#Dale Bumpers

[politicaldilfs]

Arkansas Governor DILFs

Bill Clinton, Dale Bumpers, Asa Hutchinson, Junius Marion Futrell, Mike Beebe, Ben Laney, Winthrop Rockefeller, Joseph Taylor Robinson, Jim Guy Tucker, Carl E. Bailey, Sid McMath, Orval Faubus, Bob C. Riley, Augustus H. Garland, Homer Martin Adkins, David Pryor, Francis Cherry, and T.J. Terrell

Sorry not that into Mike Huckabee....

[imovrhere]

[drewscluesdrewsclues]

The StreamClues Awards 2022

🥇🥈🥉 StreamClues awards the best DisneyPlus and streaming titles of 2022! We only rank titles WE watched, so our lists are more unique than the ones you've ready from critics... We pride ourselves on spotlighting great films and series they won't.

Welcome to the 1st ever StreamClues awards and 2nd ever if you count last year when we were known as DejaView! My costar Greg and I decided to share our 2022 highlights in the world of streaming. What do you think? If you haven’t watched any of these, we recommend doing so! Since we’re mostly a Disney+-focused site, we’re once again doing a separate set of awards just for that service as well as…

[aerinsfables]

The Fablehaven crew at an amusement park:

-Seth is constantly just. Gone. Nobody knows where he ran off to, but he always finds everyone else within a few seconds of them starting to ask each other if they’ve seen him recently

-Bracken and Kendra spend an inordinate amount of time playing the carnival games. Kendra’s arms are steadily getting more and more full of stuffed animals

-Warren joins Bracken & Kendra at the carnival games for a bit, wins a prize, gives it to Vanessa, and then steers her away from the rest of the group to go and order way too many sugary treats for everyone to share

-Dale gets tired of losing track of Seth and threatens to put one of those child-proof wristbands on him which will connect both of their wrists so the kid can’t wander off anymore

-Tanu tells Dale to chill and let the kid be a kid. And then proceeds to put an AirTag in Seth’s shoulder-pack-thing that he carries around

-Warren tells Seth about the AirTag and helps the kid plant it in Tanu’s pocket

-Vanessa rides all of the huge rollercoasters

-Tanu joins Vanessa, Dale does ~not~

-Warren joins Tanu and Vanessa

-Tanu gets sick

-Seth takes Tanu’s place

-Bracken & Kendra do the typical cutesy couple-y things like riding on the carousel and the Ferris wheel at sunset

-Everyone figures out later that Seth kept disappearing to the bumper cars and go-karts and those rides that spin you around in circles at high speeds. He creams everyone at go-kart racing

-Dale takes pictures of everyone and makes sure everyone eats actual food and drinks water. #momfriend

-Tanu helps round everyone up at the end of the night, makes a comment about how Seth must’ve discovered the AirTag, doesn’t see Warren scoff, and Seth pops up out of nowhere to ask everyone why they’re taking so long to get into the car

-Overall it’s chaos and fun and everyone has a great time

[crazyk-imagine]

Kick Ass not Kiss my Ass!

Pairing: Walt Finnegan x Fem!reader

Characters: Kenny Roper, Walt Finnegan, Dale Douglas, Jake Bradford, Fem!reader, Glen McReynolds, Jay Niles, Alex Brumley, Tyrone Plummer, Billy Autrey, Willoughby

Warnings: SMUT (DNI 18+), pussy eating, blowjob, cowgirl position, reader giving off dom vibes, Finn giving off sub vibes, straight up smutty things, Reader deals with bitches (doesn’t go into too much detail), Finnegan has a crush but doesn’t realize it, Terrifying trio (Roper, Glen, and Finnegan), Reader showing off her bartending skills (even though she’s not a bartender), Roper and Finnegan are little shits, Reader might be a bit of a moody bitch, all she needed was a little bit of (Finnegan) love, Finnegan jokes about their kid and Roper murdering him if he ever found out, Roper and reader call each other names (but it’s all good), everyone knew they we’re gonna get together

Word Count: 4,872 

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You grab the last box with a mental reminder to kick your cousins’ ass next time you see the overly cocky boy (because he is no man). 

You slam the trunk closed and start heading towards the house... until he comes back. 

“How many times have I told you to watch out, dumbass! Before I kick your ass!” You kick his front bumper, glaring at him. 

“You mean today,” her cousin smiles at her. 

“Shut up, Roper.” 

“Someone write that down,” he says over his shoulder. 

“That’s number four, so far,” Finnegan (the annoying one from the phone) adds. She clenches her jaw. 

“Just watch yourself, alright?” 

“You got it.” 

You roll your eyes and head inside. 

“You sure you can carry that all by yourself!” Roper shouts, leaning against the car, letting Jake and Dale out while Plum gets out from behind Finnegan’s seat. 

“I’ve been caring your career on my back ever since we were five! I’d say I’m doing just fine now!” 

“That’s cold! And not true!” 

“Suck a dick, Roper!” 

-

“Hey,” Glen greets you with a smile. 

“Glen.” You pass him, entering the kitchen. 

“Oh, don’t give me that attitude now. I thought that was only reserved for Roper.” 

“It’s reserved for all assholes.” 

“What did I do to earn that pleasant title?” 

“Nothing. I’m just bored, don’t you know?” 

“Are people talking again?” He asks, his tone becoming serious. 

“No,” you shake your head, “and even if people have been, I wouldn’t be telling you.” 

“Telling who what?” Finnegan enters the kitchen, standing on the other side of the counter. 

“Nothing.” You narrow your eyes at Glen. 

“I think that crazy bitch is talking about her again.” 

“Oh, Jesus- shut up. Nothing’s going on.” 

“We’ll happily send one of the freshmen in-” 

“Finnegan-” 

“Come on, you know we’d do anything to keep you around.” He adds with a serious smile (one you’ve never seen directed at any of his ladies of the night). 

“You’re just hoping to get laid.” 

The blond says nothing for a few seconds. “Ah- not necessarily-” 

“I’ve brought food and beer. I’m out.” 

“Woah! Hey, where you going?” Roper asks, rushing down the stairs. 

“I have a few things I need to take care of.” 

“Like?” asks your cousin with Glen and Finnegan by his side. 

“I’m leaving now.” 

Roper sighs, “will we see you later?” 

You shake your head, “no.” You turn around, one of the freshman stops in front of you. 

He doesn’t know where to move. 

You place your hands on his shoulders, turning him around before shoving him into the three. 

“You sure you can’t come?” Roper asks again. 

“No.” You slam the car door shut and back out. 

-

“She’s so coming,” Finnegan says over his shoulder for the others to hear. 

“You’re just hoping to bang my cousin.” 

“That’s your cousin?” Jake asks. 

“Oh, yeah,” Finnegan confirms. “She’s also off limits.” 

Glen nudges Roper, who shakes his head and walks away not wanting to hear about how much Finnegan wants to bang his cousin. 

“I didn’t ask,” Jake defends himself. 

“And now you don’t have to.” 

-

“Hello,” you answer with little attitude. 

“How’s it going?” 

“Finnegan?” 

“Who else would consider themselves lucky to be in your presence?” 

“I don’t know, you tell me.” 

“No one because I’m special and I happen to know when I am talking to a beautiful and smart lady such as yourself.” 

You chuckle through your nose, “you got the special part right. But, wow, you’re really laying the charm on thick today, aren’t you?” 

“For you, I always go above and beyond.” 

-

“Who’s he talking to?” asks Jake.

“Who do you think?” Dale replies. 

“And he says he’s not into her.” 

Dale nods with a smirk, “you’ve been here less than a day and already know more about his pathetic love life than Finn himself.” 

Jake chuckles. “You know what I’m thinking?” 

“I sure as hell hope so.” 

They start making sex noises. 

Finnegan whirls his head around, mustache twitching; his jaw clenched. He aggressively waves for them to leave. 

They don’t. 

He tilts his head, securing the phone there while he picks up the base and closes the door. 

The two can see a smile on his face right before the door slams shut in front of them. 

Jake and Dale look back at one another and shake their heads. 

-

“You still breathin’?” 

