#Axe throwing Atlanta | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

rickmymanrick · 9 months

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one rule | chapter five

[rick grimes x original female character slowburn]

series masterlist

summary: glenn and rick try out a new technique in order to survive and reunite with the rest of the group. back at camp, daphne and shane reach an understanding.

notes: god i’m so irritated with my writing in this series. i have the tendency to write too many little details but that changes after this chapter istg. so the style of writing might be a bit strange after this part but if you'd like an idea of what it'll be like, check out my star wars au i'm writing on my main acc. and sorry for the long ass wait. enjoy.

“I’m going to throw the fuck up,” I breathed, trying to control my gag reflex. Rick groaned in response, pushing harder and I gagged again.

“Stop doing that,” Glenn whined. “You’re going to make me throw up.”

“I’m sorry,” I said with watery eyes, trying not to breathe in the scent of rotten guts filling the air. We were all standing before Rick and his axe— staring as he cut a walker’s body in half.

Rick gave one last chop before handing it over to Morales. I did my best not to look at the mush of guts spread all over the floor.

After a heated discussion with Glenn, I’d agreed that it would be safer if I stayed behind, despite how badly I wanted to join him on Rick’s suicide mission to escape Atlanta. So I stayed silent, helping them spread intestines all over their coats with two layers of gloves on.

I’m sure my face was turning violet from how long I was holding my breath but it was either that or vomit all over the place. The texture of the flesh was lukewarm; this walker probably wasn’t even dead for long.

Glenn was beginning to hyperventilate.

“Think about something else. Puppies and kittens,” offered Rick with a grimace.

“Dead puppies and kittens,” T-Dog added in disgust.

I flinched, bracing myself. Glenn whipped around in horror, hurling over his shoulder instantly.

Andrea rolled her eyes and pulled away from Glenn. She fixed T-Dog with a glare. “That is just evil. What is wrong with you?”

“Next time let the cracker beat his ass,” snapped Jacqui.

“I’m sorry,” T-Dog backed away guiltily.

Rick cut in. “Do we smell like them?”

“Hell yeah,” I answered.

“I don’t think I’ve seen you take a single breath in the last five minutes, Daphne.”

I squinted my eyes at Rick.

“It’s a wonder you’re still standing,” he mused.

“Unless you want me to throw up on you and everyone in the vicinity, I’d rather suffocate in silence,” I said stiffly.

“Glenn," I turned around to find Andrea handing off my gun. "Just in case." I didn't argue, knowing if she had returned the gun to its rightful owner, I would've done the same thing. Still, I gave her a glare.

“If we make it back, be ready,” said Rick firmly.

“What about Merle Dixon?”

Rick fished out the keys from his pocket and tossed them to T-Dog.

“Give me the axe,” sighed Rick. “We need more guts.”

After another agonizing round of gut scooping, the two were ready to head out. Glenn glanced back at me with a terrified look. I tried to give him my most confident smile, but inside I was sort of dying too.

I shared one last look with Rick, imprinting both of their faces in my mind just in case. How is he still so handsome covered in guts?

‘You got this,’ I mouthed at Glenn and then Morales promptly slammed the door in my face. I rounded on him angrily.

“We couldn’t risk the walkers seeing us,” he shrugged apologetically.

I sighed, glancing up the stairwell and suddenly remembering Merle’s crazy ass was still up there. Suppressing a groan, I forced my way past Andrea and the others and decided to wait on the rooftop for a better view.

And somehow between the sudden rain pour that fell over Atlanta and Andrea accusing Rick and Glenn of abandoning us, the plan actually managed to work.

I was practically biting my nails, sprinting back down the stairs I came from, leaving Merle and his yelling in the dust. I couldn’t bring myself to give a single shit, only focused on trying to push myself the fastest I’ve ever gone, just so that by some miracle of God I could intercept Glenn before he took off.

He was leading the horde away, distracting them so that we could all get into the van Rick had managed to steal.

I diverted from the course, ignoring Morales and Jacqui’s frantic questions, urging them to meet Rick at the rendezvous. Over the frantic pounding of my heart, I could hear the siren of Glenn’s stolen car, getting closer and closer as I sprinted down a dark hallway, seeing the daylight pouring through the crack of the emergency exit.

With a shoulder shove, I burst through the door, fully bracing myself for a fight against any walker that was in the vicinity...

But it wasn’t the dead that attacked me.

It was Glenn Rhee, slamming into my side hard enough to send me flying towards the pavement feet away. My ears rung a bit and I had to blink a few times to gather my wits, but then I suddenly heard Glenn’s yell and growls getting closer and I forced my body to jump into action.

I swayed a little on my feet, gaping at Glenn who was hanging halfway out the car, staring at me like I’d grown two heads.

Walkers rounded the corner suddenly.

“Holy shit! You crazy fucker!” I yelled, swinging my body to the passenger’s side. I was more than ready to get the hell out of dodge.

“Holy shit,” Glenn repeated, but I could barely understand over his ridiculous guffawing. There were tears streaming down his face, his cheeks bright pink from how hard he was cracking up.

“You hit me with a car. Har har. Hit the fucking gas pedal, chuckles.”

His laughter was contagious, doubled over the steering wheel and I momentarily forgot that Rick and the others were depending on our corny asses to survive.

“Glenn,” I wheezed through suffocating laughter. God, my fucking side hurts but I can’t stop. “Glenn! We got—gotta GO!”

A loud bang made us both jump. Nothing kills the mood quite like a decaying corpse snapping at your car window.

Finally, Glenn hightailed it, sending the car flying with a deafening squeak. I gripped at the overhead handle. As we turned the corner, I barely caught a glance of Rick’s truck, now speeding away from the building.

I slammed my hand into the dashboard twice. “They’re out. Let’s go!”

Glenn didn’t need to be told twice, pushing the car even faster than I thought possible. Impulsively, I rolled my window down and felt the wind cut through my hair hazardously.

Soon, Atlanta was in the rearview mirror and a feeling of elation rushed to my head.

“We’re alive,” Glenn said suddenly, as if he read my mind.

“Cause of you,” I admitted in a rare moment of complete honesty with this asshole.

A sly smile spread across his cheeks and I whipped my head to face him fully. “I take that shit back. You almost killed me back there. I think you broke my hip, Glenn!”

“You look fine,” he denied.

“What do you know? My hip is in fragile condition! I may never be the same.”

“Should’ve looked both ways before you crossed the road.”

“Dude—” I fixed him with a murderous look.

Glenn glanced at me from his peripheral. I stared at him a few seconds longer. We were speeding down the highway, on lanes that were vet eerily empty. But the other side of the highway was a complete other story. I refused to look that way.

A few more seconds of death glaring Glenn satisfied my pettiness and so I began to rummage through the compartments of the car. A nice silence filled the car, just rushing wind and the company of the person who meant the most to me in this fucked up world.

All I could find were old receipts and registration papers. I sighed, “do you think they had any cds— FUCK YES.”

“What?” Glenn demanded quickly.

I flipped the cd around and practically shoved it in his face. He swerved a little— it’s not like there’s anyone to crash into.

“Put that shit on!” He yelled, beginning to smile uncontrollably.

I shoved the disc in and blasted the volume, drowning out the stupid alarm.

“Everybody look at me, me! I walk in the door you start screaming!” We both chorused loudly, feeling the spirit of Nelly Furtado and countless nights at the club fill our veins.

When we finally arrived, speeding over hills and around curves, we clambered out of the car, exhilarated from the drive and feeling the post-high of our near-death experience.

The giddiness rushed to my brain, making me a bit lightheaded as I gave Glenn a playful shove when I made my way to his side.

This feeling nearly made me forget my very pressing issue here at camp.

He came rushing over with a scowl. “What the hell?!” Shane growled at me.

“Holy shit, turn that damn thing off!” Dale yelled, stomping over with his white bucket hat lodged firmly over his hair.

“I don’t know how!” Glenn said, leaning over to fidget with the dashboard in the car.

“Pop the hood please,” said Shane a little more gently than he’d spoken to me.

I gave him a side eye.

Glenn and Dale kept yelling over each other in a panic. An anxiety began to creep over me when I realized just how loud the alarm was. It bounced off every tree; its echo could probably be heard below the cliff we were camped on.

I leaned closer to Glenn. “Hey, pop the hood—“

“Pop the damn hood!” Shane snapped suddenly.

The hood of the car finally popped open and I jerked back to glare at Shane. He was turning away from me, his head shaking and I could tell he was mumbling something under his breath.

The asshole pulled a wire out and the siren stopped.

“Are you crazy, driving this wailing bastard up here? Are you trying to draw every walker for miles?” Shane leaned against the car with an agitated look.

“I think we’re okay,” said Dale.

“You call being stupid ‘okay?’” Shane asked.

“The alarm was echoing all over these hills,” explained Dale. “Hard to pinpoint the source.”

“Thank you,” I mumbled. It’s nice to see someone still has functioning brain cells in this group.

Shane turned to glare at the three of us, hands on his hips, a scowl planted on his face.

“I’m not arguing. I’m just saying,” Dale told him defensively before spinning on both Glenn and I. “It wouldn’t hurt you to think things through a little more carefully next time, would it?”

“Sorry,” Glenn shrugged. “Got a cool car.”

“Has some good cds too,” I chimed.

“Nice to know you put us at risk for some cheap music,” replied Shane unnecessarily.

I opened my mouth, ready to fire back—

A rumbling could be heard from a distance. Amy rushed forward, shielding her eyes from the sun, a desperate look on her face. “Is that them? Where’s Andrea?” She turned toward me suddenly. “Is she okay?”

“She’s okay, Amy. We just had to take two cars, s’all.” I reassured.

We squinted against the glare. In the distance, a white truck was rapidly approaching.

“That’s not our van,” observed Shane lowly.

Obviously. I didn’t spare him a glance. I only stared ahead, hoping everyone except Merle was in that damned van. I knew it was wishful thinking though, that man was like a fucking cockroach.

In my peripheral, I saw Glenn glancing between Shane and I awkwardly. “Yeah, um, we had to leave it behind. Found a bigger truck though.”

Maybe I should mention the fact that Rick Grimes was driving the truck and that his partner was alive but my stubbornness kept me silent. And it was only at this thought that a memory resurfaced in my brain.

“Did you see Rick?” I asked quietly, observing Lori and Carl from where I sat on the rock. The pain in my thigh had dulled just a bit.

Shane glanced up from my leg, looking through his eyelashes briefly before quickly directing his gaze down again. He continued to wrap gauze around my wound.

“I did,” he said hoarsely. I waited with bated breath, but he said nothing more.

“Did they transfer him to Atlanta General?” I asked, not sure I even wanted to know the answer. The horrific sight of the dead on the highway was seared into my brain. The screams stopped hours ago; now all that could be heard was silence and a faint growling from the deserted highway.

“He’s gone,” Shane stated stiffly.

“He’s…?”

“Dead.”

I stared over at little Carl Grimes who sat next to his mother silently, observing how to light a small log fire. A lump formed in my throat, but I cleared it with a sniffle. There was no going back to the way it was before. I had to toughen up and accept it.

“Okay,” I lamented, forcing the grief back into the depths of my mind.

Shane finally looked up, brown eyes looking intensely into my own. “Okay.”

Hours later, I sat alone, like I did most nights I couldn't sleep, legs pulled up to my chest and staring at the dark outline of the city. It was brighter than usual this night, a full moon hanging high over our heads.

I traced each building I could see, wondering if Merle was atop one of them, cursing each of us to hell.

This evening was... eventful, to say the least. The Grimes family reunion went as expected, full of tears and embracing. I had to look away after a few seconds, feeling that stupid guilt churn in my gut, especially when Lori kissed Rick on the crown of his head.

And then I saw Shane, acting stranger than usual, a forced smile on his face after the shock of seeing Rick had worn off. He'd glanced at me the second it had processed in his brain who was driving the van, a mixture of shock and something else behind those brown eyes.

I imagined he felt betrayed I hadn't spilled it to him as soon as Glenn parked the car. Maybe it was a bit petty but his behavior towards me was setting me off. We hadn't worked so hard to make a living, just for a misunderstanding to destroy the bond we had.

I scoffed at the thought, glaring at the dirt.

Slow footsteps in the grass crunched behind me and I curled my fingers around my knife.

"'You barely got them out?'" I said monotonously. At the campfire just about two hours ago, Rick had expressed his undying gratitude to Shane. After Shane explicitly pointed out that he'd saved them. He was the reason the Grimes family was whole again.

I heard a sigh and Shane rounded the corner, his eyes meeting mine for the first time since last night. "It was a lot to explain."

"We had time," I pushed a little stone I found in the trunk around. "I'm not asking for credit. I would do what I did without hesitation if I had to again. But you haven't acknowledged me once since last night."

It was silent. I refused to look back up, tired of his mood swings.

"I...I haven't been fair to you," said Shane quietly. "I'm sorry. I just-- I've been working through some things. Feelings. You didn't deserve the way I'd been treating you."

I hated that confrontation made me overly emotional. I tried to swallow down the sudden lump in my throat. That's the thing-- maybe I did deserve it.

I wanted to say something, speak up for myself, maybe yell at him for giving me such a goddamn headache. But the lump in my throat kept me painstakingly silent.

“…Daphne?” Shane asked very quietly. It was barely a murmur, but my trained ears caught it.

I cleared my throat and whispered, “okay.” Outrageously angry at myself for not finding the strength to give him a piece of my mind.

It was silent for a few long moments.

“I’ll..." He cleared his throat and puffed out his chest a bit. "I'll take the night shift. You go get some rest. You’ve had a long day, Lara Croft,” he tried to joke awkwardly. I didn't laugh, so conflicted on my feelings for him.

On one hand, he’s the man who has been with me since before the fall and even through it. We’ve been forced to fight and survive together. Fight for each other. Other than Glenn, he’s the only friend I’ve got.

But god we fucked it up so bad last night. I fucked it up. I could sense his apology was sincere and life was too goddamn short to hold onto grudges.

And my back was starting to kill me after getting smacked around by Glenn's stolen car.

“Thanks,” I whispered, accepting his offer and hopping off the jeep. I looked at his fluffy brown hair and his eyes that were suddenly much lighter than they had been in all day, despite the darkness of the night.

The anger was still there, simmering and bubbling in the pits of my stomach, but with one deep sigh, I spun on my heel and made my way to Glenn and my tent, deciding to just deal with it tomorrow--

A whisper traveled across the path.

"For what it's worth, it's always been you."

I froze, straining my ears to convince myself I hadn't just made it up.

"I don't wanna fight. But it's your call. Daphne, I need you... and-and I'll take you however I can have you, Ayala."

An even larger lump formed in the base of my throat. My lungs burned furiously and I realized I'd been holding my breath all this time. I willed myself to respond.

"I need..."

What did I need?

I frowned in confusion. My heart was telling me one thing, but my brain was convincing me of another. There's no reason to deny myself this attention, this man who has clearly pined after me for so long. And because of my silly crush on Rick Grimes, I'd never given him the time of day.

Now Rick's back and I have to co-exist with his family.

I turned my head to glance at him over my shoulder. He was standing by the jeep still, a hand on his holster and another scratching at his scruff.

Maybe... I should've given Shane Walsh a chance so long before the world went to absolute shit.

Maybe... maybe I can give him a chance now.

My stomach turned with the possibility of just allowing myself to be loved. But my anger very much still brewed silently.

"I need time," I said honestly. I forced a small smile. Not a yes, but certainly not a no.

A puff of air left his lips, I heard it even from this distance away.. It was full of a flattering sort of relief and I found myself shocked that my ears began to tinge with heat.

Spinning away before he could say anything else to fluster or anger me further, I rushed back to my tent, that tight lipped smile slipping into an easier one.

