#fuck-yeah-lets-do-negan-ff

[hypermania]

I stopped watching the walking dead at the end of season 8 and only know what happens after that from seeing other people post about it when it was airing and there was so much negativity so it’s really interesting to see you watching it now and seeming to have mostly positive thoughts. Do you think watching it after the fact helped or am I totally misreading your feelings? 

this is a very funny ask to receive because i feel like all i've done is complain about how bad the show became starting around 7x01 but apparently all of my complaining has been confined to other spaces haha. i do, however, think that not having to wait and watch week-to-week helped me get through it and enjoy it more than i would've if i'd still been watching it live, but even the ability to binge it can't fix what i think are the show's three fatal flaws:

1. negan—i know this is an unpopular opinion but negan is one of the worst things to happen to the show. he takes up so much space and energy and yet the show never fully commits to actually doing anything with him. in s7 they literally bashed us over the head with his villainy and it was boring. his monologues were supposed to be menacing; they were supposed to make us scared to find out what he was capable of, but all they really turned out to be were long and corny and so fucking frequent that you couldn't help but tune out. i didn't need to hear him monologue about being an asshole to know he was cruel. i got that perfectly fine from his actions and the actions of the people who worked for him.

and he was cruel, in a way no other villain on the show was, but the show so desperately wanted to keep jdm around that they shot themselves in the foot by trying to pull back on the cruelty. yeah sure negan will bash several people's brains out with a baseball bat just for fun in front of a child but he would never lay a finger on that child. no, no, he didn't threaten the kid. he was just bonding with him.

yeah sure negan will force women's hands so that they feel there's no other option than to marry him and therefore sleep with him but he'll kill a blatant rapist. don't you get it? he's evil and you should fear him (but forget all that because he's totally redeemable).

yeah sure he'll help burn hilltop to the ground but don't you see he's actually on your side. like?? it's not nuance or moral complexity or shades of gray. it's just bad writing so that jdm can stick around, despite there being zero reason for negan to still be around. negan is responsible for so much damage and loss of life (and loss of potential in the form of community building) that it is unconscionable to me that he can ever show his face among any of the survivors. he wasn't a compelling villain and he's somehow an even less compelling reluctant ally. let maggie kill him already. at least there'd be a little catharsis in that.

2. rapid world expansion—this is difficult because long-running shows need world expansion to keep from becoming stale and repetitive but you have to strike a balance between expanding the sandbox and straight up changing the sandbox. i think the show did a really good job of opening up the world in the first six seasons. everything up to and including alexandria felt real and grounded in the world that they had established. in atlanta (and the outskirts of) they were such a small group and operating within such a limited amount of space that it made sense whenever they came across new places and/or new people (the farm, the prison, woodbury, grady memorial, terminus, etc). and then making the pilgrimage up to dc and finding alexandria all made sense as well. they spent time establishing what alexandria was and how it came to be.

but that explanation relied heavily on the idea that alexandria was isolated (i mean, aaron had to go out and travel just to recruit people ffs). so when you then add in the kingdom, hilltop, the saviors, the scavengers, oceanside, etc. you're saying, "actually there is a giant interwoven network of communities all around that somehow just magically never crossed paths with alexandria, not even when they were dealing with the gigantic horde that should've threatened all of them." and it makes no sense. and then add to that the commonwealth, the whisperers, and whatever the fuck the crm is. it's just too much. and none of those places they added in are ever really established in any meaningful way, with any real connection to our protagonists.

the commonwealth is the worst example of this. it's a a community of fifty-thousand people, most of whom seem to be completely out of touch with the reality of the apocalypse, and it's never really explained how. how do they keep walkers out? how do they have plumbing? how do they have electricity? how is noise not an issue? where is the food coming from? the weapons and ammunition? what were they doing with the train cars at the beginning because it seems like actually they accept everyone? why were they so suspicious? none of it's ever explained past a few comments and vague allusions here and there. they just plucked us out of the zombie apocalypse and plopped us into a dystopian society and said, "have fun at your new playground!" and i'm sorry but i'm not having fun. this is not the playground i signed up for.