You bring the phone back up to your ear, letting out a puff of air. “I don’t know if I am.” 

“You’re sounding pretty good from my end.” 

“Must you always suck up to me.” 

“Yes, you should know this by now.” 

“Who was it?” 

“A freshman and Dale.” 

“Ah.” 

“What?” 

“Dale always manages to get a freshman to do some type of shenanigan with him. This isn’t any different.” 

“You’re so mean.” 

“That’s what I’m known for.” 

“Don’t be like that.” 

“Like what?” 

“Doing this sad bit. It’s not a good look on you.” 

“Well, gee, thanks.” 

“Hey, hey. I didn’t mean it like that, and you know it. None of us like seeing you sad. I don’t like seeing you sad.” 

You gulp, glancing over at the clock. “I gotta go, Finnegan.” 

“No, look hey-” 

“I’ll see you guys in a few, okay?” 

“You sure? You’re not just lying to me to stop our conversation, are you?” 

“No, dumbass. I’ll be there before some dick hungry chick can steal you away.” 

“I don’t doubt that.” 

“Later, Finn.” 

“Bye.” He hangs up, setting the phone base on the floor as he sinks down onto his bed. The smile never leaving his face, “she called me Finn.” 

“Are you done with the phone?” Billy asks, knocking on his door. 

“Take it and go, Beuter.” 

“My name is Billy!”

- 

“Okay, how long till the girls start coming around?” You ask, leaning against the wall. 

“You’re late,” Roper says. 

“I’m still here and I already knew what coach was gonna tell you boys so why do I need a repeat?” 

“Alright, you two,” Glen pats Roper’s shoulder. “That’s enough. We have ten minutes before the girls are fashionably late.” 

“Wow, you move fast.” 

“Not when it counts though,” he winks at you. 

You groan in disgust, “I’m leaving you two to fend for yourselves. No wingwoman for you two.” 

They let out a string of complaints as you walk away. 

-

You enter the kitchen, seeing Finnegan chatting with a few of the girls who showed up on time. You start making yourself a drink. 

“You mind making me a cousin special?” 

You smile, seeing Dale holding his cup out for you. “Only you can handle it, Dale.” 

“We both know that’s not true but, I can’t stop drinking it.” 

You two chuckle. 

Finnegan glances over at the two of you and frowns. 

The girls start asking questions, distracting him for a few seconds but not enough to get his mind off of you. 

-

“Oh, she’s making the famous cousin drink.” Glen nods in your direction. 

“The what?” asks Jake. 

“You’ve got to try this man.” Roper hooks his arm around Jake’s neck, bringing him to the kitchen with a few other team members following. “Three more.” 

“That’ll cost you,” you tell him. 

“Oh, come on.” 

“Do freshman get a free drink if it’s their first time trying it?” 

You turn to Jake and smile before curling your index finger and thumb, whistling loudly. “Alright, party people. It’s time to gather the freshies so they can try the-” 

“COUSIN!” 

“It seems you’re all familiar with my concoction. Now, where are my freshman at?” 

All the freshman and one of the two newbies stand before you. “You think you boys can handle this?” 

“Hell yeah,” Plum says. 

“Okay.” You finish making the drinks. “And... enjoy.” 

Plum runs out of the kitchen and into the front yard, throwing up. 

“That’s one.” 

“I prefer screwdrivers.” 

“Yeah, well, you’re getting out of your comfort zone right now, Niles.” 

“Raw dog.” 

“Drink this and shut up.” 

Jay drinks it and seems like he’s doing okay. 

“Dare I say we have- nope, nevermind.” 

Jay’s out in the front yard with Plum. 

“Jake, you good man?” Roper glances over at you, you shrug. 

Jake chucks his cup onto the floor. 

“Yeah!” The whole house cheers him on. 

No one has been able to drink your infamous drink and not thrown up the first time except for Glen. 

Blumley takes a sip and is out in the front yard with the other two. 

“That went better than I expected,” Dale comments. 

You nod. “Alright, you boys have fun.” 

“Why does it sound like you’re leaving?” 

“I’m not, I just need some air.” 

“You sure?” 

“Yep. Have fun, Dale.” You pass Finnegan and his rodies, he follows completely ignoring them. 

-

You stand in the open doorway of the front door. 

“You okay?” 

“Shouldn’t you be talking with your rodies?” 

“I’m not a musician.” 

“Same thing.” 

“Did something happen today? You’ve been a little off.” 

“I’ll be alright. So... no luck with the clearly easy ladies of the evening?” 

He chuckles, staring at his shoes. “Not when I know a pretty girl like you is out here, near the barfers.” 

“My hero.” 

“I try, I try... I wasn’t lying when I said you look pretty tonight.” 

“You say that to everyone.” 

“Only those who deserve it.” 

“So, everyone?” 

“I think you need to get your eyes and ears checked; I only say that to you.” 

“Okay, okay.” 

“Come on, I want to show you something.” 

“Like what?” 

He holds his hand out for you to take, a smile stretching across his lips. 

“You better not be trying to persuade me into your bed.” 

“I would never.” 

“Liar.” You grab his hand, letting him lead you up the stairs and through the window that leads to the roof. “Finally, I get to see roofball in action.” 

“Roofball?” 

“It sounds better than hitting shit off the roof.” 

“But it doesn’t sound as fun.” 

“And yet, it captured your attention.” 

“Damn, you got me.” He grabs a golf club, handing it to you. “My lady?” 

“How charming. What’s the goal?” 

“Try and beat me.” 

“The stakes?” 

“You win, I do the team’s laundry for a week. I win, I want a repeat of that night.” 

Your shoulders sag thinking about the night when you and he were tipsy and almost slept together during his, Glen, Roper, and Dale’s first year here. “Finnegan-” 

“Now, now. I promise you’ll enjoy the night either way.” 

You sigh, “fine.” 

-

“Looks like-” 

“It’s a tie,” you cut him off. 

“What? No, I clearly won.” 

“Whatever.” 

“Oh, don’t be like that.” 

“I’m not being like anything.” 

“No, no. Sure, you’re all good.” 

“You are such a jerk,” you laugh, staring at him with a wide smile. 

“We both know you don’t think that.” 

“Well, then what do I think?” 

He takes a step closer, standing in front of you; he leans in, switching from one eye to the other. “I think you really want me to give you the Finnegasm special.” 

You suck in your lips to keep yourself from laughing. 

He can see it, that’s partly why he said it. “You can laugh. It’s okay.” 

You burst out laughing, lowering your head on his shoulder with your hand covering your mouth. “Thank... you,” you say between breathes. After a while, you finally calmed down. 

“I didn’t realize it was that funny.” 

“You’re always funny, Finn.” 

You lift your head and lose your breath. 

Neither of you say anything. 

“I’m just- I'm gonna go inside now,” you point towards the window. 

“Oh no, you are not,” he shakes his head. 

“And why not?” You challenge him. 

“I won fair and square which means you are to abide by the stakes we made prior to starting a game of roofball.” 

“I don’t believe I agreed to those terms.” 

“Oh, you did,” he takes a step forward, you step back, “when you took your first swing, you knew what you were in for.” 

You shake your head, “I don’t think that’s right.” 

“Yeah, you did.” 

“I’m afraid I don’t believe you.” 

The corner of his mouth twitches, “is that right?” 

“Yeah,” you nod, unable to look away from him. 

“If I kiss you, are you gonna run out of the house?” 

“No, no. I’m gonna run into the house with you hot on my tail.” 

“Oh.” 

“You willing to take that risk?” 

“Oh, baby, I am willing to do a lot more than that.” 

“Really? If that’s the case, why am I pushed against the wall of this house and not in front of the window.” 

“I don’t know where the other guys are at, and I don’t want to get my ass kicked for being the one to spend the night with you.” 

“So, everyone likes me?” 

“Almost everyone, I’m the only one who likes your attitude.” 

“Interesting.” 

“Exactly, now.” He steps back, holding his arm out towards the window, “after you, my lady.” 

“Charming. Have fun checking out my ass.” 

“Oh, I will.” 

