#guess that's what terminus is for

[onedayfandom]

Going from Funger to reading Beserk for the first time is really funny actually

It's like slowly peeling away the layers of reskin and whenever you think you're done it's just: Ha HA! Fantasy Vatican is from Beserk too!!

Love it, this is deeply improving my reading experience :D

[sapphicargenti]

So I was checking up reddit and uuhhh is the hi3 x hsr collab canon? Because I saw some stuff and now I am even more confused

[carlsangel]

SWEET

carl grimes x reader

(you and carl find a polaroid camera.)

tags: fluff!!!

masterlist here!

Back at the prison, you and Carl had limited entertainment around. Michonne had found the two of you comics occasionally but you two had gone through an odd phase where you focused on surviving when you had a perfectly safe home. You’d spent more time cleaning your guns and sharpening your knives when you should’ve been reading or playing with legos.

You wish you didn’t have to grow up so fast, you missed being able to not have a care in the world. That’s what you were happy to have Carl, he made you feel better about everything. Even when everyone got sick, you had him and he made you feel better always. He joked around a lot just to make you feel better.

When the prison fell, you guys thankfully ended up with each other. It was traumatic for sure, seeing him fight with his dad like that and just seeing Rick in that state in general. It wasn’t the easiest but you had a chance to feel okay when the two of you were alone. You guys left Rick in the house to go out and scavenge. You encountered some walkers but together you were able to handle it.

Upon searching some houses you ended up finding different books and random puzzle toys to mess with. Your favorite thing you found was a polaroid camera. You took it with you when Carl decided he wanted to eat pudding on the roof. You settled in next to him as he shoved pudding into his mouth. You rotate the camera in your hands, sort of just examining it before you notice the little number on the back. A small one.

“Damn there’s just one left.” You frown, showing Carl the back of the camera. He swallows the pudding and looks at you. “Guess that means we gotta make it count right?” He grins. You nod and agree, Carl set the can of pudding beside him and you scooted closer to him to take the picture. You did something simple, just smiling. You were excited to have something to look at. You snap the picture and let it print from the camera. You hold it face down as you chat with Carl some more and share pudding.

You later look at the developed photo and it was so sweet. It was basically perfect, you can’t remember the last time you’d seen yourself in a photo, you were happy it was with Carl. He’d loved the photo too. He loved you.

“Can I have it?” He asks with a pleading smile. “But I want it.” You counter, holding it to your chest as if you were hiding it away from him. He laughs as you guard the polaroid with your life. The both of you made an agreement that you would rotate days holding the photo as dumb as it sounds.

He could carry it for a day and the next morning he would give it to you. That lasted a couple of days and you kept the camera in case you had found more film. That was until of course, Terminus. There you lost everything, everything but the photo. Carl had the photo that day, you were scared you wouldn’t receive it from him the next.

But like always, you made it out. You felt like you lost hope, there was nothing really to smile about anymore after Terminus and after learning Eugene had lied. All you had was Carl and the polaroid. Up until Alexandria, you felt completely numb. Even first getting to Alexandria you weren’t sure how to react to it, it didn’t even seem real.

The second day you arrived you and Carl searched the house next door. You marveled over how large the houses were, Carol commented about how it was odd they’re just giving them away. Carol left you and Carl alone in the house and you admired the house. The both of you heard a thump from upstairs and were immediately heeded before grabbing your knives from your belts.

You head up the stairs and Carl goes first, hesitating to open the door. He bursts through it dramatically which you sort of giggle at and you follow him inside. The place is scattered around with random shit; paper, books, pillows, music.

“I wonder where this all came from.” Your eyes linger around the room, looking for anything to take for yourself. You didn’t care much about the people in Alexandria. Not yet. “I saw some kids. They probably hang out here.” Carl explains, picking up a comic. You look around the room some more and your eyes land on something you’ve been looking for since the prison fell.

“No way.” A grin forms on your face and you walk over to the corner of the room where a Polaroid camera sits on top of a small table. Carl turns to see what you’re excited about and his eyes light up immediately. It seemed as though the simple little machine gave you the spark you’d been missing for weeks. It made you consider the other teens a little more than you had before. You look at the back of the camera to see there’s six left.

Before you can even think about what to do with it, you hear a voice from downstairs asking you and Carl to head back to the house. You take it with and keep it in the room you two were given.

The rest of the day was long, you had talked to way more people then you would’ve liked. Carl seemed so happy about it, he was ready to talk to anyone. He made you feel more comfortable though, you couldn’t have gotten through the day without him.

He did most of the talking. While he talked you couldn’t help but admire his features, it was the only thing you could do at the time. His pretty eyes and his cute nose, the way his hair is cut and his pretty smile. His perfect lips- holy shit you couldn’t get enough. (IM GEEKING SO HARD WRITING THIS SHIT SOMEONE SEND HELP)

You couldn’t wait to get home.

When you did you still couldn’t be alone with him, you had to have dinner and then debrief with everyone about how your days went. You finally got the chance to go up to your room and as you both entered, you closed the door behind you.

It seemed like he was on the same track because he pulled you into him straight after you shut the door. His lips captured yours in a harsh kiss, his fingers gently gripping your waist. You pull from it to place more kisses around his face, his nose his cheeks, everywhere you’d admired earlier. His face immediately heats up and he smiles sweetly.

After kissing all around his face excitedly you pull away and catch your breath, he looks at you amused. “Did you get it outta your system?” He giggles, kicking his shoes off so he can lay down on one of the beds. You nod, doing the same to lay on the other. “Yeah I feel better.” He pats the bed beside him and pulls out the comic he’d found earlier. You walk over and sit next to him and begin to read. You yawn, kinda bored since the comic didn’t really tickle your fancy but you get an idea that might pay off nicely for you.

You lean to the nightstand and grab the camera which Carl payed no mind to. You point it at him and he sort of side eyes you right as you snap the photo. He looks at you weirdly with a smile and nudges you away. “Stop.” He says lightheartedly, sort of laughing. You pull the printed film and set it on your lap. “No you’re cute.” You respond, snapping another picture of him while he’s caught off guard, not even looking at you but at the comic. “Noooo.” He shoves his hand in front of the camera and grabs it tightly. “Hey-” He pulls it away from you and sets it on the floor on his side of the bed.

“You’re no fun.” You joke, gathering the two photos you were able to take. You wait for them to develop and when they do, you cannot contain your laughter.

The first photo he was side eyeing the camera, looking super confused and slightly irritated. The second was just adorable, he was in the middle of licking his lips so his tongue was just sticking out slightly as he looked at the comic he was reading. Carl looked over at the photos. “These are terrible.” He takes them from your hands and examines them. “Noooo you’re so adorable. Look how pissed you look in this one.” You laugh. He rolls his eyes and places them aside with his comic.

“Whatever.” He sighs and pulls you into him, nuzzling his face into your neck. He closes his eyes and yawns, placing a small kiss on your neck. You melt under his touch, delicately running your fingers through his hair.

“I’m keeping those.”

“You’re not.”

a/n: i yapped so much this one SORRY GUYS :> okay i added some stuff im ok with writing in my rules soooo go check that out!!!! also my masterlist was broken so that’s fixed now too :)) andddd i have an inspo pic from an episode of like what the second photo would sort of look like YOU KNOW i just mean like his tongue sticking out i’ll link it here :p

[zombiewhor3]

BLUE EYES AND JEALOUSY

rick x fem reader (season 5 era)

WARNINGS: mentions of jealousy, protective rick, mentions of injured reader, mentions of blood from injury, alexandria era, smut, reader is over 18, penetrative sex, oral, fluid consumption (cum only), jealous sex, rick marking reader, slight public sex, fingering, clit play, unprotected sex (wrap it before you tap it), dirty talk, dominant rick, rough sex, loud sex, getting caught but kinda on purpose ig,

a/n: sorry for the no uploads i've been so busy and i keep randomly starting new drafts and never end up finishing the old ones but anyways i've been working on this one for a week so i'm shocked i even got the chance to actually write out the full thing, i might come back and edit some more of it later because i hate some of the details but feel free to enjoy this for now!

-

a protective prick is what she labeled him as, she could see the difference from the man in the beginning to the man who was now ruthless and so paranoid with practically everything that had seemed to been thrown their way.

she looked at the man who's beard needed an obvious shave while he paced on the porch of one of the houses in Alexandria, she could see his hands placed on his hips as his mind seemed to be a running treadmill of thoughts at full speed inside him.

she remembered how he knocked out aaron and about how badly he had treated him, when all he ever wanted to do was help their group, he just wanted to help their group.

Aaron wanted them to get out of the barn to get out of the poor life they lived in the woods because the truth was they needed food, they needed water and a stable shelter which is what they had now at Alexandria, and living like that simply just wasn't a life for them.

Besides Alexandria was perfect for them the community had hot water, bigger rations to feed their people, air conditioning, hell it was almost like the world was before, the way they all had the opportunity to sleep in beds and never had to worry about going hungry.

Except she could tell everyone was on edge, the paranoia starting to catch onto them, the lack of trust as well, thinking that maybe someway or somehow this was another trap just like Terminus.

Especially Rick had been off his rocker, with all these interviews stressing him out, because he hated the camera filming him,

not because of the way he looked he hadn't cared an ounce if he was covered in Walker blood and dirt that lingered over his skin and hair from traveling through the woods.

he wasn't sure why he hated the way the camera and its red blinking light seemed to soak into him, but he hated the feeling, he hated the feeling of being watched ever so precisely with it.

She noticed he stopped his pacing and instead leaned against the snow white railing while he let go of the hand that was placed on the holster where his knife rested.

"you alright?"

a voice called out from the bottom of the porch making y/n turn her head, a man dressed in nice clothes and a clean pair of jeans rested just near the wall with one of his eyes squinting from the sunlight that was beaming down on him.

his hair color the color of a dandelion and his eyes the prettiest honey golden she had ever seen, his hair short and obviously freshly trimmed because she could see some gel in it still from the way she was ever so guessing he liked to style it as.

y/n pointed to herself watching the man nod with a somewhat of a charming smile approaching the steps of the porch, she could see the dark pupils of Rick's eyes grow,

like a shark meeting its prey the blue was quickly swallowed up and turned into the color of soot that had poured out of the prison while it was being engulfed in a heard of flames and walkers.