3. rapid cast expansion—this one goes hand in hand with the world expansion. the show needs to add in new characters to replace departing characters and to introduce new and fresh dynamics but it's important that those characters matter in relation to their connection to the found family the show's been establishing for 5+ seasons. in my opinion, the last time the show successfully added new characters to the group was when they introduced abraham, rosita, and eugene (*there's a notable exception of 1.5 characters to this but i'll get to that in a second).

it's not that i don't like any of the characters they add after that, it's that none of them feel like family. none of them ever feel fully integrated into the group or fully realized as character in their own right. they're just... there. i like ezekiel and enid and jerry and princess and connie etc but they just don't matter. they're just people who also exist. the thread that ties them to the group i care about is a shared living space and desire to survive, not anything they've actually been through together. and that's kind of stupid because they've been through a lot together (fighting the saviors, building their communities, the whisperers, the stuff at the commonwealth, etc). it just doesn't feel like it because they're all so spread out geographically (due to the rapid world expansion) and because their connections aren't really to the family, but to the communities at large. and that doesn't work on a character-driven show.

*the exceptions to this are, in my opinion, dwight and maybe jesus. dwight is the only later seasons character that the show puts any effort into actually making me root for. some of that's because he starts out as an antagonist and therefore has to redeem himself but a lot of it is because he does actually redeem himself. i understand why he did everything horrible he did in the first place and i sympathize with it, but then i also watched him put his own life on the line over and over and over again simply because it was the right thing to do. dwight was held more accountable for his actions than any other single character in the history of the entire freaking show and despite proving himself, they still send him away just so they don't have to look at his face. and i know it was because he was going over to FTWD but damn does that suck because he's one of the only later seasons characters that actually feels fully developed.

i have some thoughts about jesus as a character and why he feels more fully integrated and realized than, say, gabriel or aaron but they're still very jumbled so i'm not going to get into it right now.

anyway, the point is that there are all these characters that the show is telling me matter and are important to my characters but they don't ever give me a reason to believe that beyond the fact that they just all happen to be on the same side.

so. yeah. i don't like the show anywhere near as much as it probably seems like i do and those three issues are the main reasons why. i have smaller gripes too (eugene never being held accountable for anything ever, rosita dying, michonne leaving her children, etc) but they're not structural issues, you know?

and despite having said all of this, i immediately started rewatching as soon as i got to the end because i do really love the found family of it all.

[pattysfics]

8, 12, 13, 18, 19, 22, 28, 29, 30, 31 --- BUTTERCUP: I would like to talk more (lol lol). CARNATION: I stalk your blog. DHALIA: I want to be your friend (lol lol)

8.) What are some of your pet peeves?I don’t like it when people K me.

12.) Do you find it easy to trust others?No

13.) Favourite movie? Pearl Harbor

18.) Do you ever want to get married? Have kids?Married: yes…..Kids: yes

19.) What movies could you watch over and over and still love?The Accidental Husband, The Resident, Solace, The Lion King, Shark Tales. I’m still a kid at heart. 

22.) Do you ever get “good morning” or “good night ” texts?I get told to ‘wake up’ if that counts as good morning..but I get a ‘night’ usually every night!

28.) Your top 5 blogs on tumblr?Oh my.. @fuck-yeah-lets-do-negan-ff @kellyn1604 @mcnegan @sweetsweetpeach @jeffreydeanneganstrash

29.) Are you afraid of the dark?No

30.) Are you afraid of heights?I don’t mind the going up and the view, it’s the going down that makes me shake. 

31.) Your closest Tumblr friend?You

BUTTERCUP: I would like to talk more - Sorry I can’t be available 24-7 CARNATION: I stalk your blog - LiesDHALIA: I want to be your friend - You hate me.

[meanandshallow]

I just wanna say two things.... 1. ??????? 2. I love your gifs??

oh dear, thank you so much ???? i fucking love your fics ????

[noodlecupcakes]

H and N

H: How would you describe your style?

I have no idea because I don't feel I have a style tbh

N: Is there a fic you wish someone else would write (or finish) for you?

...Could someone like write all of them for me

[mypapawinchester]

Requested by @fuck-yeah-lets-do-negan-ff

[kinglycrowley]

The show of the century. @fuck-yeah-lets-do-negan-ff

[warriorqueen1991]

Fearless

Characters: Negan (can be either comic or tv)

Warnings: Blood, Gore, Violence

Notes: thank you @ashzombie13 for giving me the confidence to finally write something for Negan ♡♡♡

******************************************

The sky opened with a thunderous crack, rain spilling from its body like an open wound. Flesh pulled at the dislocated jaw of a heavily decomposed walker, it’s skeletal limbs twitching forward as its head snapped backwards causing it to crumble to pavement in a heap.