-

You push him against the wall at the bottom of the stairs, hiding your face in the crook of his neck when Billy and his friends pass by. 

“They’re gone.” 

“Hurry up and open the door.” 

“So bossy.” 

You shove him inside, locking the door behind you. “Why can you never shut your mouth?” You ask, watching as he makes himself comfortable on the bed. “If you think I’m doing all the work here you’re wrong.” 

He only offers a smirk and a pat on the bed as an answer. 

You roll your eyes, kicking off your heels. 

“You wore heels on the roof? How did you not fall off?” 

“Who’s to say I haven’t had to run across a roof in heels before?” 

“Have you?” 

“I think the answers obvious.” You sit down beside him, sitting up with your back against the bed frame. 

“Why are you way up there?” He whines. 

You roll your eyes, “shut up.” 

He scoots closer to you, resting his head on your chest listening to the way your heartbeat speeds up and smiles. 

“Are you happy now?” You start scratching his head. 

“Maybe.” 

“You’re annoying.” 

“No,” Finnigan shakes his head. “You’re annoying.” 

You let out a fake gasp and shove him off you. “How dare you.” 

“How dare I? I’m the one on the floor.” 

“Where you belong.” 

“That’s mean.” 

“Would it be mean if I said, I wonder what you looked like on your knees... in front of me?” 

His head drops on the bed, the groan coming from him gives you an answer. 

You lay back on the pillows and laugh. 

Your eyes snap open when your body is yanked down towards the edge. Your hands wrap around his arms that keep him hovering over you. 

“You said something about me on my knees? You dare to make that dream come true?” 

“I don’t have to dare if I know you’ll do it.” 

He shakes his head. “For someone with so much attitude, you’re awfully confident.” 

“That’s because I know you’ll do anything to please me.” You know. You know.  

“And here I thought I was being subtle.” 

“Subtlety has never been your thing.” 

He grins, leaning down kissing along the side of your neck, making sure there’s going to be a hickies for everyone to see. “It could be our thing.” 

“You can barely keep your “average” sized dick in your pants enough as it is.” 

His head pops up from your collarbone, “so you’ve heard the stories? Impressed?” 

You push him away to pull off your jeans. “If you can use it right, I’ll be impressed.” 

“Oh, honey. Everyone’s gonna know what we did in here.” He slowly removes your lace underwear. 

You let out an unimpressed hum. 

“Prepare to be eaten.” 

You furrow your brows, “isn’t the phrase, prepare to eat your wor-” Your hands wind up clutching his hair, being careful not to tug on it (too hard). Few noises escape you, making Finnegan determined to make you louder than the music bouncing off the walls. 

He keeps one hand on your thigh as his other hand snakes down to your warm slit. He eases one finger in but, it’s not enough. 

You whine, thrusting your hips up. 

He pulls of your buzzing bundle with a pop, watching as you can’t keep your mouth shut while his thumb circles around your clit and his fingers stretch you, preparing you for him. 

He leans over you, smiling at you, “does that feel good, beautiful?” 

You nod, babbling out, “yes! Yes! Feels so good!” 

“Open your eyes.” 

You furrow your brows, unsure if you can do that as you clench around his fingers. 

“Open them.” 

You don’t. 

He sighs, easing up on his pace. 

Your eyes snap open, “no.” 

“Keep those pretty eyes open for me and you won’t be disappointed.” 

“I could,” you take a deep breath. “I could find- any other,” you moan. “Other guy here who- who would help me out.” 

He leans down, whispering, “you could but no one can give you the Finnegasm special.” After he says that, he speeds up the pace. 

You arch your back, hips thrusting into and against his hand. Your mouth falls open, high pitched moans escape you; one hand clenched in the sheets of his bed and your other hand fists his stupid short sleeve button up. 

His mustache tickles your upper lip as he kisses you, swallowing your noises as he tries to quiet you down (not wanting anyone to come in and ruin your guys’ fun). He helps you through your high, your legs shake unable to stay in the position you’re in. 

He carefully detaches himself from you, giving you moment to breath. He starts to toe off his shoes, checking on you only to see your covered chest heaving and your gaze still on the ceiling. 

He chuckles, “you doing alright?” 

“Oh,” you push yourself up, leaning on your elbows. “I’m just peachy.” 

He chuckles, “careful there. I might get too cocky.” 

Your gaze travels down to the front of his pants, “if what you say is true. I think we’ll be fine.” 

“Hey, hey.” 

You push yourself off the bed with a smile, “remember, you said you liked my attitude.” 

“When it was directed at other people and not at me.” 

You unbutton his shirt, not looking up at him. “That sounds more like a you problem.” 

“Now you’re just being mean.” 

“I’m only extra mean to those I like.” You stare at him through your lashes, shoving his shirt off his shoulders. 

He chucks his shoulder off to the side, “so, you’re saying I’m extra special.” 

You pull him closer by his belt loops, “I don’t go on a roof in heels for just anyone.” 

He smiles and cups your cheek, leaning to kiss you. 

You try not to giggle but fail, he pulls back. 

“Why are you laughing?” 

You shake your head, not saying anything. 

“No, seriously. What is it? Is this weird?” 

“Definitely not weird, it’s just- your upper lip hair is a little ticklish?” 

He nods, “guess I’m gonna have to get used to you laughing.” 

“What?” 

He takes a step forward, forcing you to take a step back. 

The back of your legs hit the edge of the bed. 

He’s quick to remove your shirt. 

“You’re gonna give me whiplash, I swear.” 

“Then I’ll take care of you. Don’t worry, beautiful.” 

You roll your eyes and crawl into the center of the bed. 

He makes his way over you, kissing every inch of you he could. He trails along your breastbone, sucking on the skin (leaving more of his marks behind). 

Your hands slide along the back of his shoulders until you cup the sides of his neck pulling his up to look into his dazed eyes. “Take your pants off.” 

“So bossy.” 

You don’t laugh along with him, and he pecks your lips. 

“I like it.” He removes the last piece of clothing and pulls a condom out of the drawer of his nightstand. 

“Prepared, were we?” 

He shrugs, “you never know.” 

“Oh, but you do.” 

“You wanna explain to our kid why their Big cousin Roper murdered their dad, go ahead.” 

“This would be a lot better if you didn’t talk about my cousin.” 

“It would, wouldn’t it?” 

You scoff, pulling him closer to distract him with your irresistible lips before shoving him onto the bed. 

He settles onto the pillows, placing his hands behind his head. “I could get used to this.” 

“Don’t,” you say, slowly sinking down onto his aching cock. 

He pulls you closer, wrapping one arm around your waist; the other tangling in your hair. 

You slowly move your hips against his, working on finding a good rhythm. 

Once you find it, there’s a knock on the door. 

“You better- better have locked the- the door.” 

His hot breath hits your skin, a faux chuckle is his reply. 

You rock your hips against his faster making him let out a quiet moan. 

“I did- I did. I’m not letting any- anyone in here, beautiful.” 

-

Dale and Glen have no idea Finnegan and you are together in his room. 

They shrug; one goes upstairs and the other aims the coat closet. 

-

“See, they’re gone. Now,” the hand tangled in your hair slides down your body, until it finds your bundle. 

A choaked breath escapes you, your hips stutter but Finnegan doesn’t stop he pushes you and helps you move. You rest your head against his shoulder, breath fanning against his hot skin. You inch closer to the side of his neck, taking your time, teasing and marking him. 

His hips start snapping up into you, you thrust against him, both of you chasing after your highs. 

You can feel yourself close to letting go, wrapping your arms around his neck, hauling him closer. 

He starts decorating your soft breasts in his mark, small trails of saliva slowly drying near your nipples. 

Your moans continue to get louder, more so as he kisses along the front of your neck, nipping at your chin. You cup his cheek and stare his closed eyes and dazed expression. “Finnegan.” 

He doesn’t respond, not wanting to moan or blow his load before you could properly enjoy yourself. 

“Finn. Finn,” you gasp. 

He groans as you clench around him. 

“Finn,” you groan, resting your forehead against his. “Look at me.” 

