bad batch.

As everyone began looking over each other there seemed to be only one thought shared between the group. This was a trap and Tech was gone.

Trying to alleviate the sour mood the group was plunging headfirst into you chuckled before saying, "You guys can finally say I was right now."

The others groaned before Hunter said, "Now is not the time y/n, Tech's missing and we have no clue where the kark he could be."

"You think I don't know that Hunter?" You let out through clenched teeth before continuing, "I'm just as worried as you are right now, but let's get somewhere where we don't have to worry about droids ambushing us."

Crosshair let out a sigh from beside you, "They're right. We won't be able to help Tech if we're dead so let's get back to the ship."

Picking up what he was putting down you finished for him, "We can re-group our thoughts on the Marauder, come up with a game plan, and then retrace our steps. It will do no good thinking while our minds are in 20 places at once."

Back on the ship all of you had gathered around the small datapad you placed in the middle of the table. "Alright, I tracked Tech's datapad's last known location to here, but who knows if it even with him," you say before zooming in on the location, "We can't guarantee that it would be safe either, we all know the number of clankers they sent after us just to try and keep us away."

"As long as I get to blow something up and get Tech out, anything is a good plan," Wrecker says before heading towards the back of the ship.

Crosshair nods at both you and Hunter before getting out of his seat to go and follow Wrecker.

"I know you're really worried, you don't hide your emotions that well," Hunter says while placing a hand on your shoulder.

"No shit Hunter," you start while rolling your eyes, "I'm worried about what might happen if we can't find him, or even if it's too late and he's already gone. I don't know what I would be able to do without him."

Hunter gives your shoulder a reassuring squeeze, "It will be okay y/n. For our sake and yours, let's think positively."

The four of you had made your way back into the town square better equipped and without a problem. You had some of your own plastoid armor on now for a bit of extra protection in case things decided to take an even stronger turn for the worst.

"The signal from the datapad is down the alley to the Northeast," you say while glancing up from your own datapad.

The group nods back at you as you continue your way down the alley. It was quiet, the tall sand-colored buildings surrounding you couldn't help but make you feel claustrophobic. The other alleys were not like this. They had seemed to be more open, with a lot fewer canopies, but this one had canopies blocking almost all the sun. It also didn't help that it was starting to get dark.

As you reached another intersection, Hunter held up his fist to signify everyone to stop. A wave of déjà vu flashed over you, and you prayed to any gods that would listen that you wouldn't split up again. After a few moments, Hunter turned to you and tilted his head to the side, to which you answered by pointing your hand to the alley to the right. In a whisper, you add, "If we continue straight down that alley, we should reach another intersection. Tech's datapad should be there."

The four of you continued walking again and when you reached the intersection you couldn't help but let out a strangled sob. There was a pool of blood on the farthest side of the intersection that was smeared on one side. Rushing up next to the blood, you stopped mere centimeters from it as your eyes caught sight of Tech's datapad. Your hands were shaking as you reached for it and you brushed a finger over one of the bloody fingerprints. "Oh shit," you say letting out a shaky breath. How could you have let this happen; how could you allow yourselves to walk right into a trap? Now Tech was gone, bleeding out, or dead, and there was no exact way to trace him.

You see Wrecker's hands wrap around your own but don't register the feelings. Your whole body has seemingly shut off and stopped processing the world around you. Wrecker takes the datapad from your hands and passes it to either Hunter or Crosshair. You are too shocked to care as you collapse to your knees. Wrecker is at your side on the ground in seconds and pulls you right into him. The plastoid armor that would bring you so much comfort as you used to hold Tech close only burned as tears began to fall from your face. The air was thick with remorse and regret, but you couldn't hold on to the fact that he could be dead. After a few somber minutes recollecting yourself, you pushed away from Wrecker and pushed yourself off the ground, offering a hand to Wrecker to assist him. Once both of you were up and you had cleaned the sand off your pants, you turned towards Hunter and Crosshair. They were silent as ever, Crosshair had taken a seat on of the nearby crates and had his head in his hands, and Hunter had taken to looking at Tech datapad.