The next morning, I woke up earlier than I expected, my anxiety at an all time high.

Glenn was still snoring on his side of the tent, flat on his back and his mouth hanging open just a little.

I took the opportunity to change into a fresh set of clothes and brush my teeth quickly before trekking into a part of the woods I'd discovered a week ago. It wasn't too far, a few minutes into the trees, but far enough to be able to take a breath of air without someone lurking about.

The trek had a greater purpose though; within its bushes, a patch of blueberries grew untouched. I'd been going back to check on it every morning and now, I was hoping it was ready enough for picking. The thought of surprisingly Carol and Sophia with some jam put a little pep in my step.

So I began my slow search, carefully inspecting each berry to make sure they were edible.

My peace was interrupted sooner than I expected. There was a major scuffling within the trees and my heart leaped to my throat, freezing in place as I tried to calculate who it was coming from and where.

I was hunched over, ready to leap and attack a walker if need be. The footsteps got louder and I steadied the grip on my weapon.

"Merle was a danger to us all," I heard Shane's voice travel across the trees. My heart jumped to my throat. I'd been avoiding the thought of him since I woke up.

"You don't know what you're talking about," grumbled the voice of Daryl Dixon. Through the low bush, I saw a group of three approaching.

I held my breath, surprised Daryl hadn't throttled Rick already.

"What I did was not on a whim," said Rick. "Merle does not work and play well with others."

“He’s my brother,” Daryl insisted, more angry than I had ever seen him. Maybe, he did throttle him. Shane must've pulled him off because there was red marks from a struggle on his neck.

My cheeks burned, my heart stupidly fluttering just because I'd finally come to terms with allowing myself to feel something for him. I realized a tiny smile started spreading across my cheeks and quickly shut that shit down. I glared at the ground to gather my bearings.

Now was not the time for girly high school shit.

Shane shook his head. “I understand that this is difficult but—“

“No, you don’t understand. Y’all don’t have a brother here!” Daryl threw his hand up and began to storm away.

“I do, Daryl. I do.” Rick said. Daryl turned around with a sneer, and Rick glanced back at Shane fondly.

I became confused when Shane’s face twisted into an uncomfortable expression, more of a grimace than a brotherly smile, a tense nod given to Rick in return.

Daryl scoffed.

“Oh really? Does a brother fuck your wife?”

OHHHH SHITTTTT. unedited as fuck btw

next chapter >

#rick grimes x reader #rick grimes x daphne ayala #rick grimes x oc #rick grimes x original female character #the walking dead #shane walsh x original female character #the walking dead fanfic #twd #rick grimes #glenn rhee #the trail of annihilation #twd fanfic #shane walsh x reader #original female character twd #mgparker #rickmymanrick

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aspenmissing · 1 year

Text

𝚃𝚎𝚕𝚕 𝙸𝚝 𝚃𝚘 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝙵𝚛𝚘𝚐𝚜 (𝙿𝚝 𝟸)

Danny doesn't respond and looks guilty and embarrassed. Y/N puts her arms on his shoulders and shakes him back and forth.

"Danny! Were you scratch..." Danny doesn't answer and Y/N gets impatient "For god’s sake, kid, WERE YOU SCRATCHED!"

"No!" Danny shouts, sniffling "I fell over when I was running from the walker and cut my knee" Y/N sighs in relief, hugging him close. He hugs back tightly. She turns her head to he where the walker is and sees Rick, Shane, Glenn, Jim and Morales beating it with their objects. Y/N then sees Dale lift his axe up but before he could bring it down, she quickly pulls Danny away from the scene.

"Let's get you cleaned up and a new pair of pants" She puts her hand on his shoulder and she gently pushed them past everyone and back towards the camp, grabbing a bowl of water and a cloth before leading him back to Daryl and Merle's tent. He sits down on the sleeping bag and grabs his lemur, hugging it close. Y/N kneels in front of him and rolls up his pants leg, careful to not irritate the scrape "This is gonna hurt a bit, okay kid. Just hold your lemur tightly" She dips the cloth in the water and begins to wipe away the blood.

"Ow" he says from the stinging sensation on her knee. Y/N gently dabs the wound, making sure to clean it. After she's satisfied it's clean, she leans over to his backpack and takes out a big plaster and sticks it over his scrape.

"There you go, all better?" She asks. He nods, looking down at the scrape. The two then hear shouting from the main camp. Y/N shakes her head "Wonder what's happened now" She mutters before standing up, dusting herself and goes to walk out the tent "I'll leave you so you can change your pants. I'll be out here when you’re done" she says, smiling and zipping the tent up to give Danny some privacy.

"Hey!" A voice shouts, startling Y/N "Why are you in my tent, girl!" Y/N hears the heavy footsteps and turns to face the man, her eyes watering at the sight of her father. Daryl stops short in his tracks as he sees her full face.

"Daddy" she says, her eyes not leaving her father’s.

"Y/N" They quickly walk towards each other, Daryl dropping his crossbow and dead squirrels as he pulls his daughter into a tight hug "I thought you left me Babygirl; don't you ever do that to ya old man again”.

"I'm sorry" She says, stuffing her face into his shoulder "I'm so sorry, Daddy" They hear a zip, and they turn to see Danny walk out, holding his bloodied pants.

"I'm finished, N/N" Danny says before seeing Daryl and becoming timid. Y/N wipes her eyes and turns to face Danny, holding her hand out. Daryl watches as Danny slowly walks over and holds out Y/N's outreached hand. Daryl looks between the two.

"Danny, this is my dad, Daryl" Danny looks up at Daryl, his fear instantly gone and replaced with a bright smile.

"Hello Mr. Daryl! I'm glad we've finally found you" Danny says. Daryl looks down at the small boy.

"You've been looking for me?" He asks. Danny nods.

"Yup! Y/N really missed you and her uncle. She knew you'd be somewhere near Atlanta" Daryl looks to Y/N, who smiles.

"Followed my gut feelin', just as Merle taught me" Daryl huffs out a laugh, shaking his head.

"I thought' we agreed that I taught you everything', Merle just taught you how to hold ya alcohol and play poker" She laughs.

"True, and he was an excellent teacher" The girl looks at Danny, placing her hand on his head and ruffling his hair "Why don't you go back to the main camp, okay. I just gotta talk with my dad for a sec" Danny nods and hands Y/N his bloody pants then look to Daryl.

"See you later Mr. Daryl" Danny says, smiling up at the redneck. Daryl nods his head at him, the tiniest smile on his face.

"You too kid" He replies before Danny runs off. Daryl then looks back to Y/N who throws the bloody pants in the tent before turning back to her father "So, what do you want to tell me?"

"It's about Merle" She says, staring into Daryl's eyes "Uhm, you see, I--we, had to kinda handcuff him to a pipe because he has been an ass and we-uhm, left him there because we lost the key" She sees that Daryl isn't reacting as much as she thought she would, and she looks at him confused "Your taking this surprisingly well"

"Nah it's jus' that the cop and his buddy told me, had to get me in a headlock before I could kill that son on a bitch who dropped the key."

"T-Dog didn't mean to drop it, dad. He was just scared, we all were" before Daryl could reply, Y/N places her hand on his shoulder "He's alive and kicking, okay. Only a Dixon can kill a Dixon hell scratch that, only Merle can kill Merle" Y/N pulls her father in for another hug, him instantly returning it.

"You were always the right one, I do hate it sometimes" Daryl jokes. She laughs and pulls away from Daryl.

"Yeah, I know you do, now how about you go and get yourself cleaned up then we can head to Atlanta to get Merle" she says walking away. Daryl picks up his crossbow and dead squirrels before quickly turning around, realizing what she said.

"We?" He questions.

Later, Y/N stands near the red sports car with her backpack on the boot. She pulls out her gun from her waistband behind her back and checks to see the bullets. She then pulls her knives out of her bag and places one in her pants and another down her boot, keeping on in her bag just in case.

"Could you just throw me a bone here, man?" Shane says. Y/N lifts her head up to see Shane and Rick walking over "Could you just tell me why? Why would you risk your life for a douche bag like Merle Dixon?"

"Hey, choose your words more carefully" Daryl says, pointing his arrow at Shane. He turns to Daryl, nodding sarcastically.

"No, I did. Douche bag's what I meant”.

"He does have a point; he is a douche bag" Y/N says. Daryl looks over to her and she shrugs, going back to checking her gun.

"Merle Dixon...The guy wouldn't give you a glass of water if you were dying of thirst”.

"What he would or wouldn't do doesn't interest me" Rick says "I can't let a man die of thirst... me. Thirst and exposure. We left him like an animal caught in a trap. That's no way for anything to die, let alone a human being" Rick then walks away from Shane over to the small others.

"So, you, Daryl and Y/N, that's your big plan?" Lori says, looking at Rick. Y/N walks forward to stand besides Glenn, looking at him. Glenn looks to her confused before noticing Rick's eyes on him and he sighs, groaning.

"Oh, come on”.

"Sorry buddy" she says, clasping him on the shoulder.

"You know the way. You've been there before... In and out, no problem. You said so yourself" Rick says as Glenn adjusts his hat "It's not fair of me to ask... I know that, but I'd feel a lot better with you along. I know she would too”.

"That's just great. Now you're gonna risk three men and a kid, huh?" Y/N glares at Shane.

"I ain't no kid, Shane" she says.

"Five" T-Dog says. Daryl huffs out a laugh from his spot on a seat.

"My day just gets better and better, don't it?" He says, cleaning his arrows.

"Behave" Y/N says.

"You see anybody else here stepping up to save your brother's cracker ass?"

"Why you?" Daryl asks, continuing to clean his arrows.

"You wouldn't even begin to understand" T-Dog says, turning his head away from Daryl "You don't speak my language" His eyes meet Y/N's as she smiles and nods. He returns the smile.

"That's five" Dale says.

"It's not just five" Shane says "You're putting every single one of us at risk. Just know that, Rick. Come on, you saw that, Walker. It was here. It was in camp" Shane looks to Y/N "It almost got Danny there, could you risk that again?" Y/N doesn't answer as he continues "They're moving out of the cities. They come back; we need every able body we've got. We need 'em here. We need 'em to protect camp”.

"It seems to me what you really need most here are more guns" Y/N says, smirking.

"Right, the guns" Glenn says, remembering.

"Wait. What guns?" Shane asks.

"Six shotguns, two-high powered rifles, over a dozen handguns" Rick says "I cleaned out the cage back at the station before I left. I dropped the bag in Atlanta when me, Y/N and Danny got swarmed. It's just sitting there on the street, waiting to be picked up”.

"Ammo?" Shane asks.

"700 rounds, assorted" Delilah says.

"You went through hell to find us" Lori says "You just got here and you're gonna turn around and leave?"

"Dad, I don't want you to go" Carl says, looking up at his father. Danny, who is sat beside Carl, looks up at Y/N.

"And I don't want you to go either Y/N" he says, eyes wide and innocent. She smiles at him.

"I gotta go buddy, gotta get those guns so we can keep you and everyone else safe."

"To hell with the guns" Lori says "Shane is right. Merle Dixon? He's not worth one of your lived, even with guns throw in" Lori stands up as Rick walks over to her tell me. Make me understand"

"I owe a debt to a man I met, and his little boy" Lori looks back to Carl, to empathise the point that he too has a little boy "Lori, if they hadn't taken me in, I'd have died. And I owe Y/N for saving my life too. It's because of them that I made it back to you at all. The man and his kid said they'd follow me to Atlanta. They'll walk into the same trap I did If I don't warn him”.

"What's stopping you?" Lori asks.

"The walkie-talkie, the one in the bag I dropped. He's got the other one. Our plan was to connect when they get closer”.

"These are our walkies?" Shane asks.

"Yeah"

"So, use the CB" Andrea says "What's wrong with that?"

"The CB's fine. It's the walkies that suck to crap... Date back to the '70s, don't match any other bandwidth... Not even the scanners in our cars" Shane explains, sat down.

"I need that bag" Rick says. Lori dips her head in defeat, knowing her husband won't change his mind. He then approaching Carl "Okay?" Carl pauses before looking up at Rick, nodding his head. Rick smiles at him and ruffles his hair.

Later that day, Y/N sits in the passenger seat in the truck with her door open, her legs on the dashboard. Danny sits in her lap, his legs laid on top of hers with his head back against her chest. Her hands weave their way through his hair as he plays with her other fingers.

"Why do you have to go back into the city, N/N?" Danny asks, "Aren't all the bad guys there?"

"They are kid, but I gotta go and get my uncle and get those guns back" she says. Danny pulls his body to the side and twists his body to face Y/N, looking up at her.

"But why?" He asks. She looks down at him, brushing her hair back.

"Because those guns will keep us safe from the bad guys, you want that don't you? To be safe" She asks, smiling down at him. He nods.

"Yeah. But what if you get hurt out there?" Danny asks, gripping Y/N's hand "What if you leave me like Kyle did”.

"No" Y/N says, her body going stiff "I won't even leave you, not for a million years”.

"Infinity?" Danny asks, smiling which makes the girl relax. She smiles back and kisses his head,

"And beyond” the two sit in silence for a couple of minutes before the door driver side door opens and Glenn jumps in and notices the two.

"Did I interrupt something?" He asks, furrowing his eyebrows.

"Nah you’re okay, Glenn" Y/N says "Let’s get this show on the road" Glenn turns on the truck and reverses it back to which then Daryl opens the back and jumps in.

"They're taking their time, aren't they?" He says impatiently.

"They're just getting some things to help us, be patie-" Y/N goes to say before she's cut off by Daryl's foot pressing the horn of the truck.

"Come on, let's go!" He says, turning to face Rick and T-Dog. Danny sits up as Y/N places her feet back on the floor. He leans forward and goes to press the horn before looking to Glenn.

"Don't look at me, go ahead" Glenn says, smiling. Danny smiles bigger and presses the horn multiple times, laughing. Y/N shakes her head, laughing.

"I never met a kid who was so happy to press a horn in my life" she says. Y/N turns her head around to see T-Dog, Rick and Shane walking over to the truck. She looks to Danny "Time to get out kid, we gotta hit the road" Danny nods and hugs Y/N, her quickly returning it.

"Please don't get hurt, N/N"

"I won't, Danny boy. I won't, I'll come back perfectly fine" Danny pulls away from Y/N and looks to Glenn.

"Promise to keep her safe" he says. Glenn laughs nervously.

"Hate to say it kid, but she'd probably be the one keeping me safe”.

"Fair enough" Danny says. The two laughs as Danny jumps out the car and sees Carol holding her hand out to him.

"Come on sweetie, let's get you a little snack" Danny grabs her hand and the two walk over to the others. Y/N shuts the door and turns her head just as Rick gets in the truck and closes the door.

"Got everything?" She says, turning to face everyone.

"This ain't no damn field trip" Daryl says.

"Fine, but if you've forgot something, we're not turning around to get it" She says, turning back to face the front as Glenn begins to drive away.

The truck drives down the train tracks, bumping and shaking while doing so. Rick, Y/N and Glenn sit in the front while T-Dog and Daryl sit in the back.

"He'd better be okay. It's my only work on the matter" Daryl says, wiping his mouth with his cloth.

"I told you the geeks can't get at him" T-Dog says "The only thing that's gonna get through that door is us" Glenn eventually stops the truck outside the city limits and turns to face the others.

"We walk from here" he says. The five get out and start walking along the railroad tracks.

Back at camp, Danny sits with Carol and Amy down at the quarry, helping them do the laundry.

"I'm beginning to question the division of labour here" Jacqui says as she and Andrea look over at Shane and Carl splashing in the water. Andrea agrees as the two sit down besides Danny, Carol, and Amy.

"They're coming, little man! Get 'em?" Shane says, as he splashes the water towards Carl to help him get frogs "Get that net in there and get 'em! What have you got, bad boy? What did you get? What did you get?" He repeats. Carl lifts out the net, looking down at it in disappointment.