His eyes snap open, all he sees is you. His heartbeat speeds up (shockingly more so than it already is) and he realizes what Beauter is talking about. He gulps at sound of your breathless call of his name slipping off your lips. 

“Finnegan.” 

“I’m here, beautiful. I’m right here.” He continues to put your pleasure before his own. “I know your close to teetering over the edge.” 

A beautifully pathetic, high pitched moan slips through your parted lips before you could stop it. 

He smiles, “let go. Let go for me.” 

And you do, not quietly (to him, those outside the room still don’t know what’s going on). 

Once you catch your breath you realize he still hasn’t finished and carefully pull him out of you. You slowly crawl off the bed, kneeling. 

“What are you-” 

“Shut up and come here.” 

“I don’t think I can move.” 

“If you want me to blow you, you’ll come over here.” 

He makes his way over to you. “You know you don’t have to-” 

“Shut up. You’ll enjoy this,” you remove the condom and slowly stroke him. “Promise.” You wink and kitten lick his leaking head. 

His fights the urge to close his eyes, not wanting to miss a thing you’re doing. 

You continue to stroke his hard cock while you lick him from his base all the way back up to his tip, repeating that action a few more times before you slowly begin to take him in your mouth. 

You place your free hand against his thigh, feeling how tense he is. You slowly bob your head, stroking the rest of what you can’t reach. 

He cups the bottom of your chin, watching you through half lidded eyes. 

You look up at him, taking note of how close he is to finishing. The hand on his thigh slides off. 

He wants to ask what happened but with the way your warm hand cupping him. It takes him a moment to catch his breath, in this moment he wishes he hadn’t looked down to see your tearful eyes and stuffed mouth. 

He throws his head back and floods your mouth. 

Once he’s finished, you slowly pull off him, a string of saliva being the only thing to keep you two attached until it breaks and lands on neck and chin. 

He huffs, “wow.” 

“Wow?” You rest your hands on his thighs, bringing yourself closer to him. “Have I made the Finnegan speechless?” 

He smiles, pecking you on the lips once before hauling you up so the two of you can catch your breath. “I feel like the Astros are gonna make it to the World Series.” He watches you, brushing the hair out of your eyes. 

You tilt your head up, “you say they every year.” 

“I’m serious.” 

“You said the same thing last time.” 

“Don’t be mean,” he pouts. 

“It’s all part of my charm.” 

He offers a sarcastic chuckle in return.  

-

You cover your eyes, the sun seeping through his window keeps you awake. You sigh and try to climb out of bed only to find yourself trapped with nowhere to go. 

His arm slips off you when he turns, rolling over onto his side. 

You grab whatever you could find off the floor to cover yourself (and prevent the other players from the second house to catch a peek). You turn around, seeing the mess you two made thankfully just both of your clothes. 

“Where do you think you’re going?” 

Your head snaps over towards Finnegan. “You’re up early.” 

You sit at the edge of the bed. 

“I don’t want to be, but I lost my personal heater.” 

You smack his chest. “You know you love it.” 

“I wouldn’t say that.” 

“Don’t be mean to me or I might try to kiss you.” 

You ignore him, reaching for his shirt and your pants. “I’m leaving.” 

“Don’t leave.”

“I have to or else I’m kicking someone’s ass.” You turn around, buttoning one more button before opening the door. 

A gasp mixed with a chuckle escapes you; you reach behind you to push him away. “Finn! Stop!” You giggle. 

His places his hands on your thighs, holding you still. “I’m sorry, I thought you said kiss your ass. I was happy to oblige.” 

“Get off me, you dork.” 

“I’m afraid not.” 

“And, why’s that?” 

“This is too good of a view to give up.” 

You scoff and shove him away. 

-

Dale, Glen, and Jake turn their heads at the sound of the door hinges creaking. 

No one says anything. “If any of you say anything-” 

“You’ll what?” Glen asks. 

“I’ll kick your ass.” You spin around, poking Finnegan in the chest, whispering, “I swear, if you try to do what you just did, I will hurt you.” 

He offers a cheeky smile in return. 

“What are you three doing up? It burn peeing, already?” 

Glen gives you a dry laugh. “Funny, should we assume the same?” 

“Harsh, Glen. Harsh... where’s Roper?” 

“Right here.” 

Your eyes snap to the top of the stairs. “Hey, Rope.” 

“Hey, slut,” he says with a smile. 

“We all know you’re the biggest slut here.” 

“And proud of it.” 

“So, you’re not gonna kick my ass?” Finnegan asks, standing behind you. 

Neither of you realized it but he interlocked your fingers with his. 

“It’d be easier to hear you two together than giving each other sex eyes.” 

“Whatever.” 

“Now that, that’s taken care of. If you’ll just excuse us.” 

Your pulled back and the door is shut. 

-

“I didn’t realize I signed up for a horn dog.” 

“It was part of the package deal.” 

“Really?” You ask with a raised brow. 

“Yep.” 

“For some reason, I don’t believe it.” 

He shrugs. 

“Were you seriously standing behind me in your underwear?” 

“I can’t find my pants.” 

“Did you even look?” 

“N- hey! This isn’t about me, alright?” 

“What’s it about then?” 

“Your hot and I’m horny. If you think about it, the math adds up.” 

You purse your lips, marching towards the door, shaking your head, “nope.” 

You shove Finnegan into Dale’s arms. “He’s your problem.” 

Dale shakes his head, pushing his fellow teammate off him. “Not when he’s like this.” 

“Rub one out!” You shout, looking through the fridge. 

“Rub it for me!” 

-

“Why am I still here?” Roper walks out of the house, sitting on the front porch, chuckling at the sight of the guys sleeping on the grass. 

“Hey,” he shouts your name. “They’re still out here,” he chuckles. 

“No way,” you run to the porch. 

You slap your hands together, throwing your head back as you let out a hearty laugh. “Oh, this is amazing.” 

“Not as amazing as-” 

“Go back into your room, horn dog.” 

Everyone but Finnegan laughs.  

[boygiwrites]

Harley D. Dixon 9

An amazing edit inspired by this story! (Cred to Cora_Line99) Harley D. Dixon's Pinterest Board! Harley D. Dixon's Playlist!

📖Chapter List.

Author's Note. New chapter! :)

If I had to guess, I'd say a week has passed.

Our days are spent driving, siphoning gas, and sleeping. We wake up in whatever overgrown pocket of forest we spent the night in, buckle up for an entire day of winding up and down side-roads blocked by trucks or dead bodies or fallen trees, and then we spend the night in another pocket of overgrown forest, feeling just a little more exhausted than we were the day before; dirtier, bloodier, and hungrier.

At least nothing more has happened between Shane and my Dad, yet. We've all been too busy trying not to starve for that.

Tonight, as the thicket hoots and rustles around me, I close my eyes.

It's nice to pretend that time has stopped.

I listen as the river flows past my bare shoulders, undisturbed, like I'm just another steady rock amongst its gentle ripples. I let the water skim across my fingers and wash over my hair. I can feel the satisfying smoothness of riverbed stones on the pearly soles of my feet, and I wiggle my toes against the current, breathing in the freshness of night air. It's not as luxurious as a shower, 'cause showers don't quite got leaves and twigs and dirt in 'em, but I pretend it's luxurious, anyway. I feel the day being lifted from my skin and carried away down-stream.

Fwip.

A flock of birds takes off from the trees.

I snap my eyes open.

On the muddy bank of the river, a dead woman drops to her knees. Blood oozes like thick, brown pudding from a crossbow bolt pierced through one of her eyes. I gasp, paddling backwards, as she slumps head-first into the water. The rest of her mossy body slides in after her.

Splash.

The river carries her away, too.

I watch as the fuzzy hump of her back slowly floats away until it disappears around the bend.

Whew. That was close.

"Harley!"

I turn around.

On the opposite bank, from where he's been supervising the whole time, my Dad swings his crossbow over his shoulder.

"Time to get out, now. Ya clean enough?"

Oh, right. I'm supposed to be bathing. I got a little distracted.

"Yeah!" I call back. "I'm clean!"

I squeeze the last of the suds outta my hair.

"Come on, then."