"your leg it seems to be bleeding, our doctor is great and i'm sure it wont take long to fix you up" the man offered to her,

he hadn't noticed Rick's nails practically digging crescent shapes into the woods his hands gripped on but she seemed to, she seemed to notice the jealousy and the anger that was boiling through his blood, the way he seemed to be so furious over the man before them.

"it's just a small cut, i caught a branch on the way up here i'd only need a bandage wouldn't want to waste resources" y/n spoke with a gulp looking over to see Rick's grip loosen on the railing as he used a hand to rub over his bushy facial hair.

She had lied that it was a small cut and well that she needed just a small bandage, all she wanted was to maybe ease the man who stood envious and threatening next to her.

"not a waste if you need one just trust me on this" the man held his hand out watching as y/n hesitantly took it making her way down the stairs as she followed him, she swore she could hear a raspy grumble fly from Rick's lips as he watched her run off with some tramp.

-

she looked around the clinic, it was nice and well it was sanitary. unlike the prison clinic where blood and some walker guts had remained before it was burned to the ground.

she looked at the man who forcefully lifted up the denim fabric of her jeans up above her calf to look at the wound on her leg,

"well it ain't no scratch but lucky for you, you don't need stitches"

he gave a half false smile before using some rubbing alcohol to sterilize the wound making her bite down on her inner cheek once he wrapped it in a clean bandage.

Rick slipped into the shower feeling the hot water pour onto his back, with a relieved sigh he used a cloth and a bar of soap to clean over his body. making sure to wipe the residue of blood and dirt from the woods that he had collected over the period of time.

the water poured down his face as he let out a deep exasperated sigh while his mind started to wander to her, his mind seemed like a freight train that wouldn't stop itself from spinning in one big giant circle around him.

no matter what he did, no matter where he went even if he was with her, he couldn't stop thinking so damn wrong, so damn erotic was how you could describe the thoughts pooling into his mind,

a sudden snap of anything and it could send him in a mind filled haze of just imagining how good his cock would be inside her, he imagined how well she'd take him, if he hadn't torn open her walls with how large the size of his cock was.

he let his hands wander over his body while he combed through his shaggy hair that also needed a cut, he wiped over his face pushing some water out of his eyes as he flushed himself with cold water to make the dirty thoughts go away.

he could feel the chill through his bones, of course it didn't feel good, but he had to. He was merely a few seconds away of stroking himself to the idea of her being stuffed to the brim, her pussy full of his cock while she was a moaning mess beneath him.

she was out playing a game of explorer with this man while rick was drowning himself with the guilt of imagining her perky tits pressed against him, and it wasn't like she hadn't taken a notice to his staring or just the way he loved it whenever she touched him.

a subtle hand graze was just enough to set him off, to send him to heaven and hell with the dirty thoughts lingering in him.

Alec had shown her everywhere, he'd shown her the garden and all the houses, the food pantry, he even showed her how they managed to keep all of their power just from the power of science and sun rays.

she giggled as she bit into an apple feeling the sweet juices lace over her tongue she let out a moan, a sigh of the relief and well the sweetness of the fruit in her mouth.

she hadn't eaten anything fresh in weeks, it had been almost a month since she had eaten anything remotely near fresh, they all had been eating from beat up cans or even random rabbits Daryl had been able to catch with his crossbow.

"good isn't it?" alec asked scooting a little closer to her as she took another bite before she was even done chewing the first one, she nodded her head eagerly before taking another bite.

she felt like a slob eating this way but then the thought only crossed her mind because she hadn't really cared what he was thinking of her right now because she was hungry, so hungry that she was already half way through the sweet red fruit.

"so what is with Mr scruffy?" alec asked nudging y/n as she bitterly swallowed the apple in her mouth feeling like it had gone sour from his out of the blue question about Rick.

"he's nervous that's all, he doesn't like new people or new places" she spoke honestly but left out a few of the true details about his strange behavior towards her and Alec.

She left out the fact that somehow they had a weird connection, or somehow they couldn't seem to not get jealous over anyone who came close to one another.

it was like a loop that couldn't seem to stop for the two, even if they managed to set a boundary she could tell the pressure between Rick and her was growing and starting to bottle up,

like a soda can ready to explode after its been shaking and well rick was the can in this case and Alec was the one shaking it.

-

Rick wanted to lose his damn mind, he wanted to yell and simply go ape shit once he saw the two laughing from the bathroom window, he was wrapped in a white linen towel,

it dangled just to his v-line to show off the perfect outline of it and well his abs were visible which was even more of an benefit if she were just to stop talking to that man and come up stairs.

Rick cracked the window open so he could hear about whatever the hell the two had been murmuring about for over 15 minutes, for rick it had seemed like and endless damn time loop he couldn't seem to let his mind escape from, he couldn't seem to make it stop.

"Alec i should go, it's close to meeting up with my friends it's been great you showing me around and well i'm glad i met you" she spoke honestly watching the man place a charming smile on his face while his honey eyes seemed to make her heart skip a beat.

"dinner tomorrow? just me and you please? i promise i can cook" he asked watching as she tucked a piece of her hair behind her ear and she looked down at the jet black asphalt underneath her boots.

she left him without an answer for a few seconds watching as he shuffled and tucked his hands into the pockets of his jeans, "or is it the big guy that's stopping you because i can tell Deanna to come and handle him with no problem"

she licked her lips with a chuckle at his words, "he doesn't stop me from doing anything Alec, and no Deanna doesn't need to get involved with my group i think we can manage ourselves"

y/n bit back watching Alec take in the realization that he said the wrong words but she frowned softly once she realized maybe she had been just a little bit to harsh towards him.

"dinner then tomorrow at 7"

she didn't even get the chance to respond to his obviously already planned out offer because he had walked off to another side of the wall so he could fulfill his duty of keeping watch on Rick and their group even if it was just for the night and here she was about to lose her damn mind over the dinner date part.

she was surely just about to lose her mind because a handsome man asked her to dinner, a man she had only known for less than a day, but she planned on seeing and talking to him more.

After all he seemed to be sweet.

Y/n walked past the people sitting in the living room up to the room she left her bag in but the bathroom door cracked seemed to get her full attention, she hated cracked doors it was just some damn pet peeve of hers but when she saw Rick who was shaved and freshly showered her jaw seemed to fall to the ground.

"oh god" she mumbled slipping inside the bathroom making sure to shut the door behind her, "you shaved finally" y/n remarked watching as rick started the water and rested the razor against the white porcelain of the bathroom sink in front of him.

he didn't respond instead he turned his head to look at her watching as her eyes seemed to want to glance down at the sight his torso held for her, she mumbled something under her breath watching him take a step closer until she was pushed against the door,

Her back was pressed against the wood while she could feel one his hands lingering and brushing some hair from the soft skin of her neck, it sent a chill down her body as she tried to buck her hips up.

She was bucking her hips up at him, maybe to give him a message or maybe just to feel his hard cock that she knew was surely gonna poke against the white linen of the towel he had ever so sloppily wrapped around his waist, almost like he wanted it to fall.

Almost like he wanted to fuck her until her brains were scrambled, he wanted to fuck her and make her forget about whoever the hell that man was, no matter how nice he seemed.

he used his thumb to wipe over her cheek while his other hand slid down to the middle of her hips just above her cunt where he forcefully but gently pushed her against the door.

"needy huh? well you shouldn't be so wanting for me to touch you y/n, not after the game of explorer you've been playing with whatever the hell his name is"

he gestured his head behind him where he knew the window was, he knew he was still leaning against the wall with a smug look, his hands tucked in his pockets as he probably thought about y/n.

he could feel her breaths grow shallow and raspy from just the small of contact his body had on hers, he gently let her hand glide to the flat part of his abs feeling her gasp softly.

"his name is Alec, and you know damn well who i'm with shouldn't be in your level of concern" she spoke back pulling her hand away to try and make him believe that she wasn't enjoying pressing her hand against him, but hell they both knew the damn truth.

Rick cocked his head to the side softly while using one of his fingers to toy at the waistband of her jeans, "i think you know why" he spoke back watching as her eyes couldn't seem to stop glancing at the bulge that had formed underneath his towel.

"i'm not your property rick, and you can't make me" she scoffed back her eyes finally having the courage to look up at him instead, to look into his that were the color of a blank night sky.

his hands gripped a slight pressure on the side of her hips watching as it was once again an excuse for her eyes to trace down just to get another glimpse of how hard he was.

"i don't give a damn what his name was and i don't give a damn that you think i shouldn't care, you think he'd be better than me? you think he'd know how to touch you y/n? And god believe me if i need to prove you wrong i will"

he grumbled at her feeling his grip grow tighter at her waist feeling her shudder at the contact, she didn't respond except she kept her gaze on the bulge he had hidden under the cloth that she ever so desperately just wanted to tear off of him.

"stop staring and answer my question" he spoke watching her eyes look up at him once more, she licked her lips clean from the desire to look back down at him,

"w-well no, but" she froze feeling his hands start to rub its way down to the waistband of her jeans slipping them down lightly

as she tried not to pay attention. "but what y/n? finish your sentence" he spoke pulling his hands away from the denim that was now hanging just below her hips.

without even such a warning or hint to her action she reached her hand out to rub the bulge in his towel making him groan her fingers spun so perfectly through the fabric making him practically buck his hips up to get more from her, her hand rubbed a small set of circles making his voice grow raspy and huskier with each sly movement of her handwork that truly seemed to be working like a charm on him.