"Dirt"

"Oh boy. All right, we've got to start over. Come on, let's find this bucket" Shane says as he bends down in the water to grab the bucket as he and Carl laugh.

"Can someone explain to me how the women wound up doing all the Hattie McDaniel work?" Jacqui asks, looking down at the others.

"The world ended" Amy says, looking back down at the clothes "Didn't you get the memo?" Ed watches the women washing the laundry from his vehicle, smoke in hand.

"It's just the way it is" Carol says, passing Jacqui some wet clothes. She looks over at Danny to see his gaze set on Shane and Carl, a smile on face. "Do you not wanna go and help them get frogs, sweetie?" Carol says, looking at the young boy. He turns to Carol, shaking his head.

"Don't really like frogs”.

"Don't like frogs? Why not?" Andrea asks, looking over at him. He shakes his head.

"To slimy for me, I'm more fun than slim, like spiders."

"Then your braver than me, I hate spiders" Amy says, shivering at the thought. Danny grabs the wet clothes from Carol and begins twisting it to get most of the water out.

"You don't have to help us, hun'. Go and play" Carol says. Danny shakes his head, turning to the women.

"But I want to help you guys, it's seeming only fair. You helped me and Y/N so we help you" Danny says as he goes back to rinsing the clothes. Jacqui smiles.

"Well, we're happy to have your company and help, sweetie"

Back at Atlanta, the five cut through the fence and each take a turn at going through, Glenn being last.

"Merle first or guns?" Rick says, making Daryl snap his head in his direction.

"Merle!" He says, walking forwards "We ain't even having this conversation”.

"We are" Y/N says, Daryl staring at her before turning away. The five walk as she looks to Glenn "You know the geography. It's your call”.

"Merle's closest. The guns would mean doubling back. Merle first" he says before the five begin a light jog under the tunnel.

Back at the Quarry, the women and Danny are washing the clothes while Shane and Carl are still in the water and Ed still over by his car.

"I do miss my maytag" Carol says, breaking the sound of scrubbing.

"I miss my benz, my sat nav" Andrea adds.

"I miss my coffeemaker with that dual-drip filter and built-in grinder, honey" Jacqui says, remembering the pleasures of coffee while squeezing the water out of the clothes.

"My computer...and texting" Amy lists.

"I miss my video games and my dog" They sit in silence for a second before Andrea chuckles.

"I miss my vibrator" The women start to laugh as Danny sits confused.

"Oh~!" Jacqui says with a grin.

"Oh my god!" Amy says. Carol looks back at her husband hesitant, before back to the women and admitting.

"Me too" she says. The girls continue to laugh before Danny speaks up.

"What's a vibrator?" He asks, making the women laugh even more. Ed then notices them and walks up to them.

"What's so funny?" He asks.

"Just swapping war stories, Ed" Andrea says as the women stop laughing and continue to work. Danny however looks up at Ed as he walks behind them.

"Yeah" Ed comes up to them.

"Something wrong, Mr?" Danny says, looking up at the man.

"Nothing that concerns you, kid. And you ought to leave these women alone to work, son" He then looks to the women "This ain't no comedy club”.

In the building, the group walk slowly through the apartment store. Rick holds his hand up and signals to the others that there are two walkers. Daryl and Y/N walks forwards, Y/N holding her hunting knife up to her face.

"Damn. You are two ugly skanks" Daryl says as he shoots his crossbow at one through its head. Y/N walks forward and stabs the other one in the head and pulls out her dagger and Daryl's arrow and hands him it.

"Agreed" she says as they continue on.

The women and Danny are still doing laundry as Ed watches them.

"Ed, tell you what..." Andrea starts of as she stands up and walks over to Ed "you don't like how your laundry is done, you are welcome to pitch in and do it yourself. Here" she tosses a shirt at her, and Ed throws it right back "Oh!"

"Ain't my job, missy" Ed says.

"Andrea, don't" Amy says, standing up and looking to her sister.

"What is your job, Ed?" Andrea asks, "Sitting on your ass smoking cigarettes?"

"Well, it sure as hell ain't listening to some uppity smart-mouthed bitch”.

"That's not very nice" Danny says, standing beside Carol.

"I don't care if it's not very nice. Tell you what...come on. Let's go" Ed says, gesturing for his wife to leave with him. Carol gets up scared and goes to walk over to her husband before she's stopped by a hand grabbing hers.

"She's not going anyway with you, you’re a horrible man" Danny says, gripping Carol's hand.

"And I say it's none of your business, son" Ed looks to his wife again "Come one now. You heard me" Carol lets go of Danny's hand and walks towards her husband, Andrea trying to stop her.

"Carol"

"Andrea, please" Carol says, trying to push past Andrea.

"Hey, don't think I won't knock you on your ass just cause you're some college-educated cooze, All right?" Andrea laughs surprised, looking back at Carol. Ed looks down at Carol, pointing his finger at her "Now you come on now or you gonna regret it later”.

"So, she can show up with fresh bruises later, Ed? Yeah, we've seen them" Jacqui spits out at Ed. Ed laughs and Shane notices all of this.

"Stay out of this. Now come on!" Ed says, getting annoyed "You know what? This ain't none of y'all's business. You don't want to keep prodding the bull here, okay? Now I am done talking. Come on" Ed says before grabbing Carol's arm and begins pulling her.

"No. no" Andrea says as she tries to pry Ed's hands of Carol's arm.

"Carol, you don't-" Amy says, joining in.

"Leave her alone!" Danny says, on the other side of Carol and trying to pull her back.

"Carol, you don't have-" Andrea's cut off by Ed.

"You don't tell me what! I tell you what!" He shouts before slapping Carol "You think you can-" The group start to protect Carol and they grab onto Ed. Amy manages to pull Carol out of Ed's grasp as Jacquie and Andrea try to push Ed away. Danny grabs one of the buckets they were using to clean and walks up to Ed.

"Leave her alone, asshole!" He says, hitting Ed in the arm making him let go of Carol. Ed grabs Danny by his shirt and pushes him onto the ground, his head hitting the floor.

"Danny!" Amy says as she gets down on the floor to grab Danny. Carol stands still sobbing while Andrea and Jacqui push Ed more to get him away from his crying wife and the hurt boy. Shane then comes from behind Ed and grabs Ed, dragging him away from the group.

"Get off me!" Ed demands that Shane gets off him. Carol and Amy helps the young boy up carefully as the group watched Shane push throws Ed to the ground.

"It's okay. It's okay" Amy says to Carol and Danny, who are both now crying.

"No!" Carol says, trying to get over to Ed.

"It's okay" Andrea repeats while Carol still tries to get to her husband. Shane pummels his face multiple times. Ed's face gets bloody as Shane continues to punch him. The group watches in horror as Shane mutilates Ed's face.

"Shane, stop! Just stop!" Andrea shouts, while holding Carol back.

"Sop it! Stop!" Carol begs. Shane grabs Ed, holding him up.

"You put your hands on your wife, your little girl, that little boy or anybody else in this camp one more time, I will not stop next time. Do you hear me?" Shane threatens. Ed doesn't reply "Do you hear me?!"

"Yes" Ed says, his voice slurred.

"I'll beat you to death, Ed"

"Ed!" Carol shouts.

"I'll beat you to death" He repeats. Shane hits him one more time and then kicks him in the stomach.

"Oh god!" Carol cries out "No. God!" Carol bursts out in tears and kneels over him "Ed, I'm sorry. Oh my God. Ed, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, Ed. Ed, I'm sorry. I'm sorry, Ed" The others don't know how to react as Shane makes his way back to camp. Danny shoves his face into Jacqui's side, tears down his eyes. She looks down at him and kneels, looking at him.

"Are you alright, sweetie? Did you get hurt when he pushed you?" Danny nods his head, pointing to his head "Do you feel dizzy?"

"A little bit" Danny says sniffing. Amy overhears and grabs a cloth and dips it in the water before placing it on his head.

"Let's get you back to camp and get a good look at your head" Jacquie says.

The five in Atlanta reach the roof to which Merle is supposedly handcuffed on. They cut through the padlock and enter the roof.

"Merle! Merle!" Daryl says.

"We came back for you" Y/N says as she and Daryl walk around before they see something. Daryl begins to sob as he moves around upset.

"No! No!" They sat there silent watching a saw on the ground "No!" Daryl says looking at T-Dog with anger before back to where his brother was. He sobs more as Y/N walks over to it and falls to her knees, looking at where her uncle was.

"Please, god no" She mutters, before falling forwards, her hands resting on the ground. "Please no, god no please!" Daryl still looks around, sobbing more. Y/N lifts her head back up at the hand on the ground, belonging to her uncle with an empty bloody handcuff and a bloody saw.

"No! No!" Daryl repeats, his voice loud and shaky.

#The Walking Dead #Reader Insert #Walking Dead Fandom #Walking Dead Fanfiction

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dxrkenedheights · 1 year

Text

Name: Asher Cross

Age & Birthday: 22 years old, November 19th 2000

Gender/Pronouns: cis man he/him

Birthplace: Atlanta, Georgia

Time in Hollow Cove: 3 years

Species: Werewolf / Cross Pack

Role: Runner, Soldier, Trainer

Positive personality traits: resourceful, protective, witty, brave

Negative personality traits: pensive, aggressive, moody, aloof

ABOUT

Asher's childhood memories are littered with violence, but he knows that doesn't exactly make him special especially not when he's a Cross. Ash accepted it as a way of life much like his father, mother, brother and the rest of their family. And while resentment has lodged itself in his heart towards his grandfather, during the current warzone of the world he feels grateful for some of the lessons Jeffrey forced upon him. Like any Cross, violence is a way of life and so Asher doesn't ever run from a fight. He's not as quick to throw the first punch like his brother is, Ash is better at being the strategist than anything else. He has a more tense atmosphere than Axe too, usually the Cross with the dry wit and sarcasm even when nothing is or should be funny.

Growing up, Axe and Ash were always at each other's throats in the most brotherly way possible. Even today, the twins squabble and physically fight but when all is said and done they are brothers and always will be. While Axe was the outwardly violent brother, Ash caused a trail of destruction in different ways. He was a heart breaker through and through, never loyal to anybody except his family. Despite chaos following Ash around, he always responded to it in a similar Cross fashion. With a charming smile, a shrug and a what can ya do expression on his face. Ever aloof, not much seems to bother Ash- not even consequences to his own actions. Sometimes, he openly admits that he was fully aware of them when choosing his actions to begin with so accepts them with open arms and a shit-eating grin.

Duty is a big theme in Asher's life and personality. He was taught from a young age to listen closely to his parents because at the end of the day, it could save his life. Now, it's ingrained within him so strongly that he can follow orders to the T. Nothing his family can ask of him is too big or small, he will be right there whenever needed. Being only nineteen when the war began, Asher was also shaped by a new form of survival. Ironically, Jeffrey's brutal pack mentality has served him well over the passing years and allowed him to become a soldier within recent months.

Depending on the day, Ash can be more like his mother or father. He can be supportive, quick-witted and head-strong like Kat or stoic and merciless like his father. Most of the time he's the perfect medium of the two, making him a tough nut to crack and a harder book to read. He's mainly sociable with his family, knowing he is understood by his pack members the most. The rest of the town get a blank stare, a frown but a curt nod in response to anything that's needed to be done.

With the pack now under the leadership of Wolf, Ash is welcoming the slow rolling changes with open arms. He also knows it will take a long time to undo decades of conditioning but it's the first time he's ever felt hopeful that the Cross name, in future generations, will look different. If old ideals have to die with him, Ash is okay with that too. Because above all else, he loves his family and Ash has always accepted anything thrown his way.

#hollow cove: asher cross

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axemaster · 3 years

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About us:

Finding an axe throwing bar near me doesn’t have to be a challenge. At Axe Master, we’re one of the premiere places for hatchet throwing near me. Enjoy a true throwing experience where you can have an amazing time. We make it easy to book axe throwing for nearly all ages, from as young as 8 years old up to adults. If you’ve never tried an ax throwing experience before, we’d be delighted to introduce you to this fun game that’s perfect for kids, families, adults, coworkers or for everyone.

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#Axe Throwing Sugar hill #Axe Master throwing in Atlanta #Axe throwing near me #Axe throwing Atlanta #Axe master Atlanta

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fawn-soul · 4 years

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So I have mental illness that is somewhat severe at times and have since I was 8 years old. Things were at their worst when I was 16-19 years old. I was in and out of therapy, psych wards, residential treatment, on various medications, self- harming and suicidal, I had dropped out of school and for a period of time was practically housebound. I honestly didn’t think I was going to make it to my 20s, and if I did I had no idea what I was going to do. I was so far behind my peers, I hadn’t learned to drive, hadn’t gone to college, never had a job, and all of my friends were online. I was determined to die to end what at that point had been a decade of suffering, lest I end up spending the rest of my life living with my parents, sitting in bed and browsing the internet, wallowing in misery and solitude.

But things slowly started to change by the time I turned 20. It wasn’t a quick change. I remember my boyfriend at the time broke up with me because he didn’t feel it was fair to him to have to be patient while I recovered and learned to be a functional adult. I understood, though it sucked to feel like my progress wasn’t progress in anyone else’s eyes but my own. That the people who didn’t know me as a child in the therapists’ office, or the 13 year old in the hospital because she had just downed a bottle of pills, or the teenager who spent her sweet 16 inpatient in a different country from her family and friends, would just see a lagging, lacking woman child while I was taking some of the biggest steps in my life. And they were the biggest steps of my life. I enrolled in online college classes. I got my driver’s license. I started my first job. In 2018 I graduated with my degree and moved to Orlando (without my parents)! I made a group of friends that I absolutely love, I started dating an amazing guy (going on 2 years!), and I’ve been working nearly full time as a nanny for an awesome family. I do things, fun things, I go to museums and markets and have movie nights with my friends. I’ve tried tons of new foods and I’ve travelled (A cruise to the Bahamas, Nashville for a wedding, Chicago to meet the X-Files cast, Indiana for Christmas, Denver to meet my bf on the Colorado Trail, a road trip to Atlanta with the gang). I’ve gone axe throwing, kayaking, seen Sugar Ray in concert and attended my first hockey game. And soon my boyfriend and I are going to be moving in together, into what will be my very first apartment.

And as we talk about what we want to name the weiner dog we’re inevitably going to get, I can’t help but tear up. And maybe it’s silly, because I still have never paid for my own insurance, or worked 40 hours a week, or lived entirely alone, and so I know there are still people who won’t think much of me and my progress. But I worked so fucking hard to get here and I cry because I’m so so grateful, because this is all I ever wanted and never thought I would have. I still have my bad days, but they’re less and less. And for the first time in my life I can say that I’m happy. I thought I would be dead by now. But instead I’m happy.

#Text #Personal

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fluorescentpipedream · 3 years

Photo

Updated a few of my characters’ pictures last night when I was having an ADHD moment while playing WoW.

So...

Daryl “Mason” Knox - This version of Daryl is part of our Zombie storyline (the premise of which I barely remember) and currently in the mountains above Colorado. He is a survivalist already, tanner, taxidermist and wicked good shot and when the virus began circulating, he packed up his pickup truck and headed as far into the mountains as he could. He had been in Tennessee for a little while but left there when the area started to fall as well, moving around a lot for a while before settling high in the mountains where it’s coldest, realizing the undead have a hard time moving through the snow and it seems to make their bodies more brittle. He stumbles upon Ryki and Kristy’s group (shortly after they get Mikael back from the roaming motorcycle gang (see Widower/Simon). Daryl was under the assumption that most of his family had died when the virus first took hold and started using his middle name, Mason, instead of his last name.