Breaking the silence, you spoke first, "We can't just give up and believe he is dead," startling Crosshair causing him to jump in his seat.

"Yeah, we need to think he's still out there, that the Separatist kept him alive for information," Wrecker added, backing you up.

Hunter had turned back around waving the datapad, "They were smart enough to keep his datapad here, but they weren't smart enough to wipe any messages on it."

At this, you scrambled over to Hunter's side and pulled that datapad closer to your face. Displayed was an unsent message to you that contained various numbers. "Coordinates," you say breathlessly as Crosshair joins the rest of you standing in a haphazard circle around the datapad. Adding, you ask, "Do you think those are the coords of the base where they took the prisoners too?"

"Probably," Crosshair speaks for the first time since arriving at the intersection, "Let's hope Tech's there too."

Taking Tech's datapad from Hunter, Crosshair begins off in the direction leading away from Tech's bloodstain on the ground, but also opposite the way you came. The rest of you fall into step behind him and continue your way to your destination.

On the way following the coordinates, all four of you were on high alert, but no droids had come to attack you, relieving some of the stress. It didn't help relax you guys upon seeing the droids surrounding a large sandstone castle-like building. Stopping at the crest of a hill a while away from the makeshift Separatist base, Hunter and you took to scanning the surrounding area, while Crosshair and Wrecker began to formulate some form of attack.

"Once again, I can tell you're worried," Hunter said as you both had scopes pulled out to try and find any weak points in the droid formations.

"And once again, we all are Hunter. I just hope we aren't too late," You reaffirm before pointing at a space straight ahead, "Look, they're rotating shifts. Maybe we could find a way in on their next rotation."

Hunter turns to look at you before saying, "How would we know when the next rotation is?"

"I don't know, maybe figure out what time it is Mr. Survivalist," you taunt sarcastically.

Hunter scoffs before saying "It's 1900, we could use the fact that it's dark out now to our advantage. It could help us slip in and out undetected if we want."

Nodding before standing up, you say, "True, let's go tell the others and see if it can play into their plan."

Once getting back to Crosshair and Wrecker, all four of you focused on a plan and decided it was best to split into two groups to help divide the droid forces. There would be no surprise ambushes by the droids, but instead an ambush on them. You and Hunter taking the back way in, through the gap in droid shifts you noticed earlier, while Wrecker and Crosshair would work on some sort of distraction from the front.

Wrapping up the discussion of the plan one last time before separating Hunter adds, "Remember, this is a rescue mission. Once we have Tech and possible other prisoners we get out as fast as we can."

You, Wrecker, and Crosshair nodded before wishing each other luck as they walked off from your position.

"You ready y/n?" Hunter asks.

"Ready as I'll ever be," you say back to him as you two make your way towards your position.

Once situated towards the back of the building, Hunter commed Crosshair saying, "The droids are about to rotate positions, on my word start whatever distraction you have in mind."

The two of you waited on edge while the minutes drew on. After what felt like forever the droids finally began to move. At this, Hunter commed Crosshair again with finality, saying, "Now."

From your position, you could see the blast from the explosives Wrecker had set off, along with the heavy concentration of blaster fire. The droids that were covering the area where you and Hunter immediately went to act as reinforcement to those affected by the blast.

Hunter and you ran from your location to the back of the building, quickly finding an open window. Pulling the window open more, you forced your way inside as Hunter followed. The room was empty, and most of the lights were off. Pulling out a flashlight you scanned it across the floor quickly before turning it off again to not be spotted, even if there was a small chance of that.

"It looks like we are in some type of living room," Hunter says before making his way away from the window and peeking his head around the corner of the door and into the hallway. "The hallway's clear, I would say split up to cover more floors, but seeing what happened last time I told everyone to split up... I don't think that's a good idea."