"you're trying to distract me" he griped at her, she could tell he was enjoying it, and maybe just a little to much, she slipped down to her knees watching as he looked down at her,

he pushed her hand away just so he could pull off her t-shirt revealing her breasts being held up by her bra, the bra that was a dark blue color that seemed to blend well with her skin.

he liked the sight of her, he liked seeing her down on her knees while she was ever so willingly playing with his cock even if it had been clothed it was all still such a damn sight for him.

she wiggled her way out of her jeans to reveal her black panties, the hem such a pretty damn lace that he knew that soon he was going to tear off of her to get access to her cunt.

her hand ripped away the towel that was wrapped around his waist, she tossed it across the bathroom floor while her eyes admired his member that was lengthy and hard right in-front of her,

she was practically drooling at the sight of it, rick's cock was long and thick, it had veins just in the right places making it even more god damn pretty to her.

she used a hand to start from the base until she made her way up to the tip of his cock using her tongue to lick off the salty clear liquid that seemed to form on top because of his eagerness.

he groaned softly while his hand reached out to tangle in her hair, he forcefully gave himself a grip at the root of her hair swirling his fingers at her scalp to keep a steady hold on her.

her tongue seemed to be like god damn magic with each way it seemed to warp around his cock each time he bobbed in and out of her mouth like a lollipop, her mouth was so full of him her eyes started to prickle and her throat felt sore.

he was bucking his hips up just a little so he could help force even more of his needy cock down her throat, he could feel her saliva starting to build and spill out onto his cock while her nails started to dig into his inner thighs.

she had a full set of prickling tears flowing down her cheeks from the pressure building up in her throat and well the fact she was trying not to gag all over his cock, she could feel him twitch in her mouth.

already so close and all she had to do was work her mouth,

but it wasn't just the pleasure her mouth was feeding him that was about to send him off the edge, it was the way she looked so pretty on her knees, the way her eyes filled with tears and the way her nails dug into his skin as she whimpered against him softly.

he had been finally able to shoot his load down her throat hearing as the breathing from her nose seemed to sharpen while her nostrils flared, her mouth was trying to take all of his seed,

once she swallowed his warm seed she pulled away from his cock, panting and her throat scratchy from the saltiness of his liquid pouring down her throat like she was a cum rag.

his chest rose up and down while he helped lift her up from her knees and pressed her back up against the door, his hard cock now pressing against her belly as she tried not to moan at the hand that was now pulling off her panties.

he wrapped them around his fingers while he admired them for just a hence of a few seconds before finally tossing them to the floor,

he used just one of his hands to un-clip the bra watching it slip off her body so peacefully. her breasts still perky while her nipples grew hard at the arousal each of his thumbs was giving them.

she let out a soft moan for him as she could feel him the one dropping to his knees to place a soft kiss on top of her cunt that was clenching on practically nothing because of how impatient and how desperate it was for any touch of his,

she whimpered tossing her hips forwards at him but he simply pushed them back and stood back up, he peppered a kiss on each of her breasts feeling as goosebumps formed on her arms.

"n-need you" she whined at him practically sinking her nails into the biceps of his arms hoping he would understand the message and once she felt the tip of his cock teasing the inner of her wet folds she knew he took the message the right way.

he allowed one of his hands to trace into her wet folds as he pulled his cock away, just to give her a taste of what she actually wanted or just what she actually needed.

she let out a loud moan feeling as his middle finger was inserted into her and when she felt his ring finger join the other in her dripping cunt she let her hands wander to the top of his shoulders planting down a firm and stable grasp for herself.

he pumped his fingers slowly inside her watching as she tried to keep back her moans by forcing her teeth to clamp down on her bottom lip, his eyes flicked up at her as he started to pump faster.

"c'mon don't be shy now let them know how good you feel" he spoke hearing as she let out a sputtered gasp at the feeling of his thumb rubbing its way in fast circles amongst her clit.

"f-fuck Rick!" she cried, "god that pretty throat of yours has so many talents" he chuckled in her ear while his hand slipped around her neck gently to rub just under her chin.

it was like she could already feel her orgasm starting to arise in her because her legs shook and her mind was a damn minefield ready to explode with profanity and dirty words that she was sure that she could no longer hold onto inside her.

"so c-close fuck i'm so close" she whimpered feeling as his other hand moved from away from her throat and down onto her breasts swapping back and forth to make sure they each got the same amount of attention from him.

the soft swirl of his thumb on each of her nipples and the feeling of his fingers inside her curling at her g-spot with each thrust was like heaven to her, she was so damn close to letting out an erotic cry once she felt the knot growing looser and looser in her stomach.

"come on, cum for me let em hear how good you are baby" with just those subtle words he could feel some of her juices spurt out onto his fingers while she made a loud set of whimpering noises so loud that even Alec was able to hear them spilling out of the bathroom window.

Rick licked his fingers clean with a smile as he made sure to clean off every ounce of her juices off of them, without a hesitation he flipped her around so that she was pressed against the door.

his cock teasing her soaked entrance while she whimpered at a finger skimming over her clit just to see how sensitive she really was, "p-please" she whined at him her fists pressed against the door.

he himself was so damn impatient, he was so needy to be inside her he could stand the teasing either, with swift up rise of his hips he thrusted into her while his full drive hearing as a scream was pulled out from the back of her throat.

-

"as i was saying Dixon, you suck at go fish and i'm going to kick your ass, i've already decided it" Michonne spoke pulling down two sevens in her deck next to the pile of her other matches.

Daryl scoffed as he licked his lips clean about to ask if she had a '6' but a loud sound coming from the bathroom stopped him, the door was rattling as a rhythmic pounding noise was coming through.

he could hear a loud cry as he furrowed his brows and looked over at the others, Glenn sat up and Rosita tossed down her knife and the piece of wood she had been whittling away at.

another cry emerged as Daryl stood up in a slight crouch position and pulled up his crossbow but Sasha grabbed his arm and forced him to put it down.

the pounding seemed to go on forever along with the set of screams that started to flood out of the bathroom, it was y/n crying and moaning aloud for Rick.

They could hear her muffled profanities faintly while the pounding didn't seem to stop, "fuck rick! god dammit right there!" she screamed so loud that they were all sure even all of the houses and buildings surrounding them had surely heard it.

"so fuckin tight this pussy" they heard a loud groan and a whine back in response, the door shaking so much from her body being pressed up against it, her tits smushed against the wood while her nipples were perky from the slight coldness it was pressing on her with.

his cock was buried so deep inside her she swore that he was re-arranging every single organ in her stomach maybe his cock had even skimmed past her own heart that's surely what it felt like to be this full of him, to be filled to the brim so much that she had tears flowing down her face and her hair a scrambled mess.

"you think Alec could fuck you like this?" rick asked bitterly as he held onto her waist to fuck into her even deeper, "n-no!" she cried almost sounding like another whimper from her.

"so fucking close" she whined so loud that she could practically feel the vibrations of her own cries, she was letting out a series of pleasureful moans while she felt his cock twitch inside her.

"i should fill you up for being so bad today" he huffed into her tugging a piece of her hair hearing a moan return back to him, he groaned feeling as his cock twitched inside her while her walls clenched around him hoping to spill its juices.

"gonna c-cum oh f-fuck!" she practically screamed feeling his hand slip around to her front to rub against her sensitive clit only making her even closer and once both of their knots untied they both let out a series of profanity while they panted.

rick could hear her whine when he pulled out of her with a soft 'pop' sound that seemed to make her legs wobble without the stability of his hands on her body, she flipped around to see him grab a rag and putting some water from the faucet on it.

he gently spread her legs while he wiped his cum clean from her, even though he loved the feeling when he thought about watching it pour from the walls of her cunt.

she hissed softly watching as rick grabbed a fresh rag to clean himself off, he helped to get her dressed by slipping back on her clothes letting them slip onto her body, she thanked him while watching him change into the fresh pair of clothes he had laid out for him after his shower.

he followed her down the stair case to see all of their friends staring at them, Rosita rolled her eyes in a slight disgust and got up to grab something from the kitchen.

Rick had been so lucky that he placed Judith and Carl in a different house with Jessie and their son Ron, maybe just to get Carl around more kids to keep him somewhat a normal person,

Daryl shook his head at y/n while he had put his crossbow against the white wall next to him, "thought a walker got in but it's just ya two fuckin" he scoffed watching as Michonne practically choked on the glass of water she was sipping on.

she coughed with a smile on her face trying to hold back the disgust and the laughter all at once, "oh god you two are horrible!" glenn piped in watching as his wife chuckled a little.

"you two fuck like dogs!" y/n remarked back taking a seat against one of the cushions rested on the floor for her, "one time in the guard tower doesn't count!" Glenn huffed back watching as Maggie raised her eyebrows while her eyes widened a little.

"that's disgusting you know i used to keep watch in that tower!"

y/n shuddered at the thought of her two best friends having sex with each other but it couldn't be as bad as hearing Rick and her going at it upstairs.

-

Alec flicked his eyes up to look at y/n who planted a kiss on Rick's cheek before she made her approach towards him, he took a bite from his oatmeal bitterly swallowing it while he looked at her.

"you were sweet trust me Alec i just have something else waiting for me i'm sorry" she spoke, she hadn't felt that bad about it, even though the situation did seem pretty shitty.

"i was only gonna pity fuck you anyways i haven't had action since this bullshit started so don't get to excited" he spoke the truth, she could tell he wasn't lying which is why she hadn't said another word instead she walked back over to her friends.

"god if he knew what an actual fuck was" she mumbled watching as rick furrowed his brows, "what?" he asked rubbing the sides of her waist watching as she smiled at him, "i think alec understands now" she spoke proudly while feeling Rick press a kiss against her neck.

"good"

[cultofdixon]

Little one had other plans

Rick Grimes • She/Her Pronouns • Timing is never perfect when it comes to babies coming into the world. Rick just wished the group wasn’t…homeless when his baby decided to make an entrance • ANGST/SFW • TW: Pregnancy & Birth / Anxiety / Unbearable pain

A/N: Really bare with me and TWD timeline

Requested by: Anon

“Rick?” Her voice brought the retired sheriff out of his slumber as he carefully sits up from their shared bed.

“Yes darling?” Rick smiles moving aside for Y/N to sit with him as she instantly locked their arms bringing her head to rest on his shoulder. “Are you feeling alright? Missed yea this morning”

“Uhm. I know we just…hitched and we didn’t talk about certain things especially given it’s the apocalypse and Lori but…”

“Y/N. Please just say it”

“I’m pregnant”

Rick’s silence only brewed the fear and anxiety within Y/N as she was about to pull away when he shifted so that he could pull her entire person into his embrace.