Daryl Knox - Daryl is the survivalist of the Knox men, the youngest but the one who has his fingers the most in the various family businesses and also the one who discovers that a good portion of the Knox family land that backs the Blue Ridge Mountain range actually belonged to the Cherokee tribe and gives it back to them, only asking if they can continue to use the land as the hunting area he currently has it set up as. Daryl and his brothers also took a portion of the money made from the Knox Lodge (a small series of cabins built closest to the Chattahoochee National Park people can rent and go fishing and hunting for deer, quail and even armadillos) and give it back to the slave families that their great great grandfather had working for them. Daryl is quieter than the rest of his brothers, sticking to living away from nearly everyone and only coming down from the mountains when he is dropping off supplies at the Knox Family General Store in Jasper, Georgia where the family is primarily from. The general store is very rustic looking, with the old fashioned candy jars behind the counter and a small restaurant in the back where the family sells their homemade pies. (They also sell locally made and sourced jellies and jams, as well as jerky and unique gifts. Think trading post for the interior) A skilled taxidermist, Daryl has a special he runs through the Lodge that if you shoot it, he’ll stuff it (for a fee of course).

Schyler Lewis - A former Scorpion and currently a Slayer in Los Angeles, Schyler is quiet but loving and loyal. He’s also one hell of a shot with pretty much anything, though he prefers knives over everything. He has a deep respect for RJ Jamison, as well as the former leader, BP and keeps a protective/big brother kind of watch on Queenie. He and Simon are pretty good friends, he often tries to keep an eye on the older man to keep him from going crazy.

Trevor Phillips (nothing changed, just both versions of him are going to use the same picture)

Simon Knox - Simon is the middle Knox brother, only a few years older than Daryl though he’s not particularly close to most of his family anymore. He and Jericho had once been vying for the same girl’s attention, but when he was sent to prison for a bar fight/blackout he missed the chance to be with her, even though he does very much still love her. When Simon was released from prison, Jericho gave him the chance to come home and get back on his feet again (the courts and mental health professionals released him on account of him having absolutely no memory of the bar fight other than some kid pushing him too hard and spitting on him. His anger flared up and he didn’t remember anything that had happened after that point. It wasn’t until an officer hit him on the back of the head did he come around again) and while he’s there, he and Maggie ended up in bed together after he told her what had happened. He had a ring and had been going out with a few friends the night before coming to see her. He is actually Ryder’s father, and Jericho does know. Following Ryder’s first outburst and slamming his head into the wall, tearing a stuffed animal and general unprovoked rage, Jericho had come to bed with a few scratches on his arms and gently kissed Maggie’s forehead, not coming right out and saying anything about the possibility but just telling her that whatever thing that’s weighing on her heart right now, it’s okay and he forgives her. (Ryder has similar violent outbursts like his father, though recognizing it as was what going on with Simon, Jericho instead got his son therapy to deal with the outbursts as well as getting him involved in boxing.)

Following Ryder’s birth (and Simon getting to hold his son), Simon leaves and joins the Outlaw motorcycle gang though moves around a lot after that, winding up “settling” with Haven for a while before finally establishing a place with the Scorpions. He made quick friends with Schyler, despite a several year age gap, and when the Scorpions were assimilated into the Slayers in LA, he stayed on with them. He is prone to blackouts and violent outbursts and unfortunately does not possess much in the way of empathy toward nearly anyone. He does very much like children, and wouldn’t mind finally getting to have a family of his own. He is pansexual and it doesn’t seem to matter to him who he’s with, as long as they’re over a certain age. He’s not overly thrilled with the relationship RJ has with Jamie but she’s safe and not in any danger so he doesn’t say much about it either way. He and Floki of the Vikings have rolled around a few times, but generally speaking he is still very much in love with Maggie. Part of the reason he stays away from his family is because of how Jericho has been treating his “dying” wife. (Jericho is having an affair with a younger nurse/friend of his daughter Lorelei, while his wife is presumed to be dying from stage 4 cancer. She does make a rather miraculous recovery though, leaving him and going out to the man who has always loved her)

Simon has some seriously reckless traits and has actually had to be sedated by members of his own gang because his anger will flare up and he goes berserk. He has NO control over his actions whenever he blacks out either. Following BP and his wife’s untimely death, Simon is taken by the Slayers along with several others and thrown into the Pit, basically an abandoned warehouse near the docks that has been hollowed out and made into a fight arena. Because of his anger issues there’s a few that believe he could have been pushed to a breaking point and lashed out, though BP never pushed his buttons and he has no desire to take the gang over. When Rollo and a handful of the Vikings reveal themselves as the masterminds (and hired by Marcone to do the deed), Simon is the one who takes an axe off of Floki’s hip, throwing it into the back of Rollo’s head before kneeling down in front of Queenie and telling her he’s always been loyal to BP and subsequently, to her.

Widower (Simon Knox) - This version of Simon is for our zombie alt world and currently in Tennessee with the Savior gang run by a Negan type. In this world, Simon was able to remarry Maggie and the two of them were living quiet happily, considering starting their family when her cancer makes a return and is incredible aggressive. As the virus starts to spread through Atlanta and they begin seeing how it eats away at the host’s body only to reanimate them, Maggie begs Simon to shoot her so she doesn’t have to suffer through her cancer and the possibility of getting the virus. At first he refuses to do it but after the hospitals shut down due to too many people contracting the virus, he takes her up to one his brother’s hunting cabins and shoots her, burying her in the backyard. He had attempted to shoot himself as well but the gun jammed and he ended up throwing it into the river instead. After Atlanta falls and the zombie virus appears to be spreading through the small towns, taking the Knox family out as far as he can tell. He and Daryl were traveling together for a little while but were separated and Simon lost track of his little brother. Assuming that his family is dead (since there’s no trace of any of them and the communications network was the first thing to go down) he gets on the back of his motorcycle and leaves. He first meets Morgan (Negan) and his group, Haven, when they stumble upon one another trying to refuel and get supplies. Simon is unhinged and no longer even trying to hide his homicidal side, since no one is there to hold him back any longer he’s completely off his rocker. He initially told Morgan and the rest to call him Widower, as he didn’t even want to link himself to the man he used to be. If the virus is ever contained, he isn’t sure there’s going to be much of a world left for him.

Widower, Morgan and I think there’s an NPC version of Schyler with them as well find 5 yr old Mikael after the little boy panicked and ran from his aunt and uncle’s convoy during one of the zombie attacks. Morgan grabbed the boy as he was crying by the back of his jacket and puts him onto his motorcycle leading Kristy and Ryki and their group to give chase to get him back. Morgan had a son once and may have done this in order to protect him, not initially seeing the small group of survivors on the road. Widower takes over kind of protecting the little boy when their group stops at an old warehouse they use as a base.

Morgan Caldwell - I haven’t actually decided if I’m going to make Morgan but he is Sam Caldwell’s older brother and Martin & Lynn’s uncle. He is the leader of the Haven motorcycle gang which moves around a lot and Simon was part of for a while. He is incredibly disappointed in how his little brother acts and very much wants to meet his estranged niece and nephew.

Morgan “Negan” Caldwell - The zombie-verse version of Morgan, I know little about the man other than Widower is his right hand man and fiercely loyal to him. He genuinely seems to be concerned for Mikael and after meeting Kristy and finding out she’s pregnant while going through the virus, he may offer their services to them, as protection (or he may try to keep Kristy with him and his group masking using the air of wanting to protect her until she gives birth) There’s a lot of ways this guy can go. He isn’t particularly trustworthy, and has said one thing only to do the direct opposite of that less than a few minutes later.

Kevin Reynolds - the oldest Reynolds brother and also the only one that’s biological to the Reynolds family. Kevin was 10 when Matt was adopted and 12 when Vartan came to live with them as well. The family typically fosters children, and seeks to give them a better life than the one they had. Kevin is currently in his later 40s, and lives in Chicago where he owns an old-fashioned record store (with actual records on the upstairs level) called Empire Records, or just The Empire by his teen/20-something staff. Kevin is gay and actually just lost his husband Jimmy to AIDS. Jimmy was the drummer for his brothers’ band Silex, and actually younger than Kevin was as well. He is currently having issues with depression following the loss of the only love in his life (up til now, obviously), though he actually has clinical depression as well. He and Matt absolutely cannot stand one another, mostly due to Matt’s homophobia, though Kevin has always been out so he’s not sure exactly where that stems from. He and Vartan are close, despite the 12 year age gap. Empire Records is a somewhat failing business, though is eventually brought under the wing of Revolver Records for its vintage, throwback to the late 80s/90s music scene and often becomes the site of the Revolver bands’ signings, which boosts their sales quite a bit too.

Ryder Knox is getting a new picture, I just need to figure out who he actually looks like, taking his dad into a bit more consideration right now. The Knox men also all have a very distinct smile, so gotta find someone that fits. I’m stuck between these two:

Ryder is 22 years old and lives in an apartment on his own which he pays for by an OnlyFans account. With close to 1000 subscribers, he makes money selling pictures of anything from his feet to being shirtless (sometimes in his underwear) on parts of the Knox farmland. Very gay but not very out about it.

@musesnotebook

#Jeffery Dean Morgan #Zombie storyline #picture updates #norman reedus #steven ogg

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kyndaris · 3 years

Text

Divine Comedy

There’s a lot to be said about Immortals Fenyx Rising. That it’s a close of Breath of the Wild. That it’s far too childish. Or that it’s essentially Assassin’s Creed, but reskinned. In an age where games have aimed for photorealism and developers have been adamant about using a colour palette that has basically amounted to shades of brown, Immortals Fenyx Rising is a breath of fresh air. The sharp contrasts of yellow, purple, blue and green make the world vibrant and a wonder to behold as they pop out of the screen. Even the art style is a reminder of decades long past when mascots dominated the scene.

I, for one, find it much better than the deluge of similar character models we’ve encountered for several long years of video games. But I’m getting ahead of myself.

While the title of this post is a reference to the epic poem written by Dante Alighieri, which I haven’t quite finished (and in all likelihood, it might take years before I actually bother with Paradisio and catch up with Dante’s yearning for Beatrice), I thought it quite an apt descriptor for the narrative of Immortals Fenyx Rising. Why, you may ask - as the epic poem describes Dante’s descent into the nine circles of Christian Hell before he journeys to purgatory and on to paradise?

Simple. Because while the plot of the Divine Comedy doesn’t have many (if any) parallels with the game itself, I thought it was a great way to draw attention that Immortals Fenyx Rising is a story told within a story. And who should tell it but our favourite titan chained to a rock, where his liver is ripped out by an eagle every day, as well as the Father of the Gods, Zeus himself.

While the internal timeline takes a bit of time to adjust to, I liked having Prometheus and Zeus commenting about the actions Fenyx was undertaking. It was amusing to listen to them argue, provide commentary (mostly Zeus’s opinions of his many children and his exploits) as well as edits to the ongoing narrative to add a little challenge.

But while the telling of the story was exciting, the actual tale was one as old as time. There was nothing original about finding the Gods, collecting their Essences and tackling Typhon once Fenyx was decked out with upgraded gear and had unlocked all the abilities at their disposal. As a purveyor of video games, I’ve encountered the same loop many times and was a little deflated by the time I had defeated Typhon. Even the plot twist near the end failed to serve up much in the way of surprises.

Typhon, himself, was a little too hammy. While a serviceable villain for a children’s game, there was far too little depth when it came to his interactions with Fenyx. So, if one was hoping for an epic tale, I would advise to look elsewhere.

Still, given my love for Greek mythology, I liked the retelling of many of the Greek myths and seeing Immortals Fenyx Rising’s rendition of some of my favourite Gods. Though most were not explored in depth, mentioned only in passing, I liked the references made to the Trojan War, the many ways Athena turned young maidens into cursed monsters or animals/ insects, and the numerous Greek heroes that have since found their way into the mainstream.

What I liked most was that Atalanta was given a piece of the spotlight alongside Herakles, Odysseus and Achilles. Even the animated show Class of the Titans stumbled somewhat with the title screen - declaring Atlanta a descendant of Artemis (which is impossible because the Goddess of the Hunt was prided for her virginal status).

The characterisation of the Gods was also quite nice. Given Zeus’s proclivities, it made sense that his children hated him. Hephaistos soared in the role of tortured artist and Aphrodite’s transformation into a tree, along with her more selfless attitude in that form were all great to witness. Ares, of course, probably had the most fun quoting God of War (2018) with his: “do not be sorry. Be better.”

When it came to the controls, I felt that they were a little too floaty - particularly when it came to running and jumping. Given the aesthetic, however, I was relieved that it was not as pixel perfect as other games. Combat is serviceable and revolves around the use of sword, axe and bow. After levelling up my weapons and armour, and equipping those that would complement my play style, I was nigh unstoppable as I tore around the Golden Isles on my noble steed.

The one major gripe I had about Immortals Fenyx Rising were the puzzles. There are far too many. Almost every collectible or myth challenge involved moving weighted boxes around, hitting targets with arrows or racing a countdown timer. While most are quite easy, some of the Tartaros vaults could be downright devilish with how precise the timing is. I hope that future iterations would allow for separate difficulties for combat and puzzles/ dungeons because I still have nightmares about a few of them. It just seemed that wherever Fenyx went, they were dogged by contraptions that needed solving and this sucked out quite a bit of the fun from exploring and taking a look at the next question mark on the map.

Immortals Fenyx Rising is different from many games that have come from triple-A studios. While there are many similarities to Nintendo’s Breath of the Wild, the colourful nature of the land of gods and monsters is a far cry from what Ubisoft had primarily been churning out on a regular basis. And that’s a good thing. Shaking up the formula, even a little bit, by making things look a little more cartoony or using colours that pop out of the screen is a great way to reengage with players that might be suffering from first-person shooter fatigue. And while I don’t mind exploring the English countryside as a Vikingr, it is nice to be able to freely customise my avatar and make them wear goofy outfits rather than watching them grimace realistically for the sixtieth game in a row.

Also, it featured a credits scene. Albeit, a fake one that was meant to throw the players off. But, at least there kind of was one?

#video games #immortals fenyx rising

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meghancooking · 4 years

Text

My pitch for the eventual ‘Community Movie’

The film opens in 2023. After a brief bounce back from the efforts of the Save Greendale Committee, Greendale came upon hard times during the global pandemic (due to a poor attempt to transition classes like “Ladders” and “Nicolas Cage: Good or Bad” to an online setting.) Frankie left long ago to help hospitals rearrange their budgets for life saving PPE.

The Dean informs Jeffrey that things have gotten so bad that he has to let him go, and Jeff ends up at Britta’s bar for a drink. On the TV in the corner they see a commercial for a film that looks oddly familiar, about a community college study group that goes on wacky adventures. Jeff looks the movie up online to realize that Abed is the director and the film has a ton of buzz from Indie Film Festivals.

In “Community: The Movie,” Timothy Olyphant stars as Jiff Wanger, with Alexandro Daddario as Allie Anniston, Nicole Byer as Sally Benton, Dev Patel as Abed Nadir (no name change), John David Washington as Trey Burns, and Abed’s hero Harrison Ford as Piers Hawksworth.

Jeff tries to call Abed on the phone and realizes that Abed has changed his phone number since they last spoke. Feeling more disconnected from his old friends than ever, Jeff announces to Britta that they’re going to get the study group back together and confront Abed in L.A., intent on suing him for using their likeness without permission so that they can save Greendale. Britta says, “But neither of our cars can make it across the country.”

“But mine can.”

Jeff and Britta whip around to see Rick. Britta and Rick start making out over the bar counter. Jeff takes the keys from Rick’s hand and goes to “warm up the car.”

In their Honda CR-V, Jeff, Rick, and Britta go to D.C. to pick up Annie. At first she’s reluctant to take time off work, but when she realizes that Greendale is in trouble of closing for good, she throws her FBI badge in a nearby fountain.