Nodding you made your way over to him to look out into the hallway as well. "I say we go to the basement if there is one. It would make sense to keep people prisoner there," You say before stepping foot into the hallway.

"Yeah, but the only problem is finding stairs that could lead to a basement," Hunter says while stepping into place behind you.

"It shouldn't be that hard, plus if Tech was still bleeding by the time, he got here, wouldn't you think there would be a trail of blood where they brought him?" You shuddered while stating the possibility out loud, just as Hunter made a noise of acknowledgment.

After what felt like hours of walking the hallways on high alert, and checking most rooms as you come across them, you staggered trying to stop yourself from walking as you finally caught sight of some blood on the ground. "Hunter," you whispered, "Look."

Hunter looked around your form to get a glance at what you were looking at, before shining his flashlight down the rest of the hall. "There's a trail too," he said while keeping his flashlight trained on the spots of blood.

"C'mon," You say as you grab him by the hand and pull him the rest of the way down the hallway.

Stopping at the end of the said hallway you are greeted by stairs to the left of you, and you turn to Hunter before silently agreeing to walk town together in sync. The stairs were solid sandstone, so you didn't have to worry about any creaky stairs, but you did have to worry about footing. Pulling out your vibro-knives at the same time as Hunter, you two started making your way down the stairs. The sight that waited for you and the bottom of the short walk would stick in your head forever. The basement was one single connected holding cell, with prisoners lined up against the bars trying to get a look at you. Some of them were crying, others wailing in pain, and some had fallen into silent spells. Noticing this, Hunter and you quickly put your knives away before you rushed to the gate with the main lock at it. While you made fast work of the lock and quickly picked it, Hunter had begun reassuring the people that we were here for help and that he was looking for someone who looked like us. With the gate, open people poured out in a mass exodus and began to make their way upstairs, without a single care of what could happen to them.

Once almost everyone was out, you and Hunter made your way into the cell where you were greeted with another terrible sight. Tech was there on a stone table in the middle of a cell with one of them, now freed, prisoners hovering over him. His armor was off and tossed to the side as he was only in his blacks, and he had a bacta patch wrapped around his torso. You rushed over to him as Hunter escorted the prisoner out of the cell and couldn't help but let out a sob for the second time today. Tech looked frail, and you hesitated to even reach out to touch him fearing that it would break him. You were immediately relieved after placing two fingers on his wrist and feeling his pulse. It was weak, but it was still there. "Hunter! I need some help down here," you call out before starting to run around the table to grab Tech's armor. Hunter came running back down the stairs at your call and once you saw him you continued, "I need you to carry him out of here. I'll get his armor, but we need to move fast before the droid realize that this was all a diversion."

At this Hunter makes his way to Tech's side without a word and picks him up and slings him over his shoulder. Grabbing the final pieces of Tech's armor, both of you begin to make your way up to the stair. Tapping the comlink on your wrist you hear blaster fire permeate through the room around you. "Crosshair, we got Tech. If I know Wrecker, he probably has some explosives, so as soon as we get out of the house, give him the word to blow this place up."

"Got it," Crosshair says before the comlink closes with a beep.

"Let's try a nearby window and get out of here as fast as we can before we tell them to set the chargers," you say to Hunter as you force your way ahead of him and into the closest room. Hunter follows you before grunting as a noise of approval. Making your way to the window, you grab Tech's helmet from where it sat under your arm and smashed it. Hunter gives you an exasperated look as he walks past you and out the window first, to which you only say, "What? It was a lot easier than putting everything down and opening it.

Once both of you are outside, you make your way to the location where you two started the mission. Reaching the spot a few meters away, you open the com with Crosshair again, "Crosshair, tell Wrecker to light it up. Now!"

Instead of getting an actual response as an answer, you could hear the various explosions coming from the area behind you.

"Nice work you two but meet up with us where we made camp before, it will be quicker to get back to the Marauder with Wrecker carrying Tech," You say into the com again before forcing yourself to walk in the direction of the temporary camp from before.