He holds out his hand.

Quick to obey, I wade through the water and onto the pebbly shore. He grabs my arm and helps me step up over the shelf of dirt, onto dry land, where he wraps me up in the big towel that he bought with us. A gust of hot breeze sails through the forest as I hastily dry myself off, wanting to get back to camp as soon as possible. It's never good news when we find walkers. They've been following us for days, travelling tirelessly through the night while we sleep. Besides, dinner is probably being served by now, since I'm the last one to bathe tonight.

As usual, I'm not looking forward to it.

Once I'm dry, I step into my underwear and my purple pyjama pants, and then pull on my frog shirt and my lady-bug boots.

My Dad packs the bottle of hand-soap that I used to wash myself with and my old, dirty clothes into his pack.

He nods me forward. "Let's go."

We start the short hike back to camp. We step over mushroom-infested logs and shallow ditches filled with noisy crickets; our path lit by a flashlight. At one point, we have to duck under a glittering spider-web, which is pretty cool. I like spiders, especially fat and colorful ones.

Soon enough, we can hear a fire crackling in the distance, and we step through the trees.

We made it back.

All the vehicles are parked in a bumper-to-bumper ring around a tiny campfire, where the group is silently sitting together in the grass. Rick rations the cooked food into a bunch of bowls, mugs, and plates as Glenn passes bottles of boiled water around. We take our spots next to Carol. She takes four bowls from Rick, and hands one to Sophia, and then another two to me and my Dad. Dale hands us some spoons. We don't bother thanking them. There's a grim look on both their faces. They don't wanna be doin' this, but they don't got a choice, and neither do we.

Everyone settles down, reluctant to begin eating.

I look over at Carl, who's hair is also wet from his river-bath. He peers into his bowl. He looks like he's gonna puke.

I peer down at mine. I feel the same way.

"Dig in, everyone." Rick mutters.

T-Dog echoes him unenthusiastically.

Oh, well.

I can't survive without food. I should just get it over with.

I start with the intestines.

There are disgusting crunching and chewing and slurping noises all around me as I inch the brown tube into my mouth.

It's chewy like a frozen squid ring, and slippery like sausage-skin.

Tastes like chicken, I tell myself, even though I know it came from a skunk.

I think about what's inside a skunk. It's got a little heart, much smaller than ours, which I think is what Rick is eating, 'cause I can see little pipe-like things hanging off the chunk of meat in his hand. The fire flutters ominously over his face, his stare locked onto a burning branch as it turns to ash. Then there's the liver, which is now diced up on Carl's spoon. He swallows it one go, like cough medicine. There are the kidneys. Glenn got those, but he's not really eating 'em. He's knocking 'em back like big, rubbery pills instead, so he don't gotta taste 'em. There's also its stomach and its spaghetti-intestines, and then the breast and the ribs, which is the good part, which I'm saving for last.

Then, the most shameful parts are the paws and the tongue and, ugh, the nose and the tail and the eyeballs.

Those parts aren't meant for eating. I never even saw 'em in the freezer section at the supermarket.

But we're eating 'em.

We'll starve if we don't.

With oily fingers and scrunched up noses, we bite and chew and swallow every last morsel of the poor skunk, including the feet and the snout, until it's just a bad memory — Just protein and fat to keep us alive, and not animal-guts. I remember back at the quarry, I used to think surviving meant using a single square of toilet paper instead of four or five, but now I know it's this. It's gnashing on skunk organs.

"Saw a walker out there." Dad mumbles, as he nibbles on the tail bone. "S'just the one, but..."

"Where there's one, there's a hundred." Glenn muses.

Walkers are like ants. There used to be a big ant-hill in our yard, and sometimes I'd just watch 'em crawl over each other, mindless.

"We'll pack up at first light." Rick frowns. "One walker ain't gonna slow us down."

"You okay?" Jacqui asks us.

I nod, staring down at my shiny lumps of skunk-gut.

"What happened?"

"It was just some loaner." Dad explains. "Came up to the river while Harley was washin'. Shot it quick."

"More and more seem to be poppin' up." Shane tells everybody. "Keep your eyes peeled tonight, alright? Who's on watch?"

Glenn and Andrea lift their hands.

Then Morales points between himself and Rick. "We take over, afterwards."

Shane nods. "Y'all know the drill. No noisy weapons; no gunfire. Try to keep everyone alive 'till sunrise."

"How close even is Fort Benning by now?" Carl suddenly asks. "We've been driving for ages."

"Carl..." Rick rubs his forehead.

"Listen, we drove down Lone Oak today. We're nearin' Hogansville." Shane says. "So, we're just shy three days away, I reckon."

Carl sighs heavily, picking at his food.

Three more days means three more nights, which means three more dinners like this one. My Dad skinned it the best he could, and it's cooked all the way through, but it's still a little nasty considering we've only been eating granola bars and tinned fruit up until now. Even the squirrel burgers Uncle Merle used to make tasted better than this, 'cause at least he threw some salt and pepper on those.

"It's not forever, baby." Lori comforts Carl. "We just need to stick it out until then."

"Yeah, I guess." He grouches.

As I suck the meat off the skunk's leg bone, I think to myself, Just three more days.

After a while, T-Dog stands.

"Thanks for the experience, man," He sighs, "But I think I'm gonna turn in."

Rick nods. "I think it's best we all do. We got more travelling ahead of us; Need the rest."

"I know I do." Dale scoffs, stretching.

Glenn and Andrea walk off to start patrolling the area for the night, and the rest of us drop our dishes into a bucket of water to be washed tomorrow morning. I say goodnight to everyone and follow my Dad into the truck. He hands me one of the pillows and the blanket to snuggle into. He clicks off the ceiling light, and 'cause he don't sing for me tonight, I count the fish on my blanket until I drift off to sleep instead.

I swear I hear Shane and Dale arguing sometime during the night.

Grrr...

The next morning, I wake up to the sound of a car engine humming lowly. Groggily, I turn over, covering my ears with my blanket. The noise persists. I turn over again, trying to fall back asleep, but again, the noise persists. And it keeps persisting, almost for a full minute, until I begin to think, That doesn't actually sound much like a car engine. Confused, I slowly lift my head, peeking out the wind—

Smack!

A pale hand, grabbing at the glass.

Grrrr...

It's not an engine.

It's a walker.

It's nose bone makes a tick, tick, tick sound as it knocks into the window, its purple gums and black teeth kissing at me, tongue licking.

I scream.

My Dad jumps awake beside me.

Smack!

He's confronted with the sight of the walker mouthing and groping the glass, and he quickly puts his arm in front of me.

He huffs, "What the Hell?"

Smack!

"You okay?"

"Uh-huh." I answer, "But... aren't Morales and Rick supposed to be on watch?"

They wouldn't have let a walker get this close if they could help it.

He peers outside. "Yeah, they are."

Smack!

Behind us, there's another one. With two bloated, gummy hands, a second walker palms at Dad's window, leaving behind sticky hand-prints and gooey blood. He unsheathes his knife, angrily winds the window down about an inch, and stabs it through the forehead. It crumples to the ground, only to be replaced by another one. Then another, and another, all rushing to pile on top of each other, sniffing the air and clicking their rotten teeth at us. I count them — Three, four, five — Five walkers crowding against Dad's side of the truck.

He scoffs, "Found us, did ya?"

Where there's one, there's a hundred.

He winds the window back up, but the walkers wiggle their fingers through the gap like little worms.

"Damn it."

They start tugging it down with combined strength, shoving their knobbly elbows and shoulders and hands inside. Dad tries to ram it closed, but it gives in, sliding all the way open once more. The dead immediately start climbing inside. I scream again. Dad scoots back until we're pressed up against the opposite window, with the original walker licking at the back of our necks through the glass. I can hear it going, Tick, tick, tick.

Dad picks his crossbow up off the floor and loads it, aims it, and—

Fwip!

The closest walker face-plants onto the driver's seat.

"Where are they?" I worry. "Morales and Rick. What if they're in trouble?"

Fwip!

"Just stay behind me."

The next walker slumps on top of the last one.