Cut to the group looking for Annie’s badge in the water. “I wanted to be like those people that throw their cellphones in the ocean, in movies,” Annie sighs. “But you never think about them going back to get them.”

After they get Annie’s badge they head for Atlanta, Georgia to scoop up Shirley. Shirley’s sons are now old enough to attend college, and it breaks her heart to realize that her old school is closing down. “Not that I want them to go to Greendale,” Shirley adds. “They’re going to an Ivy. But if they need a back-up for their back-up’s back-up…”

Throughout their whole journey the group does their best to find out where Troy is, but no one has heard from him in years. Every time someone wonders aloud if he died in a horrible boating accident, Annie starts sobbing and they turn on the radio. A song by a popular new rapper Kiddish Bambino seems to be always playing whenever they turn the radio on. Shirley says she hates rap but she nods her head along with everyone else.

Rounding out their journey through New Mexico on the way to L.A., the gang stops at a Mexican restaurant on the side of the road. Annie pretends like its Jeff’s birthday to make up for “all those years of birthday cards I owe you.” And Britta says, “What about my birthdays? Are mine less important because he’s a man?” At which point they all tell the waiter they are celebrating a joint five-way birthday. The waiter goes to get the manager to catch them in a lie, and the group worries that they pushed it too far. Until they realize that the restaurant owner is Chang, speaking perfect Spanish. He’s so excited to see them that he says, “Birthdays on the house!” And every patron in the restaurant gets trashed on free margaritas.

As they’re drunkenly catching up, Chang fills them in on what happened to him after season six. With a renewed sense of ambition, Chang realized that he was happiest when he was a student-torturing Spanish teacher. But before he could let him get his job back, the Dean challenged him to actually learn Spanish. He moved to New Mexico to take classes and learn about Latin Culture, and ended up marrying a woman and having three kids. “Now I dog on my kids instead of dogging on students,” Chang says. “It’s great.”

After hearing about their road trip across the country, Chang decides to join them. He makes the joke “And my axe” at an off moment and over-explains his reference. Everyone groans but Rick asks to hear more, because he never actually watched Lord of the Rings, “Though of course I love it in the way that people love things they’ve never seen in person, like the Northern Lights or God,” Rick says genially.

So Jeff, Britta, Annie, Shirley, Rick, and Chang end up in L.A. to storm into Abed’s office, only to be told that he’s getting ready for the theatrical release of “Community: The Movie” at the Chinese Theater. The gang pulls a scheme to get into the premiere and bumps into the movie-star versions of themselves on the red carpet. Classic trope.

When they finally slide into their seats at the theater, the film starts. And it’s amazing. There’s laughter, there’s tears. Rick and Britta hold hands…Jeff and Annie accidentally brush hands but look away as Sara Bareilles’ “Gravity” plays on screen. Chang tries to hold Shirley’s hand but gets slapped away with a “Ben, you’re married” as he defensively says, “As friends. You never hold hands with your friends?”

At the end of the movie Abed stands up for a Q&A. The old study group was moved to tears, so they’re not angry anymore, but Jeff is enraged. He wrestles the microphone away from a fan and wakes to the middle of the aisle to confront Abed.

“That Greendale on screen is a lie built by Disney magic and Timothy Olyphant blood money. Do you know right now the real Greendale is a sinking ship?” Jeff asks. “Our home is about to plummet under the waves and here you are, weaving movie magic to show the ‘perfect’ version of our lives. Well the truth is far from perfect. Because in reality, Abed doesn’t even care about his friends. He hasn’t called in years.”

Jeff starts to tear up as he talks. Abed tilts his head.

“Jeff, this isn’t some Sony Pictures presents Marvel’s Disney project. This was a kickstarter, Zach Braff style. This was my ‘Wish I Was Here,’ but better because I’m not a famous movie star asking people in a lower tax bracket for money. This wasn’t funded by corporations, it was funded by the people.” Abed stands up. “The first tier got donors a ‘Community: The Movie’ pin. The second tier got them a swag bag. And the third tier…well the third tier paid admission for a semester at Greendale Community College. The real one.”

Abed looks out to the audience. “Could all the third tier donors in the audience stand up?”

Jeff, Britta, Annie, Shirley, Chang, and Rick look on in shock as three-fourths of the audience get to their feet. Even Timothy Olyphant stands up from the front row. “What?” He asks his co-stars. “They’ve got a class on Nicolas Cage. Is he good?”

Jeff approaches the stage and Abed helps him up. Their silhouettes are backlit by the stage lights as they hug. “But…” Jeff says. “You never called.”

“I threw my phone in the ocean when I got to L.A.” Abed shrugs. “I see it in movies all the time when people have fresh starts. I didn’t realize it would be so hard to get back.”

The rest of the gang comes up from the audience to hug Abed. The Q&A host (maybe a Josh Horowitz type) says “The real cast of Community!” as the crowd cheers.

End-credits scene is Abed and Troy hanging out in the green room after the movie premiere, just chatting normally. Everyone else stares at him.

“And after I found Abed in California I became a famous rapper and I changed my name to Kiddish Bambino,” Troy says, finishing his story. “You can kind of do whatever you want when you’re a millionaire.”

Troy and Abed do their handshake.

“But you never called,” Annie chimes in.

“Oh I threw my phone in the ocean like Day One on the boat,” Troy says. “Not to get a fresh start. I was just trying to give a mermaid my phone number.”

“Troy got heat stroke 12 times,” Abed says.

“The doctors say my brain is ‘basically’ normal,” Troy says.

“Same,” Abed responds.

Handshake.

“Don’t you work at Subway?” Troy asks Rick.

The group laughs.

End credits (Elroy watches “Community: The Movie” in his RV after it comes out on DVD, with Julie from Natalie is Freezing at his side. “I knew most of those people you know. They’re all uglier in person. Nice kids, though.”)

-------

What would you add? What would you throw out? I know there's too much Rick but it can't be helped. How else would they get a Honda CR-V, America's dream car?

#community #community movie #community tv show #alison brie #gillian jacobs #yvette nicole brown

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ddixons-angel · 4 years

Text

Fated: Season 3

Summary: Gloria Rhee narrowly escapes Atlanta with her brother as the outbreak reaches the city. Luckily, they find a camp outside the city and together, they fend through encounters with the living and undead.

Starts a little before Season 1 and then follows the main storyline of the show.

Pairing: Daryl Dixon x Glenn Sister!OC

Warnings: major TWD spoilers, language, violence (the typical TWD stuff), major character death

A/N: Wow we’re already halfway done Season 3, I think I’ll go back to posting once a week after Season 4 is done, mainly because I really like Season 3 and 4 hehe today’s chapter is gonna be a little rough, but we get a super cute scene! Probably my all time favorite moment of Daryl~ Enjoy!

Chapter 5

A few days after Gloria’s incident with Tomas, she had worked up the courage to apologize to Carol and Maggie for running away from them when they were only trying to help. Of course, they never held it against her, understanding that she was going through trauma. With everyone’s encouragement and care, Gloria had returned to her normal self again, much to Glenn’s relief. Daryl and Gloria had made it a regular thing to share the perch at night. Oscar had brought it upon himself to return Gloria’s daggers that were still in Cell Block D. Glenn, Daryl, and Rick were going in and out of the courtyard, getting rid of more walker bodies and gathering wood. Carol, Maggie, and T-Dog had moved cars into the court of the prison for easier access, and Gloria, Beth, Carl, and Lori had just come out from the cell block, assisting Hershel with his crutches.

“Hey, Hershel, wanna race?” Carl calls out with a grin.

“Just give me a few days and I’ll take you on, young man.” Hershel chuckles.

Their small banter on who would win brings up the mood. A warm and peaceful moment is shared within the group. Lori looks out towards Rick, the couple share a loving look. Just then, Carl looks behind his shoulder and gasps.

“Walkers!” he yells, backing up and pulling out his gun from his belt, shooting at the closer ones.

“Beth! Take your dad and get him to a safe place!” Gloria orders the young girl and then she pulls out her daggers, rushing to kill the walkers closest to the group.

Rick, Daryl and Glenn all rush back towards the prison once they see the ambush of walkers, yelling at everyone to get back inside. Carol and T-Dog shoot at the walkers, rushing towards the gate that’s been opened, allowing the walkers to flood out. Maggie had ushered Carl and Lori inside the prison while Beth and Hershel rushed their way up a set of stairs to a gated block.

“Daddy!” Beth calls out when she sees a walker right behind Hershel.

Gloria looks in their direction when she hears the girl’s cry and rushes to them as Hershel struggles to hold up the walker. She swiftly sinks her dagger in the back of the walker’s head and tosses it to the side, allowing Hershel to climb up the stairs freely. She gets inside the gated block with Hershel and Beth, locking it from the inside.

Suddenly, an alarm starts to blare, drawing any walkers towards the prison. Daryl and Glenn are quick to get to work, shooting at any speakers they see in attempts to stop the alarm but it’s no use, the speakers are all over the prison building. Rick spots Oscar and the blonde prisoner, Axel, walking towards the group from the courtyard.

Rick angrily storms up to them and yells, “how the hell can this be happening!?”

“I-it has to be the back-up generator, there’s three that’s connected to a diesel tank, okay? A-and each one controls a certain part of the prison. The hacks shut 'em all off when the prison was overrun.” Oscar explains with his hands up, in case Rick decided to shoot him.

“Do you know how to stop it?!” Rick yells over the blaring of the alarm.

“I’ve only worked there a few days, but I can try!” Oscar tells him then Rick pushes him forward to lead him to the control room.

Rick, Glenn, Daryl, Oscar and Axel rush to the control room while Gloria is with Hershel and Beth in the gated block. After a while, the alarm stops blaring and Gloria turns to Beth, giving her one of her daggers.

“I’m gonna go find the others, you stay here and protect your dad. Remember, aim for the brain, through the eye is the easiest way, okay?” Gloria instructs her, she then smiles at her when Beth takes the dagger and nods, patting the younger girl’s hair, “I’ll be back soon.”

Gloria opens the gate and shuts it behind her, heading off to find the rest of the group. She finds Rick, Daryl, Glenn, Oscar and Axel in a dark corridor.

“Hey, what happened?” she asks, slightly out of breath.

“That damn prisoner Rick chased out the other day... he did all this.” Daryl huffs, angrily.

“Where is he?” Gloria asks, her hands balling into fists.

“Dead.” Rick says as he walks by her, “Oscar shot him.”

He leads the way out of the corridor when they come across a body of eaten flesh. They recognize the body as T-Dog’s. A dark silence surrounds them as they reminisce their fallen companion. Gloria glances to the side and her eyes fill with tears as she spots Carol’s scarf on the ground. She lets out a shaky breath as she picks it up, biting her lip to try not to cry, now was not the time for that. Daryl puts his hand on her back and guides her out with the rest of the group. Hershel and Beth make their way out of the gated block as they see the others coming back.

“Did you find them?” Hershel calls out.

“Carol and T’ are gone.” Daryl sighs, looking at the ground.

“But that doesn’t mean the others are, we gotta find them. Maggie, Carl, Lori, we-” Rick’s words are cut off when they all hear the cries of a baby.

They all turn in the direction of the sound and see Maggie walking out of the prison, tears staining her face and blood staining her hands as she holds the baby in her arms. From behind her, Carl walks out with a solemn expression. The sight gives Rick the realization that his wife is gone, she had died during childbirth. Not wanting to accept the reality, he walks towards Carl and when he sees his son’s face, Rick starts to cry, breaking down at the loss of his wife. Glenn walks over to Maggie, trying to console her sobs as best he can as Carl goes over to her and takes his little sister from Maggie.

“Let me see her.” Hershel calls out to Carl.

The boy brings the baby to him as he checks on her. He nods as he sees that she’s healthy. Daryl goes over to Rick who has fallen over from grief to check on him, unfortunately, he is unresponsive to his calls. Without saying anything, Rick gets up and grabs the axe that’s laying on the ground and rushes into the prison, seeing red and ready to massacre any walker he comes by. Daryl sighs as he knows he can’t do anything to help Rick, he’d just need to let him go through what he’s feeling. He goes back to the rest of the group.

“Yo, we got anythin’ a baby can eat?” he asks them all.

Gloria shakes her head, “she’s gonna need formula, otherwise she’ll starve.”

“No, not her, I’m goin’ out for a run.” Daryl says, slinging his crossbow on his back.

“I’ll come with you.” Maggie says, following him.

“Me too.” Glenn joins in, following the both of them.

Daryl nods then turns to Beth, glancing in Carl’s direction, “hey, kid’s just lost his mom.” he whispers to her.

Beth nods, understanding what he’s trying to tell her, “I’ll look after him.”

He then turns his attention to Gloria who’s staring off in the distance of the door Maggie had come out of, he pats her shoulder in concern, “ya gonna be okay?”

She looks at him and nods, “I’ll be fine, just go. Hurry.”

Daryl purses his lips and nods, then turns to run to his motorcycle. Glenn had stayed behind in the end because of the wreckage on the road and Daryl could only take one more on his bike. Maggie insisted on going with Daryl as she said it was the least she could do for Lori. Gloria and Glenn were in the courtyard digging graves for Carol, T-Dog and Lori. Oscar and Axel walk up to them, silent, but wanting to help in any way they can.

Gloria glances at them but doesn’t stop shoveling, “should we watch our backs with you guys too?”

“N-no, we wouldn’t do anything, I promise you.” Oscar says, furrowing his eyebrows together.

She glares at them now, stopping her task, “Rick should have killed all of you the day he found you.”

“Gloria, stop, they helped us.” Glenn pleads to her, although he understands her point.

“We don’t know what the hell these two have planned behind their backs!” she snaps at Glenn then turns towards Oscar and Axel, “what is it, huh? You gain our trust then slit our throats in our sleep?!”

Anger and grief was blinding her judgement, deep down she knew that they weren’t at fault and they did indeed help the group, but Gloria was just so upset and distraught. She throws down her shovel and storms off towards the prison. Glenn sighs as he watches her leave, he then gives Axel and Oscar his and Gloria’s shovels so they can help dig. Gloria runs into her old cell, curling up on the bed and starts to cry for their losses. Her and Lori weren’t very close when they first met, but as she kept checking up on her and the baby, Lori had become a good friend to Gloria. T-Dog had saved her and Glenn when the outbreak first started. He had become her second older brother and the protector of the group. Carol’s loss hit her the worst, Gloria had always seen Carol as an older sister, sometimes even a mother figure and she loved her dearly. She was the only reason Gloria could be strong after losing Sophia. Sobbing, Gloria looks down at Carol’s scarf that was wrapped around her right hand.

‘Can you stay strong for me? Can you do that?’ Carol’s words echoed in Gloria’s mind.

Taking a deep breath, Gloria nods as if answering the voice in her head. Wiping her tears away, she goes down to check up on Hershel, Beth, and the baby. After seeing that they’re doing fine, she walks out to the main area right outside the cell block where she sees Oscar and Axel.

“Hey...” she calls out to them as she walks up to the two, “I’m sorry about how I was before. I wasn’t in my right mind and I-”

“No no no, don’t apologize, we get it.” Axel is quick to interrupt her apology.

“Ya’ll just lost three members of your family, ‘course it’s gonna be hard on ya.” Oscar says, a sympathetic look on his face.

Gloria sighs and nods, “thank you for understanding, I still feel kinda bad though. You two have saved me not only once, but twice now and instead of a thank you, you guys get me telling you that we should have killed you first.”

Oscar shakes his head, a small smile on his face, “Listen, I really hated what Tomas did to ya, and I’m genuinely sorry that it happened. I’m gonna do whatever it takes to protect ya and your people.”

“Me too.” Axel says confidently puffing up his chest.