“Are you upset?” Y/N frowns holding onto her husband as he started to rub soothing circles on her back feeling her relax. “Rick—-“

“We’re just…so in love with each other that we couldn’t contain it all.” Rick whispers feeling her tighten around him as he did the same. “So we made another person out of that love” he held her as she sobbed in his embrace.

“We’re happy about this?”

“More than happy darling. We’re safe here. I can’t wait for this chapter with you” Rick smiles bringing his lips to her temple keeping her close as the two wouldn’t separate for a while longer.

~

But the luxury of the prison never lasted…

When Rick reunited with Daryl on the road, after dealing with the claimers…the archer brought it up. Brought up the thought that Y/N could be dead and being met with Rick’s silence was his answer meaning he didn’t want to even think about it.

“We’ll find’em.” Daryl states watching Rick turn to him slowly with a low expression before looking away. “She’s a fighter. May be the size of a planet currently but you know she ain’t leavin’ this earth without fighting to get back to you”

“Did yea just call my wife a planet?”

“Am I wrong?”

“Just shut up and let’s follow the train tracks once Michonne and Carl got some rest”

We will find them

And they do. Thankfully not in the mess of Terminus and Rick was extra thankful after hearing a few things about the cannibals that quickly met their end in the chapel later on.

The Grimes boys will forever be thankful to Tyreese with saving Judith and for both him and Carol finding Y/N moments after the two had found each other. Rick handed his daughter to his son quickly but gentle for Carl to get a good hold of her before he ran over to his partner bringing her in his embrace.

“Thank god you’re alive” Y/N sobbed out as she held onto Rick the best she could given the space they didn’t have. Rick pulled away from the embrace to kiss her firmly on the lips before bringing his gaze to her belly and placing his hands on it. “That’s also a bonus…”

“What? The baby kicking?” Rick asks while his gaze still focused on her bump.

“Yeah…Baby hasn’t kicked since the prison fell. Guess it missed its daddy” She breathed out a laugh listening to his follow in suit. He pressed his forehead against hers still staying in this moment as no one dared to interrupt.

The cannibals

The hospital

Beth…

Tyreese…

So many things could’ve been avoided and now the remaining group found themselves struggling with the fact that this could be the end if they don’t find anything. By anything the essentials for survival. Daryl did his best to hunt what he could find but nothing was turning up. The creek within the forest didn’t carry enough water like they hoped when they first planned to check. But Rosita boiled what they could draw up and insisted it be given to Y/N which the peanut gallery didn’t protest.

“Rick we need to prepare for the worse cause scenario” Carol pulled him aside as the group continued its tiresome walk to nowhere.

“What do you mean?”

“She could go into labor. She is that pregnant where it could just happen without any of us prepared. We need to at least somewhat be”

“Or what?”

Carol didn’t say another word and only gave her friend a stressful look littered with fear of losing Y/N to this pregnancy like they did with Lori’s. They wouldn’t know what to do if Y/N needed a c-section or if she lost a lot of blood. Anything could happen and it didn’t take words for Rick to know he could lose the love of his life.

________

Y/N laid tiredly on the makeshift bed in their shared cell as she hasn’t been able to keep anything down for a few weeks. Typical morning sickness but Hershel had his worry about dehydration, not like Carl hasn’t been hovering making sure his stepmom had water. Rick asked him to keep an eye on her and his baby sister when he tended the garden but he didn’t need to be asked to do such. The two grew close when Lori passed and if she would do anything for Carl, he’d do anything for her.

“If your dad is making you hover. You don’t have to” Y/N said almost exhausted as she sat up in the bed when Carl was once peaking from the curtain now fully entering the cell with another canteen.

“Dad didn’t tell me anything. I’m allowed to check on you if I want to”

“I should be checking on you. You don’t have to worry about me” She states patting the empty space beside her while moving the blankets to cover her legs. “I’m okay”

“I know…b-but I want to…I don’t want to miss anything”

Y/N gave him a confused look gently making Carl look at her as he tried to cover his face with his hat. But then Y/N took his hat off lifting his chin to find his tears.

“Carl…love, what’s wrong?”

“I-I…” Carl choked up a bit feeling Y/N carefully wipe away his tears whenever they spilled from his waterline. “I don’t want to lose you too. I didn’t see…a-anything before and I just—-“

“Carl. We couldn’t have predicted what happened to your mom to have happen and I’m always so deeply sorry you lost her.” Y/N gently held his face feeling him ease into her touch letting her wipe away his tears. “We don’t know what’s going to happen, but I will promise you. I’m going to be okay”

“But you can’t…you can’t promise something like that”

“I’m going to anyway. I’m going to take good care of myself and this baby, knowing damn well my boys are going to help me. I’m not going anywhere love…I’m going to be okay”

________

Something didn’t feel right.

Y/N had tried not to think much of the growing pain in her stomach as she thought it was the lack of food in her system or the mild dehydration she was reaching.

Then when the mysterious water appeared and the debate of drinking such was washed away in the little sense of the rain pouring down on them. Her distressed expression matched those who’ve lost since the fall of the prison hence no one second guessed the feelings. Until Carl took note of it.

“Are you okay?”

“Just a little uncomfortable. Keep her covered or she’ll get a cold” Y/N fixed the coat she was once wearing to cover Judith better as Carl took his hat off to cover her head.

“Are you really sure that’s all mo—-Y/N?”

“Yes, I’m—-“ She stopped herself reaching for Rick grabbing his bicep harshly to indicate how much pain she was in as he quickly addressed the matter bringing her close. “R-Rick I think. I think the baby is coming”

“Well that couldn’t have been poorly timed” Eugene commented only for Abraham to smack him upside the head. “You have any better idea where the pregnant woman should have her baby? In the middle of the road with the rain pouring down on us and unable to see the walkers when nightfall approaches”

“Someone shut his mouth” Rick snapped watching Glenn push Eugene out of the Grimes’ line of sight as Abraham and Rosita blocked his view.

“Nah we got somewhere. Saw a barn on my way back to y’all after searching for water” Daryl states before leading the way as Rick didn’t hesitate to pick up his partner bridal style following the archer along with the others following shortly behind.

Once they got in the barn, everything had to happen again. Going in all different directions. Maggie and Carol took care of getting Y/N situated, prepared while Carl took care of watching Judith while the others swarmed respectfully on the other side of the half wall to give Y/N some privacy while she stripped from the waist down.

“Tell me how you’re feeling. Especially if there’s major changes” Carol stated watching Y/N nod trying to take deep breaths feeling Rick gently brush the hair out of the way of her face watching her look at him through anxious tears.

“Your baby will come perfect okay, okay? Nothing wrong will happen” Maggie’s choice of words confused those who weren’t there when they lost Lori, and especially how they lost her. No one questioned. All the focus was making sure that baby comes out okay while protecting everybody.

It felt like a cue. When the walkers came a banging on the barn doors resulting in almost every muscle they’ve got keeping them closed, Y/N was already in the motions of pushing this baby out only for a smooth sailing to reach a jammed complication.

“H-Hurts. Hurts so much!” Y/N shouted as the growling tuned it out except for Maggie and Carol’s ears as they both were checking what is happening. The baby’s shoulder is stuck and in a perfect world they’d have the tools or the operating room to go to that nuclear option of a c-section. Something they didn’t want to do.

“Y/N you have to stop pushing”

“O-O…I…” Y/N sobbed listening to Carol’s words as she gripped onto the blanket she laid on not finding the words to ask for her husband but the anxiety growing in the situation made Maggie shout.

“Rick we need yea!” That caused a few head turns as the pounding shifted the weaker few against the door.

“What’s wrong? What’s happening?” Rick instantly asks, taking Y/N’s hand into his feeling the bone crushing grip she was producing as he kept his ground a straight face for her.

“Baby is stuck”

“I have a plan but if it doesn’t go well, we could lose them both” Maggie frowns, remembering an old conversation back from the prison with her father about breached babies and if it ever happened to her then one would have to reach into her while another pushed down on her belly to help the baby progress.

“Take me through it. We’ve got this” Carol states turning to Y/N and her worried expression. “Scream. Scream it out. Everybody’s got our back and you will make it. You both will make it”

The growling grew louder along with the blood curdling screaming as Michonne brought Carl into her arms covering his ears while the two kept their ground against the door. He sobbed listening to his mom’s screaming and those from the beginning of the prison sanctuary were all feeling the old anxiety bubble up inside them.

But once it settled…the growling faded and the anxiety dissipated…the screaming stopped…

Rick pressed his lips to Y/N’s feeling the tears roll off his cheeks as he pulls away to look at their baby boy laying on her chest calming instantly to the soft touch his mother brought with the finger grazes.

“He’s perfect…”

“You did it, darling” Rick exhales a chuckle, kissing her forehead and bringing her close keeping his coat to cover their baby keeping him comfortable in her arms.

“We’re okay” Y/N felt the tears pour as she laughs the anxiety out bringing her gaze to her son when he brought himself to look at his brother. “We are okay, like I promised”

Carl felt the tears return in his eyes as Y/N tiredly reaches to wipe away his tears. Rick smiles at the gentle act admiring his little family as he made this declaration a long time ago…

But he’ll never let anything happen to his family.