He yanks the bolt out its nose and stabs the next one in the eye with it, and then the one after that, too.

He grunts as he pulls it out. Grey blood splatters the ceiling.

"Rick!" He calls out. "Morales! Glenn! Where are ya?"

"Dad, they're not answering!"

Dad drives the bolt into the last walker's ear canal, slamming its head into the side mirror. Both the walker-skull and the mirror crack in half, tumbling into the grass below. He lets the bolt fall with 'em, and winds up the window just in time for three more walkers to run into it, their peeling mouths held agape, and their eyeballs rolling up into their lids. I watch them slobber and moan.

One of them has a hatchet in its neck.

Dad drops back down, panting.

I recognise the yellow tape wound around the handle.

Dad must, too, 'cause he says, "That's Rick's hatchet."

The walkers continue slapping the truck and moaning incoherently as we peer out the windows. Over their shoulders, I can see one, two, three, five, eight, ten walkers stumbling through camp, all tripping over the chairs and the logs from the fire. One by one, they latch onto their choice of vehicle with dead hands, like the RV, which is totally surrounded. I've never seen this many walkers, not even back at the quarry. In the back window, we can see Sophia peeking past the curtains. In the front, we see Dale and Glenn trying to get our attention.

My Dad waves to 'em once he notices.

"Where's Rick and Morales?" He yells.

They get the gist of what he's tryna ask, and they both shrug, which makes us even more worried.

"They gotta still be out there." Dad grumbles.

I scan the sea of greasy heads wandering by. They're all half-beaten, blood-soaked, stringy, and mishappen, but oh, not that one — That one's regular, and it's moving way faster than the others. Another one trails behind it, I realize, slightly taller. It must be them.

"Dad!" I point. "I think that's them!"

"Yeah? Where?"

"There!"

One, two, three walkers are slashed to the ground, revealing — Yes! — Rick and Morales.

"There they are!"

Dad leans over me, opening the door. "Hey! Over here!"

"Get ready to go!" Rick yells at us.

The original walker falls onto its back, and both Rick and Morales make a bee-line for the truck, shouldering their way past walker after walker after walker, until they reach the door. They step over the flailing walker and climb inside. We make room for them as fast as we can. I climb onto my Dad's lap behind the wheel as Morales slams the door closed, panting, covered head to toe in blood of all different colors.

"Go!" Rick pats the dash. "Drive! We gotta go!"

"What about all the stuff out there?" I ask.

The dishes, the bucket, the chairs.

"We have to leave it." Rick shakes his head. "We can't stay here a second longer."

"Everyone good?" My Dad asks him, turning the keys.

"Yeah." He pants. "Got— Got caught off guard, that's all. Everyone else was still inside the cars. They're safe."

The truck sputters to life. Dad stomps on the gas. The tyres squeal all at once, and we tear off into the forest, between clusters of thin trees. The walkers try to cling on, but they're too weak to keep up and they topple over into the dirt. We leave them in the distance — shrinking, shrinking, shrinking, until they look like little stick figures, and then like nothing. The truck bumps and wobbles along the dirt road, following after the RV.

Behind us, the rest of the vehicles catch up.

Rick counts them through the back window. He sighs. Everyone's here.

As branches hit the sides of the truck, he speaks up. "You two okay? Harley, you okay?"

"Yeah," I nod. "Just... There were so many of 'em."

He puts his hand on my shoulder, leaning his head back, closing his eyes. "Tell me about it."

We enjoy the silence — the calm — as we make our way through the woods. I can tell Dad wants to ask what happened, but he keeps his mouth shut for now. Caught off guard? What does that mean? After some time, we reach a break in the trees. We tail the RV as it pulls back onto the highway that we started on, feeling just a little more exhausted than we were the day before; dirtier, bloodier, and hungrier.

At least we're alive.

It's not until we've been driving for at least twenty minutes that I spot the bite mark on Morales' wrist.

Oh.

Rick catches me looking, but he doesn't look surprised.

He just looks defeated.

The next time we stop, it's not to siphon gas or to sleep.

It's to kill Morales.

We all wait together on the highway as Shane and Rick march him into the trees. It'll be quick and painless, were the words they used. Apparently, Morales chose to be shot in the head instead of bein' left to turn, and they're gonna honour that choice by killing him. Louis and Eliza weren't comforted by any of this, though. Neither was Miranda. I feel so awful for them. They cling to each other, a family made up of pain and hurt waiting for the worst to come, which will be in the form of an echoing Bang a few minutes from now.

Jacqui gives Miranda's tear-coated cheek a kiss, and Lori rubs her back gently.

It's the best anyone can do.

My Dad sits next to me on the bed of the truck, watching the trio disappear between the shrubs.

Rick's revolver glints in the afternoon sun.

"It's gonna be like Tank again, ain't it?" I ask numbly, ready.

It's quick and painless, the vet-lady had said, before she poked him with a needle that sent him into a permanent sleep.

"Yeah." He mutters.

He rubs my back now, as well.

It's a bit like Jenner, too, I accidently think, And a bit like Momma.

Sadly, I muse, "I liked Morales."

He grips my shoulder and pulls me into his side.

Together we watch summer clouds pan overhead.

Bang!

Kinda sounds like a firework.

Miranda starts weeping.

Quick and painless.

Maybe for Morales.

But not for us.

It's two days later now, and we still haven't reached Fort Benning.

Miranda, Louis and Eliza are no longer part of the group. After Morales died, they wanted to leave, and so they left. After some convincing, Rick and Shane set them up with a box of bullets, a pistol, and a map, and then we all exchanged hugs. Eliza gave me and Sophia each of her two beaded bracelets. We were real sad to be saying goodbye the other kids like this. Their little station wagon drove off into the horizon, and then that was it — We were suddenly down four people; one dead, and three gone, all overnight. I never realized how small our group was until then.

I think everybody's takin' it pretty hard — Especially Rick, who hasn't spoke in days. I think he was the one that shot Morales.

Problems, I can handle. Full-scale disasters, not so much.

Nobody from our group has died until now, so I'd say this classifies as a full-scale disaster.

I think what we've learnt from all this is that whether you're scavenging or travelling, you can't cheat yourself out of danger.

Still, we've been pushing on. It's what we do best.

Sitting in the passenger seat of the RV, I try re-reading Hairy Maclary again while Dale drives beside me, but it's hard to concentrate. I give up after a while and switch to gazing outside at the rolling landscape. Every now and then, we pass a walker, and I'm reminded of everything all over again.

I'm staring at a bird soaring alongside the highway when the RV comes to a stop.

"Ah, jeez." Dale mutters.

I frown, "What's goin' on?"

When I look out the window, the answer is immediately obvious.

"Oh."

"Jammed to Hell." He sighs.

"We gotta be cursed or somethin'." I mumble. "So much is goin' wrong."

He chuckles a little. "I think you might be right about that."

Glenn walks up behind us and grabs both our chairs, peering outside at the littering of cars.

"Wow..." He sighs.

Dale gestures vaguely at it all. "Just our luck, isn't it?"

"Maybe we can circle back?" Glenn suggests. "There was an interstate bypass back there."

Dale shakes his head. "We can't spare the fuel."

I glance at the fuel meter. I don't know how it works, but I'm pretty sure the E is for empty, and the needle is way too close to it right now.

My Dad brings the truck up besides the RV.

"You see a way through?" Dale calls out to him.

Dad nods us forward, driving ahead to guide us through the wreckage. Dale follows. He steers the huge RV along the narrow path, and we crawl along like this for a couple minutes. We watch in unison as a group of birds casually peck at an empty baby seat strewn across the tarmac. They stare at us with their beady little eyes as we pass. There are car crashes mangled in with the guardrail, and walker-bodies smeared into the gravel. I remember bein' on a highway exactly like this one with my Dad and my Uncle Merle, in the beginning, when people still thought they could drive away from it all. We chose to leave after a while, but many stayed. I guess this is pretty much what happened to them all.

All of a sudden, as we're turning a slight corner, the RV gives out a clunk, clunk, clunk noise.

That's not good.

"What was that?" Glenn frowns.