“Thank you, really.” Gloria smiles at them, “you’ve both earned your place, but we’ll have to see what the others think about you staying in our cell block.”

Later on, Daryl and Maggie have come back from their run, bringing back supplies and formula for the baby. Gloria quickly prepares the formula for the crying baby and hands the bottle over to Daryl as he’s holding her in his arms. Gently, he feeds her and her crying instantly stops.

“She got a name yet?” Daryl looks at Carl.

“Not yet, I was thinking... maybe Sophia? Then there’s Carol, too. Andrea... Amy... Jacqui... Patricia... or Lori. I don’t know.” Carl says, his reminder of the fallen females of their group brings the mood down drastically.

Seeing this, Daryl looks at the baby, “Yeah... you like that, huh? Lil’ Asskicker.” he glances around, the mood lifting slightly at his suggestion, “Right? Tha’s a good name, right? Lil’ Asskicker, you like that, huh? You like that, sweetheart?”

As Gloria stands beside Daryl, she affectionately places her hand on his arm, smiling lovingly. He glances at her and gives her a comforting smile. Later on that night, Beth had taken it upon herself to care for the baby. After making sure Beth is doing fine with the baby, she goes to check up on Maggie who’s sitting alone on the bed in her and Glenn’s shared cell.

“How’re you holding up?” Gloria asks softly as she walks into the cell.

Maggie sighs then looks up at Gloria, “Have you.... have you ever had a patient die... right in front of you?”

“I have...” she answers, “after trying so hard, doing whatever I could to keep them breathing, I couldn’t stop it from happening. No matter how many other nurses or doctors told me it wasn’t my fault and that I did the best I could, it always felt like they were lying.”

“How’d you deal with that?” Maggie asks, her voice breaking as tears run down her face.

“I just do...” she sighs, knowing that answer wasn’t helpful at all, “time helps, your friends and family help too, but there’s always going to be that guilty question in your gut that what if you could have done more to stop it.”

Gloria sits down on the bed beside Maggie and holds her hands, “I wish things were different, I wish it wasn’t you that had to bear this responsibility.”

Maggie sobs at her words, Gloria wraps her arms around her and lets her cry on her shoulder. She does her best to comfort her, rubbing small circles on her back in an attempt to soothe her. Gloria knew that Maggie needed to let it all out, she would feel better that way. After a while of Maggie crying in her arms, Glenn comes by the cell to check up on them. His heart breaks at the sight of Maggie in her broken state, Gloria looks up at him and nods pointedly to her, signalling him to take over. Glenn nods as Gloria pats Maggie’s back gently, then gets up from the bed and goes to the door of the cell.

“Thanks.” Glenn whispers to her, patting her arm as he walks into the cell.

She nods at him, giving him a small smile before making her way up the stairs to the perch. Gloria sits down on the bed and sighs heavily, tugging at the few loose strands of Carol’s scarf. Daryl comes up the stairs to find her and sits beside her.

“Ya alright?” he asks, looking at her hands fidgeting with the scarf.

Gloria shakes her head, “it’s not fair... we couldn’t even give Carol a proper burial...”

Daryl wraps his arm around her, pulling her close, “I’ll go in the mornin’, clear out the rest o’ the prison and find her. I will.”

She nods and doesn’t say anything else, just resting her head on Daryl’s shoulder. He holds her like that until she ends up falling asleep. He had to find her body tomorrow, Daryl told himself, it’s the least they could do for Carol.

---

Next Chapter

All the angst in this one! But at least we have Lil’ Asskicker now, and yeah I had to put that moment in because I love it, and I am sure I am not the only one. Next chapter comes out this Friday!!

I hope everyone stays safe and healthy, please don’t panic, we will get through this!

And as always, I would really appreciate any comments left for me! I’ll be replying to any comments in a new post because this is a sideblog!

Taglist (please let me know if you’d list to be added/removed!):

#Daryl Dixon #Daryl Dixon Fanfic #Daryl Dixon Fanfiction #Daryl Dixon Imagine #TWD #TWD Fanfic #TWD Fanfiction #TWD Imagine #The Walking Dead #The Walking Dead Fanfic #The Walking Dead Fanfiction #The Walking Dead Imagine #Daryl Dixon X OC #Daryl Dixon X Original Character #Glenn Sister!OC #Glenn Sister!Original Character #Glenn Rhee #Fated: Season 3 #Fated: S3: Chapter 5

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personaconcept · 4 years

Note

I was making a list of characters of this version of Persona 6. I was looking in the introduction paragraph of “Entering the game” with the character’s name and confidant. I also looked at their profile. I noticed that Jun doesn’t have a persona name. I tried to look at his bio but it doesn’t say what his persona is.

Can you tell me what’s Jun’s persona is? I hope I’m not missing anything.

Here’s a list I’ve made for the characters (it’s only their Persona, Skills and weapons)

MC (Hikaru Iyashi)/FeMC (Hikari Iyashi)

Transferred students, 3rd year

Persona: Achelois or Persephone

Skill: Healing

Melee: Mace

Ranged: Bow/crossbow

Sayaka Ito

Also a transferred student, 3rd year

Skills: Ice and physical

Persona: Atlanta

Melee: Axe

Ranged: Dual wield pistols

Shinju Kawaguci

Mc’s little sister but is disabled, 1st year

Persona: Hephaestus

Skills: Fire, buff

Melee: Her chair

Ranged: Cannon

Masahiko Oshiro

A Rich, transferred student due to his father not liking his greedy and arrogance behavior, 2nd year

Persona: Pluto (Roman god of the underworld and wealth)

Skills: Navigation

(Idk if he should have a weapon since he’s the navigator)

Miyako Fujimori

A student having trouble coping with depression and having suicidal thoughts, 2nd year

Persona: Osias

Skills: Curse, ailment

Melee: Sais

Ranged: Throwing knives

Jun Sanada

Dude who gets violent when someone rejects him (let’s just say that he was introduced as an asshole with anger issue.), 2nd year

Melee: Chain

Ranged: Slingshot

Yūdai Shinoda

He’s an overweight student who eats a lot, but he’s trying to get healthy, 3rd year

Persona: Hidaru-gami

Skills: Nuclear and debuff

Melee: Kopis

Ranged: Blowdart

Hoshiko Akiyama

She’s a red hair girl who suffers from (extreme) social anxiety, she uses her kindness but she become hateful to most people, 1st year

Persona: Cerberus

Skills: Physics

Melee: Dagger

Ranged: Sniper Rifle

It all looks pretty good given the information previous provided. Some of the information will be changed a little once I get to the full profiles and artwork for certain character, but it’s looking good right now.

Jun’s Persona is Lytta, spelled as Lyssa in Entering the Game, though I’ll be using Lytta from now on. She is the Greek goddess of rage and rabies. He uses electric and almighty spells.

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tabloidtoc · 4 years

Text

Star, November 30

You can buy a copy of this issue for your very own at my eBay store: https://www.ebay.com/str/bradentonbooks

Cover: Kelly Clarkson getting married again

Page 1: As Britons marked Remembrance Day Prince Harry and Meghan Markle arrived at Los Angeles National Cemetery to pay their respects and lay flowers from the garden at their new $14.6 million spread in Montecito but the controversial couple almost immediately came under fire for yet another misstep -- their biggest gaffe was hiring celebrity fashion photographer Lee Morgan to snap their supposedly private visit -- the visit comes on the heels of a report that Harry requested and was refused that a wreath in his name be laid at London’s Cenotaph during a royal ceremony that day so while the visit to the cemetery in L.A. was meant to show respect it was also Harry’s way of telling his family that if they’re going to be petty and exclude him then he’ll do it his way

Page 2: Contents, Miranda Lambert

Page 4: Larsa Pippen spills the tea -- Larsa says Kanye West kept her from BFF Kim Kardashian

Page 5: Julianne Hough came out as sexually fluid while married to Brooks Laich and now that the two have split Julianne is exploring lady love

* Speculation has been ongoing about who will take over hosting Jeopardy! after Alex Trebek passed away and one frontrunner is former champ Ken Jennings and other names in the mix include hockey announcer Alex Faust and Laura Coates of CNN

Page 6: The Bachelorette OG Trista Sutter recently revealed that producers of her televised 2003 wedding to Ryan Sutter planned to up the drama for better ratings -- admitting that a pal discovered a crew member’s notebook during the three-day festivities and showrunners had compiled dossiers on her guests in hopes of pitting them against each other

* Bodyguard Mark “Billy” Billingham has opened up about his 18 months protecting one of the most famous broods in Hollywood much to Angelina Jolie’s dismay -- he was hired by Angie and then-husband Brad Pitt to keep an eye on their six kids Maddox and Pax and Zahara and Shiloh and Knox and Vivienne and their biggest concern was the kidnapping of the kids and for Angie that fear bordered on obsession so her home is like a fortress -- she wants her kids to have a normal life but she’s also aware of the dangers out there

* Star Spots the Stars -- Martha Stewart, Clare Crawley, Alec Baldwin, Jessica Alba, Bella Hadid, Viola Davis, Debbie Matenopoulos

Page 7: Jason Momoa shocked fans with his recent revelation that his breakout role in Game of Thrones gave him plenty of fame but no fortune -- after his character Khal Drogo was killed of in 2011 before the first season even aired he said he couldn’t get work and it’s very challenging when you have babies and you’re completely in debt; we were starving -- now of course Jason who shares two kids with wife Lisa Bonet has more than made up for those lean times but he’s not one to throw cash around

* After a single day of work Johnny Depp was axed from the third installment of the Fantastic Beasts films and he got to keep his eight-figure salary -- he was let go following a nasty defamation trial against a U.K. tabloid that called him a wife-beater -- now Mads Mikkelsen is going to be Johnny’s replacement as Grindelwald -- for his part Johnny will take the money and run and he’s panicked that this will lead to a permanent blacklist and his name is now mud in movie circles

Page 8: Star Shots -- overjoyed by Joe Biden’s victory Chrissy Teigen and John Legend took to the streets of West Hollywood to celebrate, Duchess Camilla paid her respects to veterans during the 92nd Field of Remembrance event at Westminster Abbey which is a duty formerly fulfilled by her stepson Prince Harry

Page 9: Steve Martin cruising through Central Park on a CitiBike wearing gloves and a protective face mask, Miya Cech and Ben Daon and Keith L. Williams and Kayden Grace Swan flanked creator Daniel Knauf at the premiere of The Astronauts

Page 10: Renee Elise Goldsberry and Sara Bareilles and Paula Pell and Busy Philipps shared a laugh shooting Girls5Eva, Offset caught up with some young fans while handing out free food from the Slutty Vegan Food Truck on Election Day in Atlanta, Caitlyn Jenner fueling up for a car-camping expedition with daughter Kendall

Page 11: Queen Latifah showed off a fresh new ‘do on the set of The Equalizer reboot in NYC, weeks after undergoing heart surgery Arnold Schwarzenegger was already behind the wheel again in L.A.

Page 12: Bachelor alum Hannah Ann Sluss running errands in L.A., Joey Fatone nearly stole the spotlight from actress Kate Katzman on the red carpet at the screening of her new film The Comeback Trail, Francesca Farago carried a pup while posing for photos for her swimsuit line

Page 14: MTV EMAs -- Alicia Keys, David Guetta, DJ Khaled, Zara Larsson

Page 16: Zooey Deutch having lunch with a friend in L.A., Tracy Morgan returned to his old stomping grounds to cut the ribbon at the $30 million Marcy Houses Community Center in Brooklyn, Olivia Culpo rushed to a meeting after a coffee run in L.A.

Page 18: Normal or Not? Ariel Winter carrying an enormous roll of bubble wrap -- not normal, Joel Michaely jumped for joy at the screening of his new film The Comeback Trail in Ft. Lauderdale -- not normal, Wanda De Jesus and Jimmy Smits enjoyed a stroll around Brentwood -- normal

Page 19: Gretta Monahan before filming a segment on The View -- normal, Bridget Moynahan and Steve Schirippa made a grisly discovery on the set of Blue Bloods -- not normal

Page 20: Fashion -- stars stun in silver -- Angelina Jolie, Thandie Newton

Page 21: Becky G, Elsa Hosk

Page 24: Phil Collins and Orianne Bates are slinging mud as their split gets even nastier

Page 25: Dallas alum Patrick Duffy and Happy Days actress Linda Purl are dating

* Ben Affleck plans to spend Christmas away from his three kids in Cuba with girlfriend Ana de Armas who hasn’t seen her family in months and is desperately homesick and Ben will do anything to make her happy -- the couple then plan to celebrate the new year touring South America -- Ben’s ex-wife Jennifer Garner is not happy about his plans because she’s at full capacity after tending their kids solo while Ben was filming The Last Duel in Ireland but Ben has made up his mind

Page 26: Cover Story -- Kelly Clarkson’s rush to the altar -- the star is healing from heartache with a hot new romance but as she tells pals she’s ready to wed again some are worried she’s moving way too fast -- pals are wondering if her mystery man could be country singer Brett Eldredge but Kelly is keeping her new guy’s identity under wraps for now

Page 29: Inside Kelly Clarkson’s ugly lawsuit -- the star is fighting in court with her former father-in-law Narvel Blackstock

Page 38: Entertainment

Page 48: Parting Shot -- pregnant Hilary Duff on the set of Younger in New York City

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tyranttortoise · 5 years

Text

*I answered a bunch of general asks, so I’m going to stick them under a cut and save your dash!

They’re green. ;D

Ah, it was flagged, and I didn’t realize. I got put it up for review and it's back now! Here’s a link, so you don’t have to dig.

@what-is-fanart-even AHHH, I’m excited to see you’re still around!! =D I’m glad you’re almost caught up! Oh man, I love whenever Red wears rings, but I don’t think I’ve ever specifically written him with them in SSLL? I know he did in BPT. Either way, I’m so here for Red with rings, especially those gaudy gold ones with stones in them and shit. Hell yeah.

@torrikor I dug through the askbox and found both of them! ;D Thank you so much for sending all this positivity my way! I’m happy to be back around, and I’m so stoked that you enjoyed the new chapter! I love youuuu, and I’m in your DMs, so I’m going to keep this short and sweet by saying I’m so happy you’re still active on here and just as sweet as ever! ♡

@anon Thank you so much for this nice comment! You honestly touched me by calling me strong; I needed to hear that! I’m glad to be back, and I hope I’ll see you in my askbox again soon! =D

@tails-and-scales I’m living for those squeals -- and so excited that you got hype! ;D

@butterscotch-hearts I like to come in with random 11,000 word updates that hopefully won’t be so random anymore. ;D Bomb ass new decade is right; 2020 is the Year of the Tortoise! (Also thanks so much for reading and your hype reblog of the link!!)

@vividlylost AHH, thank you Viv! ♡ ♡ ♡ It’s so good to see you!

@freaky-zombie-chick I’m so glad to see you, Freaky! And so sorry to hear that you had a health scare and other things going on! I hope you’re doing okay now, dear. And let’s just say the next episode of SSLL is going to be Axe heavy, so I hope you’ll enjoy that. =] I’m really glad to hear from you!! I was wondering if you were still on tumblr.

You haven’t seen any of the scooters? Oh man, they’re all over downtown, and even out in the other areas. Like, I love Wagaya so freakin’ much, and there’s one that’s near a college, I think? Those scooters even made it out there, and it was quite a drive from where I had my wreck, so I just assumed they were everywhere! Thank you so much, and I hope your day is wonderful, too!!

Also, lemme add in this other ask I got from another ATL native:

Oh yeah, I think the medical staff just sees accidents from those scooters all the time and I guess thought I’d somehow know that they’re dangerous? I felt like a complete idiot. 8D

I saw the South Park episode about the scooters shortly after that, and I felt so targeted lmao. Thank you for your well-wishes!