[lunajay33]

Lost

•🗝️🕊️🩶•

Summary: Carl Grimes was your best friend since birth, when he died the world turns grey, he was your partner in crime so you shut yourself off from the world, no one could get through, until one day you’re wondering Alexandria seeing Negan in his cell, maybe he could be the one to break you out of this hell

Pairing: Negan Smith x f!reader

Content: Age gap, Depressing themes, Consoling, Spicy themes later on, breeding kink, character development

•Masterlist•

I’ve been working around Hilltop helping out Maggie with what I could just for the week, Carl convinced me to come even though I really wanted to stay with in back in Alexandria, I just have this gut feeling for some reason, I work on cleaning up the garden thinking about the memories Carl and I shared, the first day of kindergarten when we were terrified of meeting other kids but he assured me he wouldn’t leave my side, or in grade 3 when boys would pick on me and he’d come to my rescue just like I did for him, then the world went to hell and everything happened so fast, I was out at the park with my parents, Carl and his mom and uncle Shane when crowds of walkers entered the park, screams erupted and blood went everywhere, Carl grabbed my hand and brought me back to his mom and Shane, I looked for my parents seeing them limp and covered in blood on the ground, I couldn’t mover until Carl snapped me out of it, Shane got us out of town, from then on Carl and I made sure to be eachothers safety net, partner in crime

We looked out for eachother after the farm fell, cuddling together on the road during cold nights, bunking together when we found the prison, I cared for him when his mother passed and did everything I could to help out with Judith, then the prison fell and I thought I’d never see him again, I found Carol, Tyrese and Judith on the road after a few days of being alone, everything happened at terminus and when I came out of the cabin and saw him again everything felt whole again like I had been missing a piece of me, on the road he kept me sane and grounded and I loved him for everything he’s given me, he’s my best friend, my brother even and no matter what this crazy screwed up world threw at us, we are there for eachother to support and love and comfort

I’m broken out of my thoughts when Maggie crouches beside me, plucking some berries that have ripened

“What’re you thinking about sweetie?” She asked nudging my arm

“Just all the moments I’ve shared with Carl, I guess I’ve just been feeling nostalgic today” I hear the gates open behind us, I turn excited to see if it might be Carl, he said he’d come pick me up at the end of this week here at Hilltop

I rush over to see Daryl enter first on his bike, I keep searching looking around for any sign of Carl, I look at Daryl confused when I find no sign of him

“Daryl, where’s Carl? He said he’d come”

He got off his bike clutching the strap of his crossbow, what he usually did when he was anxious

“Daryl?” My stomach feel sick somethings happened

“He tried…..tried to save some guy, nobody knew, not until he got worse” he grumbled out

“What…..what do you mean he got worse? Daryl? Daryl please tell me he didn’t……” I could feel my throat tighten my chest aches

“He got bit, he’s gone kid, I’m so sorry” he pulled me into his chest when I felt my knees weaken

I don’t know what to do, this pain is all consuming, that part of me that felt whole and complete with him just got ripped away in seconds, I feel so hollow and angry

“No no no no, he can’t be gone, please Daryl say you’re lying, just say this is a nightmare and I just need to wake up” I scream pushing back but seeing that defeated look on his face made it all real, he’s really gone, my best friend is dead

The drive on the back of Daryl’s motorcycle on the way back to Alexandria passed in a blur, there was no thoughts except Carl, nothing else just him and the way I loved him and the way he loved me, and I hate that I have to think “loved” and not “love” everything about him will be in the past now and it hurt, it hurts so damn bad, I don’t even know how to process this

The gates of Alexandria opened and Daryl drove in parking his bike infront of our house, it was just me Daryl, Rick Michonne, Judith and…….Carl

“Come on, get ya something to eat” Daryl said guiding me up the stairs, Daryl and Maggie always felt like more than just members of the group to me, they were more involved in my life than the others, they cared and noticed when I needed something, anything, but usually Carl would be the one to help me out

We got inside nothing has changed but it feels empty and lifeless, Daryl tried to get me to eat something but I just can’t, I go into my room downstairs across from Daryl’s and change into some sweats and one of Carls hoodies he gave me, it still smells like him, I can feel the tears run down my face all over again, when others died it still hurt but this is completely different, I’ve never felt like this before

I walk upstairs past everyone and go straight to Carls room, old comic books on his nightstand, some mess clothes strung over his floor, I laid on his bed when I feel something under his pillow, pulling it out it’s a letter with my name on it, I suck in a deep breath not feeling ready yet, I’m not sure when I’ll be able to read this, I tuck it into my hoodie pocket wishing I never had to get a letter

2 months have past and it’s been complete hell, I thought it was bad when I first found out, that maybe with some time I’d be able to grieve and try and find another hope to live, that’s what everyone tried to say at least, Daryl and Maggie kept checking on me every so often, telling me about what’s been happening trying to obviously distract me, Maggie was happy that they took down the saviours but livid that Rick let Negan live who now supposedly was a prisoner in a cell somewhere in Alexandria, Daryl would sit with me in silence sometimes just his presence sometimes helped, but only for a moment until Carl entered my thoughts again

I haven’t been able to eat, only if Daryl forced me to eat but I’ve only been able to keep down a little bit at a time, an apple, some water, but that feeling of hunger just never came, and I haven’t been able to sleep right either, I stay up all night just watching the stars thinking of all the times Carl and I would star gaze, he’d point out every constellation making me feel like an idiot but it was fun……..was

I get up from Carls bed changing into a fresh hoodie scared I’ll forget his smell, I walk to the mirror noticing the deep dark circles under my eyes and how my cheeks have sunken, my eyes blood shot, the hoodie is completely baggy on me now, freshening my hair into a less ratty ponytail and left the house, it’s late at night and the only people out are the people guarding the wall

I wander around until I’m sick of walking sitting on some steps that led down to some underground basement but it feels more private than just sitting on the street, feeling the cool night air it helps calm me down a bit, I push my hands into my pocket feeling the letter, I’ve kept it with me this whole time just waiting for the moment I get enough courage to read it, it’s time

I pull it out and unfold it looking at his familiar handwriting

“Y/n, my dearest friend, my best friend, the girl I’ve loved my whole life, I’m sorry have to write this, I’m gonna miss you and everything we could’ve done, but i don’t want you to wallow because I know if I lost you I’d be a wreck so please, don’t waste your life of precious moments on thinking about me, about reminiscing on every single detail of this pain, I love you more than anything so please for me…….live, find someone who will love you, find peace in the fact that I’m somewhere watching over you, because if anyone deserves the best in this screwed up world it’s you, I’ll always be there y/n just be happy”

But I don’t know how to be happy anymore, I’m glad it’s night time because I’m crying so hard I can’t breath, I feel sick, I feel like I need Carl

“Hey, you okay?” I hiccup and wipe my tears looking down the steps to the barred whole in the bricks where Negan stood looking up at me

“Sorry, I thought I was alone” I fold back up the letter and place it back in my pocket, I know the things Negan has done, but when I first met him when he visited Alexandria I felt oddly calm around him, un like everyone else

“You look like shit honey” usually when he said remarks like that he’d laugh in the persons face but he sounded genuine, if that was possible for Negan

“Thanks”

“This about Carl?” I go stiff hating enough that it plagued my mind but when others talked about it it just makes everything worse

“I don’t know what to do, how to live without him” I say feeling my lip tremble as I lean back against the brick wall next to the stair case

“I know how you feel, lost my wife at the start, the pain doesn’t go away, you just gotta learn to live with it” this side of Negan was really shocking me

“Carl was my best friend, he was there since day 1, I don’t know how to move on, how to deal with the pain, I feel like I’m dying, I look like I’m dying…..apparently” I look at him at the last comment

“Damn, I always thought you were his girl, he was pretty protective of you”

“He always did that, another thing I’ll miss…….how did you move on, after your wife, how do I sleep again, how do I eat, how do I not wanna die and be with Carl again, how do I…..be whole again” I wrap my arms around myself as if it would fix this feeling

“Don’t stop, Carl was a good kid and if you’re anything like him he’d want you to smile again, no one can fix how you feel, you have to find a reason to live, live for his memory”

“I’m scared” I whine sitting right infront of the bars of the “window”

“Of what?”

“That I’ll forget what he sounds like, that I’ll eventually forget what he looks like”

“You’ll be okay darlin, I promise you that”

I wipe more tears letting out a little embarrassed laugh

“Prisons really changed you”

“It’s given me plenty time to think, gets boring in here”

“I can……I can come visit you sometimes if you’d like?”

“Anytime darling I’m not going anywhere soon”

“Thanks for talking to me, I know I’ve been pretty much a mess”

“You’ve always been easy talking to you, only one to not seem scared”

“You don’t scare me Negan”

“Good, now go back home, take a shower and sleep” I nod before getting up to head home, when I get through the door about to head upstairs to Carls room but stop thinking about the letter, about what Negan said, I turn to go downstairs back to my room I haven’t slept in for 2 months, I shower and change into my own clothes, and for the first time in a long time I actually was able to sleep through the night

The sun shines through my window waking me up, I groan feeling my stomach grumble, after my talk with Negan last night it actual helped a bit, maybe its because he’s not family like everyone else that’s been trying to help me but he’s given me some umph to work on myself

I freshen up before going upstairs and grab some toast to eat

“Hey kid yer up early” Daryl says as he leans against the counter across from me

“Yeah, I finally got to sleep last night” I mumble

“Well good, I’m going out on a run today ya need anything?”

“Ummm….if you come across any foundation or something my color could you pick it up?”

“Why would ya need that?” He asked obviously confused since I never wear makeup

“Never mind it’s nothing, be safe on the run” I say quickly picking up an apple and leaving the house

In all honestly after finally looking in the mirror and seeing the damage I’ve done to myself, seeing how sickly and sunken my features have become it’s gotten under my skin and made me feel a bit self conscious

I walk down the streets seeing Michonne walking towards Negan cell, I catch up with her before she gets there

“Hey”

“Hey sweetie it’s nice to see you out” we were stopped right before the stairs down to Negans cell

“Yeah I needed some air, what’re you doing?”

“My turn to watch over Negan, worst part of my day” she groaned

“Ummm I can take your watch, I’m not doing anything else”

“You sure?”

I nod feeling my social battery already dwindle from this conversation, nothing against Michonne, I love her it’s just all new again still, everything didn’t get fixed over night

“Okay but if you get sick of him come get me” she said before she left back to the direction of our house, I walk down the stairs and actual get into the basement this time, seeing him laid on his little bed in his cell, I pull a chair up closer to his cell and he finally noticed me

“Back for more darlin?” He asks sitting up

“Is it a crime to come visit you?”