Clunk!

As if to answer, smoke starts trickling out from underneath the hood.

We roll along for a couple more feet before creaking to a definite stop.

That's not good either.

"Ugh, it's that darn radiator hose." Dale slaps his knee, frustrated. "I knew it wouldn't survive the trip. I just knew it."

He gets up, and me and Glenn follow him outside into the hot sun.

Both ahead of us and behind us, the others hop out their cars, confused.

"I said it, didn't I?" Dale complains, watching hopelessly as his precious RV billows smoke. "A thousand times... Dead in the water."

I try smiling. "Don't worry. We'll fix it."

He tries smiling back, but he doesn't look too convinced.

Shane approaches. "Problem, Dale?"

"Oh, I don't know." He sighs. "Just the small matter of being stranded in the middle of nowhere, with a herd breathing down our necks and no hope of ever finding a new—" He cuts himself off, remembering where it is we're standing exactly. "Okay," He mutters, "That was dumb."

We're surrounded by radiator hoses.

"If you can't find a radiator hose here..." Shane scoffs.

My Dad jogs up to us, frowning at the broken engine. "What's goin' on? That the hose again?"

Dale nods. "Broken, just like I predicted."

Dad shrugs. "I can have a go fixin' it up. You got tools?"

"A few. Nothing fancy."

"I can siphon more fuel." T-Dog offers.

Carol suggests, "Maybe find some water?"

"And some food." Glenn adds, cringing already at the thought of eating another dinner of skunk-kidneys. "We could definitely use some food."

Everyone looks like they agree with that sentiment.

Rick considers all this.

It wasn't his plan to scavenge any more, but we need to, and we're not gonna get a more perfect opportunity than this.

"Okay," He eventually decides, clearing his throat. "We'll split into pairs; conquer this one car at a time, together. T-Dog, Glenn. See if you can't find us some more fuel. Shane, Daryl. You're with me. We'll circle the area for walkers, make sure it's safe for now. Dale, you're on watch. We don't need that herd sneaking up on us today. Rest of you, don't wander too far. And keep an eye out for any food and water laying around, okay? We'll be back on track in about half an hour, I reckon."

"Are you sure about this?" Lori asks, clutching her necklace. "This place is a graveyard."

"It—" Rick shakes his head. "It'll have to do."

"C'mon, y'all." Shane says. "Let's just take a look around. Doesn't have to take long."

With that, Rick's new plan is put into motion.

I look down at the pink and green bracelet on my wrist, next to Amy's hair lackey, and I pretend I don't feel sad at all.

I been doin' that a lot lately.

Author's Note.

Okay, admittedly, this one is a little filler-y... I just needed to set up the whole herd situation, and I also wanted to spend a little more time on the road before we reach the farm. I still hope you enjoyed. I've been feeling a little insecure recently about how often I've been deviating from canon, but I'm trying to ignore it, haha.

RIP Morales. Season two just wasn't in the cards for him.

Also the Shane vs Daryl thing didn't really come up in this chapter... Oops. Next time! It's about to get crazy for those two, ahaha. I have some interesting things planned for them and Harley.

Thank you everyone for reading!

[harvestheart]

A vital wetland in the Mississippi River watershed, Dale Bumpers White River National Wildlife Refuge.

Photo by Rita Szabo

[fictionkinfessions]

Re: /711312762517798912/okay-so-i-was-telling-a-friend-abt-this-while-we

Hi Darkwing, Chip here. Dale and I (both fictives in the same system) encountered this same sort of shielding from mortal harm in source time and ago. It was never something we thought of at the time, considering this partial protection had always been present in source, and a taking for granted that you are no doubt also versed in, but being long understood to no longer apply to us here it has brought our gung-ho Rescue Rangering days to an end. At least the parts involving rappelling from a ceiling fixture or riding the bumper of a car during a high speed chase or vaulting from one fire escape ladder to another. There is no cartoon physics 'net' to catch us in our trapeze act now. A safety net is how we best understand it.

Our exomemories are not so vivid that we remember what it felt like to be subjected to these durability tests by toon physics, for lack of a better term. No squashing or stretching for us. It is a mysterious force not easily quantifiable… it seemed to apply to comedic effect, but the threat to our lives that we faced never felt downplayed. Dale's worst exomemories are due to the mysterious force falling through and failing at times that do not entirely make sense. It is a feeling of betrayal and dread of mortality from something that doesn't have an equivalent analogue here.

Alright, I suppose I'll stop musing on strange occurrences and end on a less somber note. I hope you and the others out there familiar with this mysterious force have had much better fare when dealing with it. As luck would have it, although I do not believe in luck, or fate, or fortune…you never have to yield to the physics of home ever again. You are no longer under its thumb. For better or worse.

This, curiously, being my first time speaking up to chip in on something, gives me the opportunity to send my warmest regards to my found family the Rangers, wherever they may be. Dale and I are not a hivemind obviously and he's here too, but he has a heavy amount of system responsibilities and somewhat timid to speak up as a result of it.

-Chip Maplewood, former detective. Ever a Rescue Ranger.

=

[jhavelikes]

Since the 1970s, the southern U.S. rice-growing states of the Mississippi Delta region have recorded what variety of rice was grown in what proportion at the county level. Many of these acreage reports were sent to the team as typewritten documents. The group then obtained seeds from old rice varieties that are no longer commonly grown from collaborators at the Dale Bumpers National Rice Research Center. These rice varieties were analyzed at the genetic level, and Wang and collaborators grouped varieties based on alleles, or gene variations, that they shared. They translated this information from the variety of acreage reports into county-level "bags of alleles" and then trained machine learning models using the allele groups and county-level yields with historical environmental data, like temperature and precipitation. Jamshidi's efforts in building this model are especially novel because the final model combines 10 methods of machine learning to create an ensemble model that can process information with a more multifaceted approach. The ensemble model's output offers more accurate results under the same predictors.

Machine learning model demonstrates effect of public breeding on rice yields in climate change

[marcedrickirby]

He gets to my rear bumper and I’m like UH OH! Jeff Gordon VS Dale Earnha...

MARCEDRIC KIRBY FOUNDER CEO.

MARCEDRIC.KIRBY INC.

THE VALLEY OF THE VAMPIRES

[sendmyresignation]

new speed metal release concept album about dale earnheardt. made by the poison idea guitarist. if you buy the vinyl it comes with a "keep portland miserable" bumper sticker. we are soooo back music is so back.

[wahwealth]

BONUS! | Al Dubois | Bumper Stumpers (1987) | Dianne/Dale vs Shelagh/Winnifred

BONUS!  This is a BONUS upload to say thank you!  Bumper Stumpers is a Canadian game show.  The game show was a joint production of Canada's Global Television Network and the United States' USA Network, in association with Barry & Enright Productiond] and Wink Martindale Enterprises. Two teams of two players compete to decipher letter puzzles presented as fictional vanity license plates.  The show ran three seasons, 87 to 90. Never Miss An Upload, Join the channel. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuPred-VFSZu6JXwASx0EpQ

[kylesvariouslistsandstuff]

Steve Gray selections...

The late Steve Gray. Composer. Active through the 1970s to the late 1980s...

Unfamiliar with him? It's very possible, especially if you're around my age, that you've heard a composition by him.

Let's see...

There's this one piece of music he composed in 1984... A very game show-sounding tune, very glittery and showy in its prominent brass. I feel like a charismatic presenter is coming onto a ritzy show stage, addressing the viewing audience. Maybe he has a neat car beside him that'll go to the lucky contestant.

No surprise, it comes from an LP titled TELEVISUAL. The entire record is on YouTube... You may know this short composition, or more specifically... The first FOUR SECONDS of it.

Skip to 7:44 to hear it...

Sound familiar?

That's the music Disney used for their iconic Feature Presentation title cards from roughly 1989 all the way to 1999. More specifically, the one that first showed up in spring 1992 on the VHS of ONE HUNDRED AND ONE DALMATIANS, with its lilac blue background and Laser font writing itself across the screen as the late Mark Elliott would say in his distinctive radio voice: "And now... Our feature presentation!"