I think it’s pretty cool that’s there’s two people near ATL in my askbox! I’m 3 hours to the west, so I end up going to Atlanta a fair amount. (I’m going there twice this month alone lol)

@thefloatingstone AHHH C-PUFF I’M SO HAPPY TO SEE YOU!! You have no idea! Thank you!! I’m so glad to get this message! I’ve missed you so much, and I’m definitely going to send you a DM as soon as I finish this up because I wanna hear allllll about what you’ve been doing and how you’re been!! ♡ ♡ ♡

@hgmercury73 Thank you so much! I’m glad to be back around, and so happy that you’re enjoying the Tortoise Resurgence! ;D I’m severely out of practice when it comes to writing, but I’m getting back into the swing of things! Thank you again for throwing this positivity at me; it means the world to me!

I’m so stoked you liked it. ;D The Edge thing was a lonnnngggg time coming. I forgot I’d been setting it up since the first Gyftmas chapter!

#the tortoise talks #personal #positivity #for a rainy day #general asks #long post #i'm so glad tumblr didn't eat any of this while i was working on it

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dontdietwd · 4 years

Text

Day 65, part 2

The radio was silent, and the cars moved slowly down the streets, as if numb. My sobs slowly subsided and I forced myself to breath, just breath and gather my control back. I wish I didn’t have to let go, though. It was good there, at Daryl’s chest, his arm around me, hand resting on my back, grounding me. Sniffing and drying my face, I forced myself to let go, returning to my seat, but still closer to him that what was necessary now. I looked down as I tried to clean up my face, embarrassed. This had been the most obvious demonstration of weakness I had ever given in front of Daryl – in front of anyone, for that matter, and it was the second time in two days that I cried in front of him.

“Sorry,” I mumbled after a while, still looking down.

Daryl looked at me sideways for a quick moment and returned his eyes to the road. “You okay?” he asked dismissing my apology.

“I’ll be. I guess.”

“’S alright. You’ve just saved all of our asses, can break down all ya want.”

“Can’t believe that son of a bitch was gonna kill us all!” I finally looked up, eyes red but tears gone.

“Well, motherfucker’s dead now.”

“And so’s Jackie.”

“Her choice. Opted out, ain’t that what Jenner called it?”

I was silent for a long moment thinking about Jackie’s choice and the final, messed up, desperate minutes we had spent inside the CDC. How I had made Jenner open the door and all but told everyone on the group that I was pregnant. It was out now.

“What the fuck?” Daryl mumbled taking me out of my thoughts.

“What?”

“Look at that,” he pointed somewhere out of the truck, on the pavement. We were on a central Atlanta street, a few walkers bundled together by a wall on the sidewalk. “See that?”

“Holy. Fuck!” I’d seen it too. Nearly in the middle of the street a black duffel bag lay, the long tip of a rifle coming out of it. “Stop the car!” I told Daryl as I reached for the radio that had been sitting forgotten by my side on the seat.

“Hey, why are you stopping?” Rick’s voice came from it before I could press the button.

“You don’t see it?” I asked him. “To our right, thirty feet away?”

He took a few seconds to answer. “Yep. I’ll be damned, looks like the guns we gave the group from the elderly home.”

“Wonder why they’re here,” I said thought the radio. “Gotta get’em back though,”

“Sure thing,” he agreed through the radio.

By my side, Daryl said “Group of walkers there, gotta get it fast.”

“I’m fast enough,” I told him and pressed the radio button before Daryl could say anything. “I’ll go and get it,” I told the others among radio static. “You all just gotta honk like hell to attract the walkers away.”

“The hell you gonna go!” Daryl roared at me at the same time the radio came to life in my hand.

“We’re gonna get the bag back alright,” Rick told me, “but one of us is going out there, not you, Sam. Not in your condition, now that we know about it. Shane says he’ll go.”

I pressed the button immediately, glaring at Daryl who seemed to get angrier at me by the second, “I’m fast, Rick, it’s what we need now. Shane, I know you’re strong and capable,” I rolled my eyes, “but what we need now is speed. I go out, get it and run back, it’s all. So I’m going, of maybe Glenn.”

The radio was silent for a few seconds before Rick spoke again. “Don’t move, Sam. Just give us a minute.”

Growling, I let the radio fall back between Daryl and I. The small group of walkers from the sidewalk seemed to have noticed something had approached, but they were still uncertain, a few of them turning around to sniff the air. Two of three were already on the street, closer to the bag.

“That’s exactly why I waited as long as I could to tell people about the baby. I knew it was gonna be like this,” I hissed, elbow on the window frame, head resting on my hand.

“What, you knew people were gonna be worried ‘about your safety and the kid’s?” Daryl snarled in a low voice. “Yeah, kinda sucks having people care ‘about ya.”

“You know what I mean, Daryl!”

“I know you’re bitchin’ for no reason. Ya gonna need to slow down soon, so just get the fuck over it.”

I stared at him, mouth hanging a bit, for a few seconds. “Soon,” I finally spoke, “is not now.”

With that, I grabbed the axe from the floor of the truck and pushed the handle to open the door, quickly sliding out of it.

“The fuck, Sam?” Daryl yelled from inside.

“You cross the street and attract them on that direction. I’ll get the bag and come back before they reach you. Go!”

Knowing Daryl would make me stop if I gave him the chance, I moved, but still in time to listen to him cursing at me and getting out of the truck. Not looking back, certain that Daryl would be doing as I’d told him, I walked fast, rolling the axe handle on my right hand. Walking in a straight line I met the first walker before it could even groan at me, axe blade perforating its skull and brain easily. As it fell, I planted my foot on the head and pulled the axe out, twisting around myself and swinging it immediately onto the second one. Somewhere behind me, I heard loud bangs of a palm against a car, followed by Daryl’s voice yelling incoherent words to attract the walkers. I was already by the bag on the asphalt when I had to get rid of the third walker, a fourth one aiming at me instead of following the others towards Daryl. I looked around for a moment; five or six walkers were getting close to where he was still banging at the car; I could see him stretch his neck to try and see me from the top of their rotting heads. Looking back at my goal, I took the last few steps in a sprint, bending quickly to grab the bag’s handle. It was heavier than I had thought, but it didn’t stop me from throwing it over my shoulder and turning around to get out of there. Behind me, a loud growl sounded closer than it should. Aiming only with the corner of my eyes, I side kicked the too quick female walker, hitting her on the chest and making her fall back, growling angrily. My axe fell to the ground then, and the bag skipped from my shoulder.

“Sam!” Darryl yelled from a few feet away as he ran back to the truck before the walkers got to him. “Look out, they’re comin’!”

Looking to where he pointed, I saw another group of dead going in my direction. Cursing aloud, I knew I had to run immediately, so I hugged the heavy bag against my chest and fled, the worn out red axe abandoned on the asphalt. Before I could even close the door and settle on the truck, Daryl was already charging away, yelling and scolding. The door closed on its own with the truck’s movement and the other cars in the caravan followed us away, leaving the dead herd behind, hungry and growling.

* * *

I completely ignored the radio from then on. Daryl had already given up yelling at me for my imprudence, now he was just breathing hard, his face angry, but silent. He was a rude man, that was for certain, but I knew he cared and he had only gotten that angry because I had been at risk. He cared, and I just wished he would yell a little less, but then again, he’d been scared for me. Because he cared. I just wondered if he cared in the same way I was beginning to care for him. You know, the same way.

When I finished the discussion by saying now we had more guns and were safer than ever, he knew it was impossible to convince me of how reckless he thought I had bee. I didn’t think I was, I was fast and I defended myself and I got the weapons while the others were still sitting their asses on the cars discussing it. On the radio, Rick had said the same but soon had stopped. It was all quiet for a while, long minutes when nobody really knew where we were going.

“Wait, hold on a minute,” I broke the silence making Daryl glance at me and quickly looking away. “Didn’t you say ya gave the weapons to the elderly home group?”

Daryl took a couple of seconds, but mumbled “Fuck” under his breath just as the radio came to life on the seat between us, with Rick questioning the exact same thing.

Minutes later, the caravan was slowly approaching and carefully stopping by the brick wall of the home. The street seemed to be empty, but there was a square across the street with trees that could hide walkers. The brick wall had a whole in it, which Daryl quickly told me had already been there before.

As the group hopped off the cars, the silence around was eerie, the energies tense as we looked around and men instinctively got guarding positions, even if they kept looking over their shoulders to watch, as every other pair of eyes did, as I met Rick and Shane on the sidewalk and handed Rick the heavy bag I’d been carrying against my chest. As he held it by the strap, letting I hang heavily by his side, Rick put a hand on my shoulder, leaning in a bit to say “You okay?”

“Yeah,” I answered instinctively, subtly shaking his hand off with a shrug. “I’m good. You all?”, I looked briefly at Shane and pointed at Lori, where she stood with Carl near Carol and Sophia.

“Man, I gotta tell ya, that was some crazy shit right there,” Shane shook his head, an overwhelmed laugh on his voice

“You got Jenner to open the doors. That was –” Rick paused also shaking his head. “We owe you big, Sam.”

“No, come on,” I frowned crossing my arms. “You don’t have to thank me for that, that’s my job, is all. And I was saving my own ass too, and my –” I paused then and looked down at myself. Looking up again I saw a little understanding smile coming from Rick, “Why you not saying this to Carol? She’s the one who had a damn grenade!”

With that, I excused myself and moved away from them, making a straight line towards Carol, who saw me approaching with quick steps. Unceremoniously, I grabbed Carol by the shoulders and pulled, arms coming around her in a tight hug.

"Sam?" Carol asked in a weak voice, uncertain but accepting the hug, her own hands patting my back.

"You're amazing, d'you know that?" I asked pulling away, hands once again on her shoulders. "You had a fuckin' grenade!"

"W-Wel, it was actually Rick's, I'd – I just found it in his pocket –"

"Yeah, but he didn't even remember it then. We'd all have died there."

"Well, yeah –"

"Thank you."

Carol was stunned but smiled after a second, nodding, uncertain of what to do with this gratitude.

"I'll just –" I said suddenly and left in quick steps, but could still see from the corner of my eye when others thanked Carol as well, incentivized by my action.

I crossed the street then, all but running, and curved herself over the curb to throw up all the feelings and terrifying emotions I'd been having since that damned control room. As I heaved, even without seeing it, I felt Daryl approaching silently to guard my back, but it was the other women, Carol, Lori, Andrea, who ran to help. One of them pulled my dreads up and held them, someone was rubbing my back in soothing circles.

I had been thought this uncountable times before, always alone, hiding it in the woods, never wanting to concern or alert anyone of my condition, and always thought it was fine. I could handle it. But now, having their quiet support and Daryl's solid presence right there, I felt, at least for a moment, safer than I had felt in months.

***

The patio was filled with walkers and everybody knew this didn't mean anything good for the elderly home. Rick was the first to shoot, right after a clear, loud "Fuck it!". Everybody who was carrying guns started shooting after he did, the walkers falling to the ground one by one. It was over in seconds, and for a moment all that could be heard was the children's cries and their mothers gently shushing them, crouched on the floor, terrified. We moved to the entrance then, a metal door that led to a large room filled with tossed around furniture, but otherwise empty. At the end of the room, double wooden doors lead to a long, dim corridor.

I entered with my .12 gunshot ready, right behind Daryl with his crossbow, just as attentive. There were no walking dead, just normal ones, a women’s legs outside of a door, some other one right ahead, a loud buzz of flies around the bodies and the solid smell. The ones in the front – Glenn, Rick, Shane, Daryl and myself – made no sound, on guard, starting to look around and into doors, but loud gasps and cries from behind us filled the empty space, as if the sight of dead people was scarier than seeing the walk and growl. Sophia was crying out loudly, Daryl turned around, lowering the crossbow just enough, whispering angrily for her to shut up. The fear from the two mothers immediately transformed into hatred for him man chastising the girl.

“Shut it, all of you!” I also whispered-screamed and motioned Daryl to move non with our swipe.

More walkers were approaching as we entered, attracted by the loud gunshots from before and the cries now, the last ones of the group closing the doors a second before the first walker bumped into it. The locks were broken and they had to rest their full bodies weight to hold it in place. I didn’t see more now, moving with the men to check the entire space. Many people were dead all around, inside rooms, on the corridor, in another big room and also upstairs. They were all dead for good, though, clear gunshots on their heads.

In a few minutes we had all joined again in one of the largest rooms, little less afraid now we knew there were no walkers inside. Rick was speaking, clearly trying to sound calm and confident.

“Upstairs is our best bet. We've cleared a few rooms, can barricade those if we have to,” he paused and looks around at the people, nodding in what he thought to be a reassuring way. “We'll be alright.”

“You mean it this time?” Carol asked from where she sat once again with her arms around her daughter. She was almost crying. “Or are you lying to us like all the times before?”

“That's unfair,” Lori defended her husband. “And no help at all.”

“He wasn’t lying, Carol,” I told her from close to the doorway. “He was just wrong. How could anybody know this would happen?”

“But what the hell happened?” Glenn voiced it, trepidation all over his voice.

“What do you think?” Andrea was the one to answer. “They got overrun.”

A loud snort came out of Daryl as he paced around looking from body to body and Andrea looked at him affronted.

“Something to say?”

“Yeah!”, he didn’t even let her finish her question. “How about 'observant'?”

“Observant? Big word for a guy like you. Three whole syllables!”

By the door I felt like puffing my chest out and walking over the blonde woman, but restrained, questioning myself for being so protective over Daryl. Nobody should talk to him like that, he was not stupid like people seem to think he was. Fucking prejudiced people. Daryl had been crucial to the survival of this group all along and still all this woman could see was his redneck label. But Daryl was a big boy and could defend himself, so I didn’t move.

“Walkers didn’t do this!” he started explaining angrily. “Geeks didn’t show up ‘til all this went down. Somebody attacked this place, killed these people, took whatever they wanted. They're all shot in the head, execution style!”

Yep, like I said, he could clearly defend himself. Without controlling it, I had a proud smirk on my face. He’d been voicing what I’d noticed since we’d walked in this god forsaken place. Andrea had lost her know-it-all expression and was looking at the gunshots, face fallen.

“Ya’ll worried about walkers? I'd be much more worried about the people who came and did all this,” then he approached Andrea again. “Get a dictionary, look it up,” and he pointed at his own head. “Observant”.

He crossed the room then, approaching me by the door on his way out. I looked proudly at him, sill smirking, an eyebrow shooting up. He expression didn’t change much, he was irritated and worried, but the corner of his lip did twitch a bit at my look. It was enough for me. He passed me and left the room, clearly looking to be alone or on the lookout.

People were sitting close together later on, spirits subdued, when Rick and Shane returned from the kitchens where they went looking for food. They found one single can of corn and Shane had potato chips and one single bottle of water, and that was all. They shared it among us all, including a bottle of whiskey Shane also had brought from the CDC. Daryl asked him to share it and I just looked away. It wasn’t because I would die for a swig or two and couldn’t that Daryl shouldn’t enjoy a little of the numbness he could get from it.

“What’s next?” Lori asked as she got up to join her husband by the window.

Rick didn’t answer, he just turned around and shared a long look with me. I held his eyes for a moment before nodding in Shane’s direction. He’d been mentioning Fort Benning for a while and Rick and I hadn’t heard him, we had chosen he CDC. Maybe it was time to give the man’s idea a try. Rick looked at Shane, who was already nodding his head and looking at me as he mumbled “Fort Benning.”

“We should’ve listened to you, Shane”, Rick told him. “Would have saved us a lot of grief ahead.”

“We couldn’t have known what would happen,” I said from where I sat next to Daryl. “The CDC was closer; we didn’t have enough gas to go all the way down to Alabama – we still don’t have it. We had to try it.”