Fists covered in blood brought together in shackles of barbed wire lowered slowly.

Negan

the man who ruled the apocalypse with an iron fist and a lady wrapped in bladed death, stumbled forward covered in mud, blood and gore. His golden eyes defying his defeated appearance. Steam bellowing from his mouth as he gazed down the long abandoned highway, the large herd of walkers tumbling forward there jaws snapping at the smell of fresh meat.

The Lord of the dead let out a short laugh his eyes falling to a long chain hanging from the back of a pickup truck. Glaring up at the approaching wall of death he grabbed the chain with his bound hands sending fresh blood dripping to the ground.

The dead growled shuffling faster at the smell.

Negan gave a demonic smile charging forward dodging the first walker to quickly toss the chain around the neck of the next, twisting it over his shoulder he growl ripping its head free with one fast pull.

Jaws snapped shut inches from his face as he pressed his bound wrist against the collapsing chest of his next assailant, bringing his knee crashing into its ribs, feeling them caving in around the force.

The dead surged in around him.

Negan ducked low grabbing the decaying shirt of the walker he just fought off, shoving it’s weak body into the sea of others. He moved back to the truck thanking his twisted lucky stars that it was unlocked. Opening the door he shoved himself inside on his back using his shoulders to work his way across the seats as claws ripped at his pant legs and boots. Sitting upright in the passenger seat he winced working the handle open so that he tumbled out the other side onto the pavement.

Hearing the protest of leather and heavy growling he scooted back before getting to his feet as the first of the undead poked it’s head out the door, it’s mangled fingers clawing at the air. Negan roared kicking the door shut it’s decomposed flesh bursting like a watermelon sending chunks of black sludge to paint across the side of the vehicle.

“COME ON YOU FUCKING PUSSIES”

He laughed maniacally

“IS THAT ALL YOU FUCKING GOT?”

Watching a single roamer stumble around the truck his shoulders heaved his breath picking up before he sprinted forward kicking it in the chest using the momentum to drive it to the ground with his boot. He dropped to his knees on its chest pounding his bound fists into its crumbling face.

Flesh ripped away from its skull hanging from the barbed wire as he screamed out in rage above it’s motionless corpse, his face covered in blood and gore. Negan growled baring his teeth the bone shining white amongst his blood soaked face.

The rain had ceased, giving silence to the once roaring battleground. The groans of the dead the only sound to be heard.

Negan got to his feet stepping into the broken remains of the dead ones head with a satisfying squelch as he moved forward his boots leaving crimson footprints in their wake.

Two more walkers moved in, he viciously ramming his head into the first one before twisting around to drive his elbow into the next ones open jaw with such force that the bone gave way.

It’s jaw snapped loose, hanging by a single strand of bloody tendon swinging back and forth like a pendulum.

Negan grunted as the previous walker grabbed his shoulder sinking it’s rotting teeth into his leather jacket shredding the material as he elbowed it under the arm twisting his left leg around its knee knocking it to the ground.

Brain matter burst around his black boots and onto his legs as he rammed his heel into its forehead.

Several more walkers charged forward pushing him backwards, his hands came up slicing his shackles across the closest one’s throat sending jets of black blood raining down on his sweat soaked shirt. Shoving forward with a pained growl he dug his hands into the now open flesh grabbing it’s spine jerking it down to meet his knee successfully decapitating the vicious corpse.

Negan swung around bashing two more walkers with the severed head snarling as more advanced on him.

His body was dripping in walker blood, pieces of flesh and gore hanging from his wrist where he still gripped the now chomping head.

The walkers shuffled to a halt there heads tilting in confusion as they lifted their faces to the sky as if sniffing the air.

Milky white eyes blinked at Negan, jaws opening and closing.

He breathed heavily glaring at the dead one right in the eyes baring his teeth in defiance.

Groaning in disinterest the dead shuffled around stumbling slightly before it began walking away from him.

Negan furrowed his brow before looking down, his bound hands still holding the snapping head of the decapitated walker, his body drenched in walker blood and gore.

He smiled as the herd continued to meander down the highway.

His eyes glaring ahead.

Lucille was gone.

His kingdom under siege.

This world was built on the mistakes of others.

And in this world ran by the dead the single worst mistake one could make is show weakness.

They should’ve killed him when they had the chance.

Because Negan was anything but weak.