Note: It was never corroborated that this logo first showed up at the very end of 1991, but many uploads of this particular motion graphic *say* it's from 1991. It isn't as far as I know, and I've dug deep. I haven't found these mythical copies of RESCUERS DOWN UNDER from the end of the year that supposedly have it. I just wanted to clear that up.

Moving on... So yes, Disney chose a piece of library music for this ubiquitous intro. It fits, honestly. Growing up, you would've never guessed it was some piece of music from a TV/news-themed production music LP published five years before Disney started using it.

Disney had used the composition in the mid-1980s for a demo/promo tape meant to be used by video stores only, so that wasn't available to the public. The music was, however, in Disney's orbit back then... It wouldn't be until 1989 when they used it for a Feature Presentation logo that looked like this:

And Disney would also use it for various title cards, too, such as this ROGER RABBIT-themed bumper that appeared on various Touchstone releases in 1989:

So, Steve Gray...

What else has he composed over the years?

Here are a few picks...

'In Time', Amphonic, 1974:

'Soul Searching', Amphonic, 1975, with Syd Dale:

'Newcomers', KPM, 1976:

'Relax', Bruton Music, 1979:

'Struttin', Bruton Music, 1980:

All grooves, honestly...

[pastirc]

Dale Coykendall bumper sticker https://www.etsy.com/shop/LizzyClaray … https://greetingsfromaw.blogspot.com/

illustration

[first-impressions-gaming]

GAMING RECAP (26-31 MARCH)

E3 2023 Has Been Canceled

E3 2023 has been canceled, IGN reports. The news comes after major publishers pulled out of the event in recent weeks.IGN reported on Tuesday that major publishers had either declined to attend or had little to no idea if the event would even take place due to an alleged lack of communication with organizer ReedPop and the ESA. Today, IGN received an email sent within the ESA explaining that the show "simply did not garner the sustained interest necessary to execute it in a way that would showcase the size, strength, and impact of our industry."

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Electronic Arts lays off hundreds of workers despite strong profits

Electronic Arts will lay off more than 700 employees — 6% of the video game publisher’s worldwide workforce of roughly 12,900 — CEO Andrew Wilson said on Wednesday.

The mass dismissals come despite a $1.3 billion gross profit that EA reported for its latest fiscal quarter, according to financial statements given to investors in January. Still, the company at the time also lowered its full year profit expectations, despite revenue and profit increases over the same quarterly period the year prior.

“Even amidst macro uncertainty, EA is operating from a position of strength,” Wilson said in announcing the layoffs. He said EA is “gaining momentum,” but still announced the layoffs a few paragraphs later.

Wilson did not specify which segments of the company would be impacted by the layoffs; he said only that EA will pull away from projects that don’t align with its strategy: “building games and experiences that entertain massive online communities; creating blockbuster interactive storytelling; and amplifying the power of community in and around our games with social and creator tools,” he said.

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Activision Blizzard May Have Pulled Out Of China Over Messy Miscommunication

Last November, Activision Blizzard made a shocking decision when it suddenly ended its partnership with Netease, the company which brought games like Overwatch and World of Warcraft to China, after 14 years. Now we know why. According to the New York Times, Netease suggested it could sway Chinese regulators on Microsoft’s planned acquisition of Activision, a statement NetEase says was intended as a conciliatory gesture, but that Activision executives interpreted as a threat. The two companies ended the partnership a month later.

The two companies were negotiating the terms of their contract renewal on a Zoom call, making use of translators at times to facilitate communications. NetEase chief executive William Ding wanted their companies to switch to a “licensing” deal rather than a distribution-based relationship, a change which would be more profitable for NetEase while also, the company argued, better positioning it to comply with new government regulations. In September 2021, NetEase lost $60 billion in stock value after Chinese regulators announced restrictions on the number of hours that children could play video games. So there was financial pressure on the publisher to come out with a better deal.

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Xbox announces Games with Gold April line-up

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PlayStation Plus Monthly Games for April: Meet Your Maker, Sackboy: A Big Adventure, Tails of Iron

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Amazon Prime's free games in April includes Wolfenstein: The New Order

Each month, subscribers to Amazon's Prime service get a new batch of games to keep. April's collection includes a bumper crop of fifteen games, released in waves every Thursday, including Terraformers, Metal Slug 4, and BJ Blazkowicz sad eyes in Wolfenstein: The New Order.

Here are the fifteen games free via Amazon Prime in April:

Wolfenstein: The New Order - April 6th

Ninja Commando - April 6th

Art Of Fighting 3 - April 6th

The Beast Inside - April 13th

Icewind Dale: Enhanced Edition - April 13th

Crossed Swords - April 13th

Ghost Pilots - April 13th

Beholder 2 - April 20th

Terraformers - April 20th

Metal Slug 4 - April 20th

Ninja Masters - April 20th

Looking For Aliens - April 27th

Grime - April 27th

Sengoku - April 27th

Magician Lord - April 27th

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edited by mertcan kuranoglu

[petnews2day]

Great Harwood mum calls for speed bumps after cat killed by driver

New Post has been published on https://petnews2day.com/pet-news/cat-news/great-harwood-mum-calls-for-speed-bumps-after-cat-killed-by-driver/

Great Harwood mum calls for speed bumps after cat killed by driver

A distraught woman from Great Harwood is calling for speed bumps after the family cat was killed by a speeding driver.

Kathy Haworth’s family cat, Poco was hit by a car and “killed instantly” on Lowerfold Road in Great Harwood yesterday morning (November 9) – the same road where someone was almost hit by a car a few weeks ago.

Kathy, 46, received a call from her friend who, while on a dog walk, found Poco in the bushes by Lowerfold Park.

Devastated, Kathy and her partner rushed out to collect their two-year-old cat with a blanket and a box. When they picked it up, Kathy said, “his body was still warm” and took him to Myerscough Veterinary Group in Clayton Le Dale.

The vets told Kathy that the “impact was so hard it broke Poco’s neck and he had been killed instantly.”

Kathy’s family cat, Poco (Image: Kathy Haworth)

The mum-of-two said: “The road either needs bumps or be made into a one-way because people are cutting through like absolute maniacs. They’re using it as a cut-through road because you think you can get through to work quicker. If you were driving 20mph on that road, you would not hit anything.

“All Poco was doing was coming home for his morning breakfast. He was a little greedy, homely cat loved by our family and all the nursery children and parents and some idiot wanted to speed to work this morning and they’ve taken him from us.”

Kathy’s nine-year-old daughter Matilda was so devastated she had to take the day off school. The family have decided to get a casket with Poco’s name on it and honour his life with a glitter-clay portrait of him to remember him by.

Kathy’s cats Apache (left) and Poco (right) (Image: Kathy Haworth)

Kathy, who owns the Elms Private Day Nursery on Lowerfold Road, is concerned that a child may get hit one day.

She said: “Until something is done, people will continue driving like maniacs. There’s a school, a park and there’s a day nursery and it’s dangerous. This is an ongoing issue. People are going to have to start thinking about stopping.

“I know people might say ‘it’s just a cat’ but he was part of our family.”

Kathy says that just because some drivers go over the 20mph limit, “doesn’t mean it’s okay.” She added: “It could quite as easily have been my little girl who goes on that park. And are we then going to say, ‘oh it’s just a child?’”

Cllr Patrick McGinley for the Overton ward says Lowerfold Road is a “recipe for a fatal crash or other incidents.”

He added: “As an animal lover, I feel deeply saddened at this incident. Please believe me when I tell you I raised the matter when this road was resurfaced. I asked for “bumper blocks” on the road as it was a racetrack for boy racers coming down from Blackburn Road. I was refused despite a big case for it.”

Addressing Kathy’s calls for action, Cllr McGinley says he will raise the matter as a serious concern.

Cllr Colin McKenzie added: “This is very sad news indeed and isn’t the first complaint we’ve had about cars speeding on Lowerfold Road. Just recently, a child was lucky not to be seriously injured or worse.

“We will be calling for traffic calming measures along this road, but in the meantime, I implore all drivers to think of our beloved pets and children. Please slow down in our town.”