“Yeah, but…” Rick shook his head. “Jackie would still be alive…”

“Was her choice, man. Do not take that on,” Shane told his friend.

“All these people…” Glenn entered the conversation. “Who’d have done something like this? Just… Come in here and murder everybody, even all the old people, how sick is that?”

Sophia flinched and nearly cried just to hear him say this and Carol hugged her. Lori moved to Carl, who also had gone pale, mumbling “Is this something we need to be discussing right now?”

“Uh, yeah. It actually is. I mean…” I got up from my spot and looked down at Carol and Lori. “I'd like a word with you two, if it's fine? Just us?"

The two other women nodded confused and got up, reassuring their kids they’d be back soon and that everything was ok, and we retread from the children and the men, going to stand at a corner.

"Look, I know things got a bit heated when we entered the home?" I started.

"We’re all on the edge," Lori told me, crossing her arms. "What we found here was far from what we were expecting, again."

"First the CDC, now this..." Carol said. "It's like one blow after the other."

"Yeah, but no matter what happened,” Lori crossed her arms and spoke firmly. “I will not let anybody talk to my child like that, or even talk about these things around him. I will always defend him, I'm sure Carol will too."

I took a deep breath and rested my hands on my hips, "Look, Daryl’s a brute, we all agree to that, but he means well. He told them to shut up and you're angry about that, fine. But at that moment, they actually had to shut up," Carol frowned at that and Lori took a breath to speak, her arms uncrossing and hands imitating my position, but I moved on. "I mean it, Lori. We all know silence‘s crucial when there’re walkers around, we taught you that ages ago at the quarry. We weren’t just saying, they are attracted by sound, ya’ll know that. They had to be quiet just like all of us did. You're so mad about someone calling out on your children that you can't even see he was right."

"I know we need silence, but I'm the one who's gonna tell my son to be quiet!", Lori rebated.

"But you didn’t! Lori, you were holding your son and he was being loud, you were not telling him to be quiet, same thing for you Carol. Sophia was crying and even you was whimpering, and not quietly!" I opened my arms, "Somebody had to! I mean it, if Daryl hadn’t said it, I would’ve and you’d be all mad at me instead of him”.

“There are ways to speak –”

"Look, Lori, Carol, I've been meaning to talk to you about this. We all know they're scared, more scared than all of the adults, it must be terrifying for them. But it will be even more terrifying if they find themselves in a dangerous situation without being prepared to react, to protect themselves.”

“I’ll protect him! And Rick will –”

“You don't know you're always going to be there to protect them, every time. They need to know how to avoid the dead, not to not attract’em, how to fight’em if it gets to that. We’re all always going to protect them, but we'll never know what will happen. They need ‘t stop acting so scared and helpless, for their own safety."

“And what do you suggest?” Carol tried but her voice still shuddered. “Arming the children? Giving them guns and crossbows?”

“Something like that, yeah,” I said firmly and saw their affronted expressions. And I could understand the idea as preposterous, but, well. “I don’t mean just give it to them and leave them to do whatever, I mean teach them. I mean reassuring them that they don’t have to be scared if they know how to react. And you two, too, I saw how scared you got out there, you need to… Come on, I don’t know, be braver? The world is not gonna go back to what it was, you heard Jenner, it’s all gone. We need to survive, we need to make sure the children survive, that my baby does, we need all to be strong as group, not just count on a few of the stronger ones to defend everybody.”

There was a moment of silence. I felt suddenly exhausted, and breathed out hard and I looked down, a hand pressing the bridge of my nose.

“How are you not scared?” Carol’s small voice asked me, a bit more gently than her expression was before.

I looked up at her, at Lori and then back. “You think I ain’t scared?” I snorted a fake laugh, trying a smile. “I’m a pregnant girl during the fuckin’ walking dead apocalypse. I’m fuckin’ terrified!” Lori and Carol exchanged an uncomfortable look, not knowing what to say. I didn’t know anymore, either. “We should get some rest. Just, please, think about it? We can’t have them getting terrified by the simple mention of murder. I told you once, Carol, that I could teach you and Sophia how to defend yourselves? Offer still stands.”

I turned my back on them then and left following the men who were leaving the room. Daryl waited for me, letting me pass first.

“We’re all rattled and exhausted, no one’s thinking clearly,” Rick was saying when I arrived, “But we have to start. Our lives depend on it.”

“You’re damn right,” Shane agreed once again shaking his head. “We can’t let our guard down again,” and as Daryl and I joined, we walked towards the stairwell where we found Dale and T-dog already sitting down. “Back at camp, having us some fish fried and no one on watch, and people died when they didn’t need to.”

“Hey,” I patted Glenn’s arm to stop him before we joined, and spoke in a low voice. “You did nothing wrong by talking about what happened here. It’s the reality and they need to start being able to handle it”.

After we all got together and crouched down to talk, Rick started, “Fort Benning, that’s the consensus.”

“When we’re leaving here?” T asked accepting the bottle Daryl handed him across the group.

“At first light”, I told them making the others nod. “I just worry about the fuel; we’ll have to get it from any car we can find on the way. And we’re wasting fuel driving so many vehicles, we need to lose a few. We’ll use the gas from whatever cars we leave behind, pro’ly be enough to leave the city. We,” and I pointed between Daryl and I, can keep the bike and lose the truck, it spends less gas,” and I looked at Daryl to see him nodding his agreement.

“That’d be a start,” said Shane. “Let’s just try to get a little shut eye tonight, ok? T, you get the first hour?”

* * *

I looked around for Daryl from where I had laid down on the hard floor against a wall. I thought he’d come to rest a bit at any moment, but as the minutes passed by and he didn’t, I started to worry. I knew he was not much of a sleeper, but he had to rest. There was a journey ahead of us, over one hundred miles separated us from Fort Benning, and there was no telling what we’d find on the way there of it we’d ever even make it.

Silently, I got up from my spot, navigating through my group companions’ sleeping forms, and headed to the hallway, looking around for him. He was a few feet away along the corridor, lying down on the floor just as I had been, one arm thrown over his eyes. Relieved that he seemed to be asleep, I approached quietly even with my boots still on my feet – you just don’t sleep without shoes on in this new world – and sat down against the wall, close to his head. I had lost sleep now anyways.

“You gotta sleep,” he told me in a real low voice, without having moved an inch.

“Can’t… Though you was sleeping,” I whispered, elbows resting on my knees.

“Can’t either,” and he still didn’t move.

We went silent. I closed my eyes and let my head fall back against the hard surface of the white wall. Daryl moved the arm covering his eyes to pillow his head, now just a breath away from my leg.

As he settled, I whispered, “You were great today, ya know that?” I opened my eyes then, straightening my head again and looking down on him. He said nothing but looked up at me, a question in his eyes. “Struggled together with everyone… Gave me your shoulder to cry and snot all over you…” I smiled then, a laugh in her voice. He did too, a corner of his lips moving up. “Helped secure this place and then!” I made a pause “shut Andrea up in front of everybody and it was aaaawesome!”

He laughed quietly, moving his eyes away from me. We were both strangely smiling now, among all the shit that had been going on.

“They underestimate you,” I said after a while.

“An’ you don’t?” he spoke quietly again, his voice more like a rumble.

“Guess I did… Once. In the other life. I don’ anymore.”

“Don’t know what ya thing I can do.”

“Well, for one, you’re ‘observant’,” I said smiling one more time, and he looked up at me again, the shy smile returning. “I mean, you really are, you’re the only one who noticed me being all pregnant. And the hunting and tracking go without saying… You don’t freeze out with danger, you’re logical. You’re more important to this group than you imagine.” And to me, but I didn’t say it. “They’ll see it soon enough as well, you’ll see.”

“Don’t care wha’ they think”.

“I know.”

“’S long as –” he started and stopped himself real quickly. I looked down at him again.

“What?”

“‘S nothin’.”

“No, as long as what?”

He removed his arm from under his head and covered his eyes once again. “Go to sleep.”

“Daryl?” I asked as I turned to my side and looked straight down at him, my head lined with his from above.

“What?”

“As long as what?”

He lifted his arm to look up at the ceiling and saw my face right there, humor in my eyes. He stopped what he was going to say, stunned by the position we found ourselves in, and took a moment to regain his wits.

“Only reason I’m in this group is ‘cause of you,” he started with a sincerity that stunned me. “Was it Merle and I, I’d be gone straight away from that fuckin’ roof. So as long as you don’t think I’m a piece of shit, I’m good.” And as I was just to stunned to move or say anything, he threw the arm over his eye again. “Now jus’ please go to sleep and leave me alone.”

“Alright….” I whispered, moving again. I quickly settled on the floor, against the same wall, my head close to his. “Good night, Daryl.”

He only grumbled in response. I knew it was enough of talking for him for a day. I was still smiling, butterflies inside my stomach, when I fell asleep.

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tell-me-when-ur-ready · 5 years

Text

This Thing Called Love (part one)

Summary: When Shawn meets dancer Kellie in Toronto, he falls for her—hard. But Kellie has an invisible disability and thinks it’s impossible that someone could really love her the way she is.

Author’s note: I have multiple chronic illnesses that are similar to Kellie’s, but I don’t have the same exact health conditions she does. I’ve done lots of research, but I apologize if I get anything wrong!

Warnings: tiny bit of language

Word count: 1,400

It was May and only 11:00 in the morning, but it was already blazing hot by the time Kellie Martin stepped into the Toronto coffee shop for a drink. She flipped up her sunglasses and looked around; it was a Wednesday, and the place—a sophisticated (and expensive, she noticed with a grimace) yet homey café with green plants springing out of every nook and cranny—was busy.

“I can take whoever’s next,” the barista called, and with a quick glance at the menu, Kellie stepped up to the counter to place her order.

“It’ll probably be a few minutes,” the barista said when Kellie had finished paying, and Kellie nodded her head; that was fine with her. She wasn’t really focused on her coffee order, anyway—instead, she was mentally rehearsing her competition piece for the weekend, going through lyrics and steps and beats in her mind.

When Kellie’s name was called a few minutes later, she picked up her coffee and food absently, too out of it to even notice the predictable misspelling of her name. Music was still playing in her head, and she was chanting steps under her breath. Her mind was in the dance studio, not the coffee shop—that is, until she collided with something big, warm, and soft and felt a splash of hot coffee land on her chest.

“Shit, I’m so sorry,” said a familiar voice. Kellie looked up and blinked, unable to process what she was seeing. Shawn Mendes was standing in front of her, his phone dangling from his hand and one curl dangling over his forehead, wincing apologetically at the brown stain on her white shirt.

“Let me get you a napkin,” he said, turning toward the counter. He grabbed a fistful of napkins and held them out.

“Thanks,” Kellie said dumbly, juggling everything she was holding so she could dab at her shirt. She felt like she was moving on autopilot. She had just quite literally run into Shawn Mendes—what were the chances?

“I’m so sorry about that,” Shawn said. Kellie shook her head, tossing the napkins (which hadn’t helped much) in the trash.

“It’s okay. It was really my fault. I wasn’t watching where I was going.”

Somewhere in the back of her mind, another Kellie was sitting back with arms crossed, sagely nodding her head and congratulating real-life Kellie on acting so cool and composed when Shawn Peter Raul Mendes was in front of her (yes—she knew his full name).

She expected him to end the conversation then, to walk past her and place his order and go back to his life. But he didn’t. Instead, he shoved his phone into his pocket and kept looking at her, his gaze open and earnest.

“What did you get? I’ve never been here,” Shawn said next, nodding at the cup and the bag in her hand (against her better judgment, she’d gone over budget and gotten two things because it all looked so good).

“You’ve never been here before?” she asked, surprised. Toronto was his hometown—she figured he would know his way around all the coffee shops.

“Nuh-uh. It’s pretty new. And I’ve been traveling.” He paused and looked at her more closely, his eyebrows scrunching together. Someone brushed past him and he moved over a few steps without taking his eyes off of hers. “Do you live here?”

Kellie shook her head. “I’m from Atlanta. If you couldn’t tell.” She didn’t think she had a southern accent, but other people regularly informed her that she did.

“Well, I could definitely tell you’re not from here,” he said, a quick grin flashing across his face. “So—what’s good?”

“Oh! This is just a latte and this”—she shook the bag dangling from her fingers—“is a gluten-free brownie.”

“I don’t eat gluten either,” he said, eyes lighting up a little at something they seemed to have in common. “Doesn’t it make you feel so much better?”

And that was it—Kellie was out. She forced a smile, but the warning bells were going off; she was done. She tried to paste a polite look on her face, but Shawn must have noticed the change in her manner. As she tried to pull away and end the conversation, he reached out, fingers briefly brushing over her forearm.

“Hey, what are you in Toronto for?”

“A dance competition,” Kellie said reluctantly, turning back. Yes, it was Shawn Mendes and no, his comment hadn’t been that bad—but she’d been traveling all day yesterday, she could feel the beginnings of a migraine pushing at the corners of her vision, and she just wanted to go back to her hotel room and be alone.

“Oh, really?”

He perked up, and Kellie felt herself warming to him a little.

“Yeah. I’m actually—” She paused, suddenly feeling a little shy. “I’m competing a lyrical dance to In My Blood.”

She’d spent every night she could in the studio the last three months, his voice in her ears, the city lights twinkling outside, trying to jump and twirl and dance away the pain and confusion. Which is why it was so strange for him to be standing in front of her now, flesh and blood, all 6’2” of him (she was 5’7” and had never felt so short). She shared such an intimate relationship with his music, she’d kind of forgotten he was a real person.

“No way!” He laughed. “That’s so cool. Good luck.”

Kellie nodded and smiled her thanks, and there was a beat of awkward silence. She glanced around the coffee shop, still bustling—she noticed a teenage girl staring at her and Shawn—and was about to try again to make her escape (what was she even doing, standing here holding a full-on conversation with Shawn Mendes?) when he spoke again.

“Hey, I’m—well, this is kind of a secret, but I’m filming a music video in a few weeks and I need dancers. Do you… well… could I have your number?”

He blushed a little when he said it, and Kellie raised her eyebrows, his gluten-free comment forgotten. This was getting interesting.

“You’ve never seen me dance,” she pointed out. “You know nothing about me. I could be an ax murderer, or—”

He scoffed. “I highly doubt—” but she went on, talking over him.

“—or just one of your millions of fans who says she can dance because she took a year of ballet when she was a kid,” Kellie finished.

Shawn shrugged and spread his hands, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. “Fair enough,” he said. “But my team will be looking at lots of dancers, I’m sure, and we might as well throw your name in the ring. I mean, I guess they will. I’m not normally involved in that stuff, but—”

“Then why are you doing this now?” Kellie said, a half-genuine, half-confused and exasperated laugh slipping from her lips.

“Just give me your number,” he said with a sheepish laugh, a slight flush rising on his cheeks.

“Fine.”

He typed her name and number into his phone and said he’d get her in touch with the right people on his team; Kellie, ready for this bizarre conversation to be over, said she wouldn’t keep him any longer and sidled away. And finally she was out of the coffee shop, striding down the sidewalk with her forgotten drink in hand, back to her hotel and dance and her real life.

Did she want to see Shawn again? Um, yes. Absolutely. But was there any way she could be in his music video—or, a tiny voice added inside her as she remembered those hazel eyes and the one curl that kept flopping over his forehead, be with him any other way (not that that’s what he had in mind, because he was Shawn Mendes and she was a random girl from Atlanta)?

No—there absolutely wasn’t, even though it was what she wanted most in the world. And that hurt. A lot.

Before she’d reached the end of the block, her phone buzzed. She pulled it out of her pocket.

Would you want to get lunch before you leave town? To talk about the music video?

Kellie let out a huff of breath that was half laugh, half disbelieving snort and glanced back at the little white coffee shop on the quiet Toronto street behind her.

What the hell was happening?

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