He chuckled deep in his chest limping forward after the herd, a wicked smile splitting his handsome face.

He may bleed but he will never break.

He was a force of nature.

He was fearless.

—————————————

Tagging some people who might be interested, let me know if you would like to be put on my forever tag list :)

@zoesmama2024 @noodlecupcakes @dixonsbait @ashzombie13 @fuck-yeah-lets-do-negan-ff @jdmfanfiction @negans-network @artemisxeros @may85 @ladylorelitany @jdms-network @i-am-negan-trash @embracetheapocalypsewithme

[pattysfics]

Maxiepoo

I have 0 Max gifs on my laptop…

But I searched trusty ole google and found a few… which one?

[noodlecupcakes]

I got you, Lucifer. 5, 11, 28, 30 - how do you conceal the horns and tail and pitchfork and all that stuff?

5. Do you believe in love at first sight?

Sure do

11. If you could describe yourself in one word, what would it be?

Princess 

28. Do you want any kids? if so, how many? what do you imagine their names being?

No thanks

30. How do you conceal the horns and tail and pitchfork and all that stuff? 

Magic my dear, I am Lucifer after all ;) 

[mypapawinchester]

Can I get this (post/153571081627) gifset but in the longer - width - length? Totally love your blog and the stuff you dish out ❤ Kinda on a Joe thing right now and I'm in need of more of his gifs 😩

I’ll see what i can do :P Btw, thank you

[gageef]

@fuck-yeah-lets-do-negan-ff answered your question “hey guys hows it going?”

Leave Tumblr right now *ding ding* ROUND TWO

@fuck-yeah-lets-do-negan-ff HOW DARE YOU

[ohmyneganimagination-twd-blog]

11 randoms facts about me

I was tagged by the amazing @fuck-yeah-lets-do-negan-ff ! Thank you a lot, sweetie ! 💗💗 (I love your blog. Continue your amazing fanfics. I want to cry again !)

1. I have an another blog about an another fandom (an anime that I love a lot). I have this blog for one year now. It’s pretty hard to have two blogs but I don’t regret it ! 😋

2. I’m on Tumblr because of an old friend and I’m happy that I’m here now because I made a lot of friends that I really trust. I’m more comfortable with them than with some of my friends in real life.

3. I write for a long time now but I never posted my writings. I didn’t have the courage to do it. I was scared to post something but because of isneganslucille, I decided to start.

4. My father is a journalist. He loves reading & writing and I apparently had the same passions. I want to be a writer and if I can’t be one, I want to be a journalist or a translator. I want to go to university and to learn few languages for my big dream like Russian, Japanese or Spanish.

5. I have experienced many bad times in my life. I was in depression for a while and it was very hard for me to go up the slope. This is one of the reasons I love Tumblr. I met people who helped me through this.

6. My family and a lot of people I know think that I’m crazy because I asked Lucille for Christmas. They don’t get it because they say I’m weird for wanting a bat with blood. I didn’t receive it but I asked again for my birthday. No matter what people say, I'm a fan of Negan & Lucille and I want to have it close to me when I’ll watch the episodes xD

7. One of my biggest dreams is to meet JDM. Sometimes I’m dreaming about it and no one understand why I’m so in love with him. I’m always telling that he is handsome and beautiful but my friend told me that he wasn’t so beautiful..

8.  I've been dreaming of riding since I was a kid because I love horses but my parents never gave me the opportunity. I don’t know why.

9. I’m lazy, so lazy that sometimes, I decline invitations. But because I went through my life, I’m confined to myself, shy and suspicious. But if you know me, you’ll see that I'm crazy and completely bizarre ! xD

10. I love travelling and discovering new things. I keep all the memories of my travels, even the smallest stone ! 😝

11. I’m Portuguese and people says that I’m nationalist. But I’m proud of being one. I just love my country so much and I want to live there in the future !