"Rodger that," Both Crosshair and Wrecker's voices come through the comlink before the transmission ends again with a beep.

The four of you, plus an unresponsive Tech, met up quickly and rushed back to the Marauder as soon as you could. Reaching the ship was a relief as Hunter had immediately gone into the cockpit and got you guys off the planet, and Wrecker took Tech to the bunks with you in tow with medical supplies.

Once Wrecker placed Tech on his respective bunk, you immediately rushed him out of the room and got to work. Removing the hastily applied bacta patch, you assessed the wound that Tech had got before he was captured. It was nasty at first glance, but you assumed it was even worse before he had the first batch patch applied. The cut ran from his left shoulder across his torso, coming to finally stop at the bottom of his right ribs. Luckily, the cut wasn't that deep, because there would have been hardly a chance, he would've survived that. Continuing your work, you cleaned the wound before wrapping it up again in another bacta patch. Standing up and observing the handiwork of your terrible medical experience, you run a full body scan with your datapad just to check for any other injuries that could internal. Thankfully, the scan came up negative and you could assume that Tech had just passed out due to blood loss. He still looked extremely pale as you stood there and stared at him, but some color was starting to return to his body.

Sitting back down, you grasped his hand in yours and looked at both hands together. As the weight of the day's events slowly started the catch up with you, you could hardly help yourself as you began to fall asleep. In a state of half-consciousness, you could've sworn you felt Tech's hand squeezing yours, but you were too tired to even process the notion that he might've.

The feeling of someone pulling your hand to their lips pulled you out of your nap and caused you to pick your head up from the side of Tech's bunk.

"Good morning Tech," you said before you could even process what was happening, but as soon as the words left your mouth your head snapped up and your eyes immediately widened. "Tech! You're up!"

Tech let out a breathy chuckle before trying to force his way up, only for you immediately to place your hand on his good shoulder and force him back down, "Nope, no getting up for you just yet. You had us all worried sir," you say while shifting your position to get a better look at him.

"I never meant to cause you guys any trouble," he says sincerely, "We had all got split up when those droids attacked us, and they caught me by surprise by sending in reinforcements."

"It's okay Tech, you don't need to justify your actions, you're alive and here back on the Marauder with us. That is all that matters," you say before gripping his hand again and squeezing it.

"Y'know while the droids were dragging me away as I was bleeding out, I couldn't help but focus on one thing," he says while squeezing your hand in return.

"Oh? And what was that?" You ask with a smile on your face.

Tech smiles back at you before bringing your hand to his lips again and placing a firm kiss on your knuckles, "I couldn't stop thinking about how I hadn't told you how much I love you."

Freezing in your place at the combinations of the words and the sincerity in Tech's tone, you couldn't help but find yourself smiling wider at what he had said. "I love you too Tech, too much. I thought I had lost you today but I'm so glad I didn't," you say with finality in your tone.

Leaning down to place a kiss on his lips you find yourself in a state of relief. Tech was back and safe out of harm's way, and he really does love you. Pulling away from the kiss, but still holding eye contact with him you say, "You still need to rest up, and don't think that kissing me will be a distraction."

Tech rolls his eye and lets out a groan before smirking and saying, "Well after I'm all healed you better make it up to me."

You smack his leg and let out a huff of frustration and as you go to walk out of the room you say, "We'll see about that one Tech. We'll see."

taglist: @bandaid-bunny @haloangel391

a/n: once again i feel like this is meh but i still dont know. i meant to have this done 2 days ago but almost passed out because of my second dose of the covid vaccine, plus i had a 6 page paper due so likeeee. anyway TAKE THIS right after the new episode, also if you guys watched it already... HOLY SHITTTT 🙏

#the bad batch x reader #the bad batch #bad batch #bad batch x reader #tech x reader #clone trooper tech x reader #bad batch tech x reader #tech bad batch #tech bad batch x reader #the clone wars #clone trooper tech

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