“Nah, I’d rather have you sit and talk then some guard glare daggers at me all day”

“You can’t blame them but……but someone should give you a chance” I say as I keep my eyes focused on the apple I brought

“You eat today?” He asks changing the subject

“Yeah…….here I brought this for you” I say holding the apple through the cell bars

“You eat it, you need it”

“Don’t push me, I already ate and I know they probably feed you crappy food so please take it” he looked me over and it feels like my skin is on fire like there’s a thousand eyes on me

He stood up coming over to take it, his fingers graze my hands sending little shivers up my arms

“So how’d you become the “all terrifying” Negan?”

“Told you last night about my wife, after she passed I couldn’t take it I became angry at everything and took my rage out on everyone, hell I was a gym teacher before now look at me, I had everything when I ran the saviours, still hard to let go of this anger sometimes” he groaned as he bite the apple

“I understand that anger, my parents died right at the start and Carl was there for me through everything, he never left my side, I told him I’d stay here with him that I didn’t wanna leave him just even for a week but he said…..he said he’d be fine and he’d come pick me up, now I regret I couldn’t even get to see him in his last moments, just to be there to comfort him”

“Oh kid, have you spoken to anyone about this? Someone you’re more close to than a prisoner?”

“I can’t, they’re already worried enough and Maggie has her son and Daryl had the town to deal with, and I don’t know it’s easier to talk to you” I bit my lip trying to keep the tears at bay

“When does it stop hurting?” I ask looking at him for some guidance

“I don’t know darlin, might be awhile”

“I wish I could be angry, take out all this pain and turn it into rage so I could deal with it some how instead of wasting away”

“Damn hun you need some comfort from someone” I sighed looking at the keys dangling on the hook on the wall for his cell

“Will you?”

“You’re not worried about me holding you hostage so they let me out of this damn hellhole”

“Well are you going to?” I ask pushing the key into the lock waiting for his answer

“I’m not that much of a prick” I unlocked the door and entered as he patted the bed next to him, I sit next to him feeling his arm wrap around my shoulders

“Left the door open and everything” he laughed as I rest my head against his chest

“If you wanna go I won’t stop you, you did awful things but I don’t think you should be locked up like some wild animal”

“You’re too sweet for this world, probably haven’t been able to even experience anything you should have by now, what are you 20?”

“22, and no I haven’t experienced anything really, not like there was any time or opportunities”

“You didn’t even experiment with Carl even if he was your friend?”

“We had little pecks but that’s all we wanted, he’s like…….he was like my brother” I say sitting up to look at him, his hand slides from my shoulders down to my thigh

“Haven’t even tested the waters with yourself?” He asks as his voice gets deeper my heart racing

“A little but…..” his hand slid higher up my thigh

“But what darling?” His gaze was intimidating but I also can’t look away

“But I don’t know what to do” I feel extremely turned on but also really embarrassed, either way it feels better than a shell of who I am

“Tell me what you’ve tried” I go to tell him how I touch myself when the door to the basement slams open and there stands Michonne, she comes in squeezing my arm tight and drags me out of the cell locking it behind her

“Michonne you’re hurting me” I whine from her grip

“What the hell were you thinking he could’ve hurt you” she yelled, she’s never yelled at me before and it’s terrifying

“I…….he wasn’t going to hurt me” I have to look away, her gaze was intimidate too but not in the way I like, her stare makes me feel small and weak bringing me back to this empty feeling again

“You’re an idiot if you think he wouldn’t use you, let’s go” she pushes me out the door and up the stairs, I see Negan through the window, he looked almost defeated as me, but what shon in his eyes ignited a little fire in the pit of my stomach

I’m definitely coming back here to finish that conversation

Part 2

Taglist: @lanadelnegan @lvrgirl6999 @aubiewabie33 @negandevotee @mordilwen-of-mirkwood @sweetbutpsychobutsweet @heidiland05 @sadgenderfluidmaniac

[aezuria]

okay okay but like could you do hcs about Jason grace x shy/cutesy fem!reader?? It would be so cute omgg everyone looks up to Jason as this intimidating badass leader but his gf is just the cutest, softest, most adorable lil thing ever??

*ੈ✎ he don't bite! (yes he do!)

content: jason grace x reader; hcs

warnings: none?? i made this more camp jupiter based tho sorry

note: THIS REQUEST WAS SOO CUTSEY OMGGG jason is a doberman bf fr

so like yk how everyone in camp jupiter sees him as this super tough guy???

who wouldnt; he was the former praetor, son of jupiter himself, literally trained for war since he was a toddler

why is a guy like that walking around with YOU??

the most sweetest girl to ever grace the earth

how does that even happen?

jason is quite literally marching around with perfect posture, glaring at everyone (he's really just squinting cause he forgot his glasses... again)

and then he sees you!!

even with shit eyesight he knows the shape of you by heart

and his whole demeanor just?? softens? lights up? relaxes? all of the above

it was just such a rough day for him; he forgets everybody around him and just scoops you into his arms, burying his face into the crook of your neck

a bit of an awkward position with him having to bend down at a weird angle but he doesnt care!!

he just wants to hold you and have you hold him and cuddle :((

meanwhile everyones like WTF WHO ARE YOU AND IS THIS REALLY JASON

literally melts in your arms the second you hug him back

"you wanna go rest?" you whisper into the crook of his neck, to which he nodded against your shoulder. you laughed lightly and pulled away, or at least tried to. "let's go then."

he begrudgingly let you out of his arms, following behind you

everybody else is still reeling in shock btw

you guys were the TALK OF THE TOWN for WEEKS after

one of those things where youd never guess but when you know abt it, it just makes SO much sense

you guys are polar opposites in such a good way (to everybody else at least)

cuddling with you is his best relaxing thing to do

you literally had to get him a life cause the only things he knew to do were work and fight

bro has never had a day off like ever

once you two started dating, he was introduced to the most addicting drug: physical touch

he was probably really shy at first; really really likes it but feels like he doesnt deserve it cause all hes been treated with is harshness

and hes unused to being so gently handled

(someone give him a hug fr)

which is what YOU did!

now he love loves it, especially on days like these when everythings just too much and all he wants to do is unwind

runs to you like a puppy

LOVE LOVES being the little spoon even though hes shy abt it

he can do both but smth abt being held instead of doing the holding for once makes his heart heavy in a bittersweet way

would spend all day in your arms if he could just get out of his workaholic attitude (which is never, but hes doing better with you)

okay, we can all agree jason is scary when hes mad

which is USUALLY unlikely unless someone hurts his friends or smth like that

but sometimes he just looks mad and if you werent close to him, you wouldnt be able to tell the difference

but back to him being MAD mad

like, abt to beat the living (dead?) shit out of a monster mad because there is one RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU EW GET IT OFF

he just, did NOT NEED THAT TODAY HES TIRED AND SAD AND that was his breaking point

unleashes HELL on that poor monster, literally calls down a whole storm

the skies turn dark, clouds heavy with rain and the whole camp just looks up like ??? was this on the weather forecast

then it starts raining LIGHTNING and they all know who it is

and go inside and hide

was it a bit overdramatic? yes, but jason deserves to be dramatic sometimes

once he FINALLY finishes the job, he stomps back into the camp, terminus even taking note and doesnt say anything quippy

youd think he has the plague by the way people make room for him to walk

but then you poke through the crowd and spot him. "jason?"

hed know your voice anywhere, his head immediately turning to the direction he heard it

you were already right next to him, rubbing his arm and giving him your signature sweet smile

the stormy air around him seemed to part for you, like you were sun seeping through the cracks in the clouds

"y/n," he greeted you warmly, linking your arms together

what an odd sight the two of you made, but a cute one nonetheless!

[lucettapanchetta]

[LIVE BROADCAST] - PRIVATE Seven Red Suns, No Significant Harassment [ These broadcast channels were always something of a sight for us iterators. ] [ Agreed. I can't believe they still work. ] [ You know, when we were first built, globalized communication arrays were only an experiment for iterators. ] [ Now it's all fading away, like an aging beacon collecting dust. ] [ You could say, in a sense, that we are slowly dying alongside it. ] [ It's weird to think that one day we'll be lonelier than we've ever been. At least by that time, I hope the messengers we potentially send out will aid in letting us communicate. ] [ Well, if my messenger could somehow survive not being fried by Moon's superstructure, maybe there is hope for that plan in the future. ] [ Other than that, at least we can say we tried our best for Moon and Five Pebbles. ] [ We did try, didn't we? I guess in the end, it's all that matters. ] [ So what now? ] [ I'm not sure, I might just take it easy for now. This whole ordeal is very taxing for my neural terminus. ] [ Well, if that's the case, I suppose we'll end it here for now. ] [ Yes, I think we should. ] [ Honestly, I hope one day we'll finally be free, and well, I also hope we can talk again soon. ] [ Come on now, at least one of them is guaranteed compared to the other one! ] [ Haha, indeed it is. ] [ Well, No Significant Harassment, I hope we can talk again. I'll let you know if I follow through with that plan of mine. ]

[ I look forward to it. ]

[misguidedasgardian]

Wild Cats (part III)

III. A leader worth following

MASTERLSIT

Summary: The bigger, the better, the most dangerous 

Pairing: Daryl Dixon x Fem!Reader

Warnings: Zombie apocalypse AU, living dead, zombies, guts, blood, guns, injuries, cannibalism, creepiness, murder, might miss some warnings. 

+18, MINORS DNI

Notes: I want to say that the reader will make a lot of movie references and phrases and the sort, its because since she is not from the US, she learned “the language” by watching movies and series, jeje. Also, she is a carnivore. 

“So you all agree? we’re going to this Terminus thing?”, asked Daryl. You were not convinced, but you didn’t want to voice your concerns either

“We think its worth to check it out”, said Rick

Since the events of that night, there was something different about Rick, and you could understand it, they had touched his cub. But he had this feral look to him. You barely knew him, and you could tell he was going through something.

He seemed like he was pulling out of the group, so did Michonne, the one that was looking at you like a hawk was the new guy -at least for you-, Daryl.