I tag @smuttwd - @negans-dirty-girl - @itsneganslucille and anybody who wants to do it ! (Thank you for the tag ! You know that I love you so much ? You’re just amazing)

[neganscherryblue]

Me because I have already read almost every negan fanfic on tumblr…also me cus I have already read every Negan smut fanfic and cannot find anymore…

@fuck-yeah-lets-do-negan-ff @dixonsbait @i-am-negan-trash @kellyn1604

[warriorqueen1991]

Holy shit! fuck!!!!.....this just popped up on my Pintrest and I literally sat there staring at it mouth a gap like a damn goldfish....just....fuuuuck I mean the ruggedly disheveled look...the vest...the chest porn...holy mother of gaaaawwwwd Tagging people 2 suffer with me! @ashzombie13 @noodlecupcakes @artemisxeros @ladylorelitany @negandarylsatisfaction @jdmfanfiction @may85 @dixonsbait @kellyn1604 @fuck-yeah-lets-do-negan-ff @embracetheapocalypsewithme

[pattysfics]

You were obsessed with the story even before we started talking now you're super obsessed 😂😂

It is what it is....Without me somethings wouldn’t of happened...

[dracox-serdriel]

The Second Death - Chapter 7: Gaze

Title: The Second Death [AO3] [FF] [LJ] Chapter: Gaze Universes: Superdead (Supernatural/Walking Dead) Crossover Pairings: Dean Winchester/Castiel (Destiel), Carol Pelletier/Daryl Dixon (Caryl) Word count: 2,500 Spoilers: All episodes of Supernatural through 07x23. All episodes of Walking Dead through 06x16. Rating: NC-17/MA Timeline: Supernatural, after episode 07x23 and Walking Dead, after episode 06x09. Summary: When Dean and Castiel take down big daddy Leviathan Dick Roman, the blast catapults them into a special kind of hell, where the living must survive in in a post-apocalyptic world filled with the Walking Dead. Desperate to learn how long they've been gone and what happened in their absence, Dean and Cas search for any sign of what went wrong, which is difficult in a world where all infrastructure has failed and strangers can't be trusted. Together they search for Sam Winchester in the middle of an apocalypse that's managed overrun the planet, and they're more than a little surprised to run into a group of survivors that'd give most Hunters a run for their money.

Meanwhile, after Daryl's attempt to bring new people back to Alexandria backfires, he looks for any excuse to hit the road for a few days. Carol, unwilling to let him go on his own, demands to join him. A basic run turns into something else when they run into two strangers who have no trouble dispatching walkers and don't seem to operate under the new world order. In fact, they seem completely lost.

Read the Second Death on LJ, AO3, or from the beginning on Tumblr.

The Second Death Chapter 7: Gaze

Carol watched as Dean darted into the woods as if his life depended on it. Then Daryl swooped down and cursed as he grabbed a gun, before racing after him.

Damn idiots, both of them.

Knowing she had to follow, she wrenched the weapon from the dead man at her feet, but in so doing, she caught sight of the stranger's dull, vacant eyes.

And she froze.

Another one, she thought. What number is he? How many is that now? How many more will there be?

Yesterday it felt as if one conversation had dispelled the worst of it, but all that had actually done was lock it away for a little while longer.

"Think about who."

Daryl's voice rang in her head. She needed to remember who she'd saved. Everybody who'd gotten caught up at Terminus - Michonne, Carl, Rick, Daryl, Sasha, Glenn, Maggie, Bob - and before that, Judith, Tyreese, Mika, Lizzie...

But she hadn't really rescued them, had she? Mika and Lizzie didn't make it to Terminus. Bob and Tyreese didn't make it to Alexandria. She gave them a few more days or a few more weeks, but she'd lost them all the same. Who was she, anyway?

A woman who couldn't even save her own daughter.

A sob dragged her from her thoughts. She turned to the two survivors standing over their fallen traveling companion. The woman pushed a knife into his temple as tears streamed down her cheeks.

Carol gave them a quick once-over and decided that they must have a camp nearby. Neither had so much as a stitch out of place, and they carried almost nothing - there was only one pack for all three of them. Either they had planned a trip for one day, or they were morons.

She couldn't rule out the latter, not yet, and focusing on them made things easier. She'd lost enough, and she wasn't going to let a moment of self-recrimination interfere with protecting her people. She needed to know more about these people they'd just stuck their necks out for... and about the people they'd saved them from.

"I'm Carol," she said.

"Randy," the man replied.

"Barbara," the woman said automatically. "This is - was - Bobby, my brother."

"I'm sorry," Carol said in her most sympathetic voice. She waited for a moment before pointing to the other bodies. "You know who did this?"

"Negans," Randy replied. "That's what we call them. They collect people - communities - and exploit them."

"So you've met them before?" Carol asked.

"Not us," Barbara replied. "My brother had. He and a few others got away from them by putting a walker herd between them. They thought the herd wiped them out."

"Friend of mine had a run in with them," Carol said, carefully selecting her words. "But that was miles and miles from here."

"Yeah," Randy replied. "They're everywhere."

"What?" Barbara asked her companion. "What do you mean, everywhere?"

Her nagging doubts waned in the shadow of the argument unfolding before her. She honed in on their body language - the thousand ways they communicated without speaking - and absorbed every syllable.

She knew this was just one more stopgap, buying her a little more time before that dam finally broke, but she took it all the same.

Dean galloped haphazardly through the forest, knowing full well that he was running into a gunfight with a machete and three bullets to his name with no idea as to who, what, where, or how many.

It didn't really matter, did it? He'd been here - wherever the hell here was - for three days, and the only thing he learned about this place was that it had far too many douchebags and asshats.

He couldn't afford to lose the only family he knew he had left. If he lost Cas, who'd help him figure out what the hell happened? Who'd help him find Sammy and Kev? Who'd watch his back?

Something solid collided with his shoulder and sent him crashing sideways into a tree. He recovered immediately, training his gun on the assailant, his finger on the trigger and ready.

"You trying to die?" Daryl growled.

"What the hell?" Dean replied loudly. "Cas is out there in the crossfire - "

As if on cue, a gargling noise heralded the arrival of a trio of undead, one of which appeared from nowhere at Dean's elbow. He easily sidestepped its grasp, but when he shifted his weight to switch to his machete, his foot slipped against a root. And suddenly the ground was coming up to meet him as more zombies came out of the woodwork.

In one swift movement, Daryl jabbed a knife into the closest one's skull, kicking its rot body right into the two behind it, buying himself some time to take out two others that'd come up behind him.

Dean didn't waste any time getting to his feet, slashing haphazardly as he rose, maneuvering so he was back to back with Daryl.

Shit, shit, shit.

They were coming from all sides now, moaning and snarling as they limped closer, leaving them without no way out.

Dean swung the machete in an arch, taking out two undead bastards at once, biting back a scream inspired by a jarring pain in his elbow. He must've fallen on it, but he didn't have time to think too hard about an injury. He could take the pain.

He swung the blade back, hitting another across the face, taking its nose and one ear clean off, but it kept coming. He stabbed straight through its eye, putting it down, but when he pulled his weapon back, the body came with it. So he pulled a Daryl and kicked it off his machete, throwing it into several others.

Walker bowling. Strike!

That's when Dean noticed just how many there were, swarming in from behind every tree. He reminded himself that these were just things. They weren't smart. They didn't learn. As long as he had his blade in front of him, he'd be fine.

So he slashed and hacked mercilessly, dropping bodies left and right. He'd taken out a hell of a lot more of them before, but he'd done that because, well, because he could. He'd been buying Cas time, but his back hadn't been against a wall like this.

Come to think of it, he hadn't put them all down, had he? When they'd driven off, more were still coming.

His arm radiated pain, and now his head throbbed, too, with all the groaning closing in on him, occasionally punctuated by Daryl swearing. The thing that really got him, though, was the stench; it crawled up his nose, making his eyes water as he gagged, practically choking on it.

They'd only been at this for a few minutes, and he was already getting tired. How the hell did he land himself in this mess?

All at once, dozens of answers flooded his head, each one a scathing reprimand in his father's voice. He knew exactly how he'd gotten here: by fucking up, like he always did. If he'd taken two seconds to think, he wouldn't be surrounded by zombies with some hick he barely knew.

Dean focused on the rotting bodies coming at him, hoping to block out the endless insults churning in his head, knowing it wasn't going to happen.

Then, suddenly, everything went quiet.

No, not everything... the undead attack party was still groaning and hissing, Daryl kept on grunting and cursing under his breath, and Dean couldn't stop his inner self-loathing. Yet, he was certain a silence had fallen.

The gunfire.

Dean had raced toward it and kept it in partial focus as he fought - a reminder that he couldn't die now, not when his family needed him. No matter which way he slashed and stabbed, he'd check it against that gunfire so he'd know the way to Cas.

But now it was gone. Stopped. Silent.

"Fuck!" Dean shouted as he hacked through yet another walker, the exclamation oddly relieving. Each time he swung his machete, he punctuated it with another, "Fuck!"

Then the murmur of an engine started, growing closer by the second, accompanied by the occasional pop of a riffle.