He was… hard to read

He and Rick both, from what you could gather, went down the longest, friends, more even, a certain bond beyond friendship existed between the both, and judging by the kind of world you now lived in, you guessed a bond made of blood, guts and shots. And those were proving to be quite strong. Survival

Because of how he spoke, you guessed he was what they called a redneck, sometimes it was hard for you to follow his words, because of his accent, but he seemed… good… but not to you though

He looked like he hated you, you felt watched all the time, and sometimes when you’d ask something he would answer harshly. You understood it, you did, this was a fucked up world, and, well… it did seem like they had been through hell.

You were surprised to find out you were still… sensitive like that, that you cared that much that he looked at you like you were the most idiotic thing left on the planet.

But you did save him from a brutal ass-kicking, so you felt like the lack of trust was a bit much, and a bit harsh.

The train tracks you were following were across a forest, it was autumn, and all the leaves were left on the floor. It was a pretty sight, if you had your phone, you’d snap a picture of it. 

The tracks were sure to disappear in a few years in the midst of nature, but still, you followed them. You walked for half a day, with remote conversations, until. You walked until you saw an old wooden post, and sign on the floor, it could be barely read

“Terminus, sanctuary for all”, said Rick, almost mockingly.

“We are getting er’ before sundown”, muttered Daryl, “we’re close”

“Now we head through the woods, we don’t know who they are”, muttered Rick, you all nodded, an decided to abandon the small tracks to sneak in through the forest 

Rick did not believe in this sanctuary, if they ask you, you really wanted to do so, you wanted to believe you could finally be safe, although the idea of meeting even more people unnerved you. Gods how antisocial you were.

“Hey new girl”, Daryl called you, and you realized you had been standing there as they headed towards the woods

“Sorry”, you muttered, following them close

“Are you alright?”, asked Rick, you barely nodded, “If you don’t want to go, I can’t make you”, he said slowly

“I do”, you assured him, “it’s just… weird”, you had a weird feeling, like a lump on your throat or something like that. You didn’t know if it was nervousness because something good was going to happen, or something bad.

“We just want to see if our people is there”, said Rick, “if they are, we will see what to do”, you nodded

You should be excited, for sanctuary, but you’ve come to realize, if something was too good to be true, it probably was. You kept walking through the woods, in parallel to the train tracks, or you thought you were, luckily these guys had a much better sense of directions than you.

“Do you think your people are there?”, you asked shyly

“If we are being hopeful”, muttered Daryl, he was looking at you, you looked at him back, he hummed and kept walking, you did the same.

He got you all nervous and you didn’t even know why.

As the archer had said, the sun was still on the horizon when you reached the fence, and a huge building came into view. 

“Let’s spread out, watch for a while, see what we see, and get ready, stay close”, command Rick, and you all obeyed him. You all spread out, Daryl and you went together as Michonne went with Carl the other way.

You kept eyeing the building so much you tripped.

“Can you be more careful?”, he snapped

“Sorry, I thought I saw something”, you whispered, he eyed you angrily and you tried your best to ignore it. The building was far, pretty far, you couldn’t see anything and that unnerved you, if it was said sanctuary wouldn’t you be able to see some movement?

“Don’t lie”, he grumbled

“Yes you are right”, you discussed, “is the lack of something that’s unnerving me”, you said, eyeing the building

“What ya’ mean?”, he asked

“I can’t see anything, either it’s deserted or it's a trap”, you mumbled, he only hummed, you felt his gaze on you again, and again, he made you so, so nervous. 

You walked far enough that you could see around, and still, you couldn’t see anything. 

“Let’s go back”, he grumbled, at least, you thought, he was talking to you and wanted to keep you around, you’d think he would just walk away from you, but he didn’t, that had to be something, right?

“Sure”, he wouldn’t walk behind him, he’d walk by your side of behind you, you thought that maybe he didn’t want to turn his back to you

You met again with Michonne, Carl and Rick in the same point, you arrived just as Rick was burying a duffel bag with weapons

“Just in case”, he muttered, as he used his hands as a rake to place dirt on top of it. You looked at “Terminus”. The word alone made you nervous. Even though it was probably used -in this case- to depict the end of the train tracks, you couldn’t help but notice its symbolism 

They only had to look at each other to know what they were supposed to be doing, and you just followed shortly after. 

You climbed up the fence, and jumped into the terrain of the train terminal. 

You sneaked into the nearest building, one of the biggest ones, you followed Daryl closely, who had taken the lead, je looked like he knew what he was doing, so you were comfortable in doing so. You went in through the backdoor, ended up in a big aisle, there was a door to your left down the hall. From where you stood you could tell this was a big warehouse, where what looked to be the center of operation was being run. The voice of a woman was louder than any others, she was speaking as she was sending a message through the radio, and she probably was. You crossed the door to the big space where you could see on the inside. 

“...Those who arrive survive… Terminus… sanctuary for all communities…”, the woman interrupted herself when they saw you coming in. The rest of them turned around to meet you, they were like six of them, all on the young side. 

One of them immediately gives a few steps forwards, claiming the leadership of the group of course.

“I bet Andre is in the perimeter watch”, he said mockingly, “are you here to rob us?”

“No, we wanted to see you before you saw us”, said Rick. You were still on guard, you’d thought this was going to be… different… for some reason, there was something that unnerved you about this place. 

“Makes sense”, said this guy, there were like six people in there, all young looking, “well, we usually do this where the tracks meet, but… Welcome to Terminus”, he said, he looked incredibly bored, “I’m Gareth, and you lot look like you had been in the road for a while”

“We have”, said Rick, “I’m Rick, this is Carl, Daryl, Michonne, and (y/n)”, the silence was tense, they were weary of you, and you were weary of them, but this guy was… just… already annoying 

“You are nervous we get it! we were all the same way”, he said, “we came here for sanctuary”, he said, “is that what you are here for?”

“Yes”, said Rick

“Well, you found it”, another young guy came forwards, “this is Alex”, he said, presenting a friend of his, “I promise you the welcome wagon it's just so much nicer on the front, he will take you there, but first, I need to see those weapons, so put them in the floor in front of you”

You looked at Rick, you all did, he barely nodded, and agreed. You dropped your ax and your gun in front of you.

Gareth approached you, you took a step back but he just checked you

“I would like to see the other guy”, the jackass Alexx said when he looked at Daryl’s beat up face. Like he hasn't been beaten to an inch of his life

“You wouldn’t”, he just said shortly. 

“Did they deserve it?”, asked Gareth, as Carl was sporting some injuries on his neck too.

“Yes”, said Carl shortly. They finished with the firsking and you were relieved it was over, they stood in front of your group again

“Well, don’t do anything stupid, because we are not stupid”, said Gareth, “so as long as you don’t everything will be fine”, you picked your arms back again, it was incredible that you felt like naked without it. You hanged your Ax from your special belt, and your gun in your holster 

You followed the guy out of the warehouse.

“How long has this palace been here?”, asked Daryl, as you walked down a hallway into the outside. 

“From almost the start”, Alex said, “when all other camps started to get overrun people started finding this place, think it was instinct you know? follow a path”, he kept mumbling things, but you didn’t care, you looked all around you as you reached a common open space in between the buildings.

There was this sweet-looking older woman serving a barbecue, good, you were hungry, but as the smell hit you you knew there was something wrong. It smelled strange, like… sweet? like nothing you had tried before and that made you uneasy, although it looked kind of good.

You kept looking and saw there were some tables and chairs, all looking nice and pretty. It looked like a normal hipsters backyard in the middle of New York or something, like in the movies. There were some people there, instinctively you looked to the rooftops and couldn’t see anyone else. 

“I see you went through the backdoor, smart”, said the woman, rotating some pieces of meat, “You’ll fit right in here”, all of these people had a weird attitude, like… tired? unsurprised? Bored? you didn’t know how to explain it

“Mary, can you fix them a plate please?”. You weren’t the only one nervous, Rick had stayed a bit back, and Daryl was watching everything like a hawk.

“Why do you receive people here?”, asked Michonne. Your group was weary of strangers, and they had every right to be, you were too, you even surprised yourself by joining this unusual gang. 

“The more people we have, the stronger we become”, the Alex-guy mumbled some other things, but again, your stomach turning rather from hunger or nervousness wouldn’t let you pay much attention. 

The lady served you paper plates with the nice looking meat.

“I don’t want to sound ungrateful, but can you tell me what this is?”, you asked her. But she didn’t get to answer. Rick slapped the plate off your hands and Carl’s, and grabbed Alex, placing him in front of him, sneaking an arm around his throat and pointing his gun at his head.

All of you jumped like springs, Daryl was already pointing his crossbow, and you grabbed your gun as well, pointed it at the woman.

“Where the hell did you get this watch?”, he asked, referring to a silver pocket watch this dude had on his hand. You were all pointing now as things got heated, even Carl. The people that were a bit far also were armed, as they grabbed their guns and pointed them back at you

“Dude!”

“Where did you get this watch?”, asked Rick again.

“You want answers? take the gun down!”, he implored, as he raised his hands. Rick was unhinge looking right now. 

“I see your men on the roof with a sniper rifle”, you looked up and there he was, “how good is his aim? WHERE DID YOU GET THE WATCH?”

“I took it from a dead guy! didn’t think he’ll need it!”, he mumbled something else

“What about the riot gear? the poncho?”, you followed his eyesight and, this didn’t look good. Oh gods…

“We got the riot gear from a dead cop!”, Gareth shows up again, and you decide to point your gun at him, “the poncho from a cloth line”

“Gareth we can wait!”, said the hostage 

“Shut up”, demanded Rick, tightening his hold on Alex, “you talk to me”, demanded from Gareth

“You don’t trust us anymore, so why bother?”, asked Gareth, there was something infuriating about him, he seemed so calm, this dude had seen things

“WHERE ARE OUR PEOPLE?”, asked Rick again, clearly angry, you looked at both Daryl, Michonne and Carl and they were all pointing at a different person with their weapons. 

Hell broke loose, a man sneaked up behind Rick, he turned and they just shot the human shield, and your group started shooting as well.

All went to hell. Shots began falling upon you from above, you shot at him, at the sniper, but you didn’t think you hit him as Daryl grabbed you by the arm and encouraged you to run. You all did, you ran back to where you came in, but the guy on the roof just started shooting in the groups to make you stop, so you turned and ran the other way, together.