Less than a minute later, a motorcycle roared into view. Carol held two guns aloft, taking out the undead with precision, always waiting for her shot before pulling the trigger. Dean recognized the driver as the woman from the previous clearing - he hadn't bothered asking her name.

The riders circled the area, putting down approaching zombies, leaving a sizeable portion for Dean and Daryl. It only took a few more minutes to clear the immediate area, providing them with a much-needed reprieve.

The bike stopped as close as it could, given the trees and the mounds of dead bodies piled everywhere, and Carol hopped off.

"Two weeks," the driver said. "Good luck."

Before Dean could ask what the hell she meant, the stranger kicked off and sped the way she came.

"Where's Castiel?" Carol asked.

"This way," Daryl grunted.

Dean wanted to point out that he was going the wrong way - the gunfire had been in a different direction - but Daryl was already winding through the trees like he was following a homing beacon, and Carol was on his heels.

Did this guy even know what he was doing?

Before that train of thought could come full circle, he heard the telltale groan of walkers on the approach. His injured arm throbbed. If he got stuck facing another crew of them alone, he'd be screwed.

No, he'd be eaten.

"Damn it!"

He followed them, hoping they knew where the hell they were going.

It sounded like walkers were coming from everywhere, but Daryl could tell they were a way's off yet. Maybe they'd get distracted by the motorcycle for a spell and give him, Carol, and Dean enough time to find Cas and double back to the cars.

He caught sight of another clearing up ahead - pretty large, possibly one that led out to the road - so he slowed, closing in by moving silently between points of cover, because this time, he was getting a damn good look before putting his ass on the line. He cast a glance back to check on Carol, who managed to keep Dean from running straight in. Daryl held up his hand, signaling them to hang back for now, and she nodded her head, yes.

Something had happened here, but hell if he knew what. He kept low as he ducked into the edge of the clearing, stepping over dismembered limbs and ducking entrails that were dangling from tree limbs. Seemed like some jackass used a bomb to take out a few walkers.

One of the bodies was a fresh kill, so Daryl jabbed his blade into the top of its head just as Carol and Dean joined him, not waiting for his damn signal. It pissed him off, but he couldn't really blame them, not with how this place looked.

"Cas!" Dean shouted. "Cas!"

How the hell had this guy survived so long? Sure as hell not from being smart.

Before Daryl had a chance to speak, a putrid smell caught his attention, ten times more powerful than a few walkers up wind. He instinctively followed the scent and spotted walkers on the far end of the clearing. Some were bloated, like they'd been in water, but the rest looked like recent kills, going by their clothing.

"Cas? Cas!"

"Cas ain't here," Daryl pointed out.

What the hell were they doing? Even with their new guns, they didn't have the ammo to deal with this new wave, let alone doubling back to the cars.

Why were they even looking for Cas out here? He'd been in a sniper's perch - no way he got way out here. Hell, they should've gone straight back to camp in case his cover fire attracted unfriendlies, not running around in the woods dodging walkers.

"We gotta move," Daryl said.

"Not without Cas," Dean replied.

"We'll cover more ground with the cars," Carol pointed out. "Maybe he - "

She stopped mid-sentence, so Daryl followed her line of sight to where walkers were piling into the clearing.

He'd seen plenty of messed up shit: hundreds of walkers melted into pavement, still biting and groaning; his undead brother eating some poor smuck; his best friend ripping open another man's throat with his teeth. Yet all that paled in comparison to what he was seeing now.

Someone was there, casually moving between walkers without garnering their interest. Whenever the person passed one, it fell, and from this distance, it seemed like the walkers were going down in waves.

The wind picked up, and his trench coat billowed. That's when Daryl saw that the man was flicking something - rocks from the look of it - at the walkers, landing the headshot every time, barely looking at the target.

It took him a full minute to recognize the person as Castiel. He was covered in guts and blood from head to foot. He had this look on his face - all determination and fury - and he radiated energy, like some kind of avenging angel or some shit.

Fuck that. There was no such thing as angels. Just broken assholes unwilling to become as ugly as the world.

Cas joined them without a word, leaving a small army of bodies in his wake.

"Dude, what the hell?" Dean asked.

"They irked me," Cas replied.

"Talk later," Carol said. "There's too many walkers to stay out in the open like this. Let's get back to the camp and regroup."

"No," Cas said. "I've found something. You all need to see it."

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Chapter notes: I hope you enjoyed this latest installment.