Soon all the people had vanished but the men on the roof, shooting you from above.

You sneaked in through a building, but at every corner and every turn, everything was getting closed on your wake, doors and garage doors, and heavy metal floodgates. 

You finally could see a door you could enter through, to hide yourself from the snipers, and you did. You came inside what looked like a sanctuary, candles lit everywhere, writing on the walls. 

“What the hell is this place?”, asked Daryl, finally releasing you, as he stole the words from your tongue, as you were going to ask the same.

“These people… I don’t think they want to kill us”, muttered Michonne

“No, they were aiming at our feet”, said Rick

“What do they want us for?”, you asked. Reading the words on the walls, TRUST NO ONE, NEVER FORGET, NEVER AGAIN and other strange missives. “Rob us?”, you saw them exchange looks but didn’t answer, it was like they were in on a secret. 

two of the three doors of the space closed right in your face

“THERE!”, screamed Rick, there was only one door available to exit, and you took it quickly.

Outside you were met with more gunshots. But still, there was a perimeter fence ahead and you ran towards that, and just when you thought you had freed yourself, five men showed up from the bushes, heavily armed and pointing straight at you

You were cornered, and screwed, as you stopped, so did the gunshots.

“DROP YOUR WEAPONS NOW!”, commanded Gareth, appearing from the building, there were at least five snipers on the roof, five other men behind you. “NOW!”, he said again. And you did, you didn’t have any choice. You left your gun and Ax on the floor right in front of you. And raised your hands. You all did. 

“Ring leader! go to your left! train car, go!”, you looked that way and indeed there was a train car with the letter “A” painted on it. Rick hesitated, “You do what we say, the boy ends up with you, you don’t… the kid dies and you go anyways”, you knew he looked like a little bitch. Rick began to walk.

“Now the archer”, he said calmly, and Daryl did as he was told too, shooting you a look, “now the Samurai”, he said, Michone started moving too, and it wasn’t until she was half way there, that he called for you, “now the viking”, you frowned but did as you were told, you walked until you were behind Michonne, “stay in front of the door, Ringleader, Archer, Samurai, Viking… in that order”

“MY SON!”, demanded Rick

“Go kid”, he mumbled, “now Ringleader, open the door, and enter the wagon”

“I’ll go with him!”, he counterattacked, as Carl had not reach you yet

“Don’t make us kill him now”, you didn’t like how that “now” sounded. So you were done for? Now or later these sickos were going to try and kill you. 

Rick opened the door, and entered the space, so did Daryl, Michonne and then you, followed by Carl, it was dark in there, and empty. The door got closed and locked after Carl. It was only when your eyes adapted that you could see some human figures on the other side.

“Rick?”, a man came walking slowly, and then a woman. It was dark, but in front of the light that sneaked through the closed door you could see his face, or sort of. Every second that passed your eyes adapted more and you could define seven other people inside.

“You are here!”, said Rick. Both groups looked at eachother curiously, cautiously. Rick threw himself at the dude, the one that called his name, and hugged him tightly, he hugged him back. Then Daryl, as Rick hugged the woman. 

You found Rick’s team?, this was insane! What are the chances? They were seven strangers to you though, four men, and three women

When the reunion of the people that already knew each other ended, it was pretty clear who the new additions were, including you, who stood there, trying to calm yourself after the adrenalin was wearing off. 

“They are our friends”, said the woman, looking behind her, to three strangers, “they helped safe us”

“This is our friend”, presented Daryl, talking about you, you only waved weirdly, “now they’re friends of ours”

“For however long that’ll be”, said a huge ginger man with a thick mustache. 

“No”, said Rick, you all looked at him. He walked around, towards the door, and tried to peek out of there. “They’re gonna feel pretty stupid when they found out…”, Rick said, turning again towards you

“Find out what?”, asked the big ginger man

“That they are screwing with the wrong people”, he said darkly you smirked 

[in1-nutshell]

Any mtmte (did I spell that right, I also want rodimus included in it) characters you want, I want to see the bots reaction to bot (gn) buddy that use (still is) to be megatrons sparkmate, and a gladiator before. 🫣 megatron and buddy still on good terms tho.

Okay... I had a bit too much fun with this one, so its a bit longer than what I usually do my writings. I used a different writing style than what I usually used too. If this isn't what you wanted, please let me know.

Hope you enjoy!

Bot Buddy being Megatron's sparkmate (its complicated) that was a former gladiator with Rodimus Prime, Nautica, and Ravage

SFW, Platonic, Romantic implications, Pre-war Cybertron and Post-war Cybertron mentioned, Cybertronain reader

MTMTE

Megatron had met Buddy while waiting for his next match.

The two had entered a nice conversation before Buddy was called off to their match. That wouldn’t be the last time they would meet each other.

Megatron met Buddy again in the infirmary after a particularly brutal match. Both gladiators had to stay in the med bay for the night. That night was filled with much talking and laughter.

That’s where everything began.

So, the two gladiators began sneaking off to go meet each other and secretly watch each other’s matches.

Despite the circumstances, they made it work.

“Buddy?”--Megatron

“Right here Megatron.”--Buddy

“Perfect timing as usual. How was today’s match?”--Megatron

“Same ol’. Same ol’. What about yours? I heard through the guards todays was particularly spectacular.”--Buddy

“I… showed the crowd my panels.”--Megatron

“You have panels?”--Buddy

“Yes, I know it—”--Megatron

“And you didn’t tell me?! Now you have to show me them!”--Buddy

“Hush! You’ll give away our position!”--Megatron

“And? What do you think the guard will do at this late hour? They’ll be too tired to do anything, plus our biolights are on low. The bot wouldn’t be able to see our faces before he’d see our pedes!”--Buddy

“You know what they would do Buddy. You shouldn’t be so careless.”--Megatron

“Yeah, but still, I bet we can take them together. Assuming you’d be by my side and not using me to give you a head start.”--Buddy

“I would stay by your side, you know that.”--Megatron

“I know. You’d start panicking and worrying if I wasn’t around anyways.”--Buddy

“Maybe I should leave you.”—Megatron

“Oh, Megs, you’ve wounded me!”—Buddy

“But in all seriousness, I would come to you if you’d call.”—Megatron

“…Thanks Megs…”—Buddy

“Don’t call me that.”—Megatron

“Nah.”--Buddy

Buddy was there for many of his major achievements in and outside the ring.

They cheered for him as he basked in the energon of his enemy after a win.

They helped him continue his writing after Terminus disappeared.

They even had the pleasure of meeting his inner circle for the new Decepticon movement he was starting.

“So, this is the infamous Decepticon circle I’ve been hearing about?”--Buddy

“And you are?”--Starscream

“Megatron’s friend. I am a gladiator as well.”--Buddy

“Just friend?”--Thundercracker

“Yes?”--Megatron

“Well just hearing how much you talk about them, we assumed—”--Skywarp

“Why don’t you introduce yourselves first.”--Megatron

“Hey is that-- Buddy!”--Frenzy

“Rumble! Frenzy! Ravage!”—Buddy

“Looking good Buddy.”--Rumble

“What—”--Megatron

“How’s is your arm wound from the fight?”--Ravage

“What arm—”--Megatron

“I thought the guards caught you, guess you gave them the slip huh.”--Frenzy

“Guards?”—Megatron

“Oh, you know me. I never get caught!”--Buddy

“How do you three know each other?”--Megatron

“We met after some drunk bots started fighting dirty with us. Buddy in and used some of their signature moves to gives all a head start. We got some drinks then we split when the guards started coming by the sector.”--Ravage

“Never gonna mess with ya after that display. Truly an artform.”--Frenzy

“It wasn’t that big of a deal.”--Buddy

“Yeah, tell that to the other guy’s servos.”--Rumble

“Wait what happened to—”--Megatron

“ANYWHO! The triplets over there are Starscream, Skywarp, and Thundercracker. Screamer’s the one in red, Warp is the purple one, and Cracker is the blue one.”--Frenzy

“Hello!”--Buddy

“Hi.”--Skywarp

“Buddy.”--Starscream

“Hello.”--Thundercracker

“The purple one over there is Shockwave.”--Frenzy

“Hello!”--Buddy

“Greetings.”--Shockwave

“Don’t take it personally, he doesn’t have his emotions anymore.”--Ravage

“Oh…”--Buddy

“And this is Soundwave!”--Rumble

“Hello!”--Buddy

“Hello.”--Soundwave

Through telepathy. “Really ‘just a friend’.”--Soundwave

Through telepathy. “First, WOW! This is amazing! Second, just give me a couple more cycles! I’m working up the courage… how often does he talk about me? Are they good things?”--Buddy

Through telepathy. “Too much its painful now. Please put us out of our misery.”--Soundwave

Through telepathy. “I hope so, if he does feel the same way.”--Buddy

Through telepathy. “He does, believe me. His thoughts if not thinking about this whole operation and his writings is you. Which is happening a lot more than usual these days.”—Soundwave

“Really?!”—Buddy

“You should hear the poems he thinks about you.”--Soundwave

“Umm… Boss? You’re not threatening Buddy are you?”--Rumble

“Negative. Simply having a chat.”--Soundwave

“Was it?”--Megatron

“It was. You seem to have a strong foundation, Megatron. And with all the followers that are going to come in, the Senate will have to hear you now!”--Buddy

“Hopefully.”--Megatron

“Don’t get so down in the dumps Megs! Have a little faith. A little faith never hurt anyone.”--Buddy

“…Maybe.”--Megatron

“See!”--Buddy

‘He is down bad for them.’—Soundwave and every Decepticon there.

Megatron was pleased to see Buddy get along with his colleagues.

A couple cycles pass he starts getting thoughts about the Conjux ritual. The bot that always comes into his processor is Buddy.

But would Buddy even want that?

What if they didn’t want that?

What if they just wanted to be friends or Amica?

After a few peptalks with Soundwave, he is ready. He believes he is ready to finally begin the first steps.

“Buddy.”--Megatron

“Hey Megs? You don’t usually come by this sector, you know there’s more guards at this time right?”--Buddy

“First of all, don’t call me that. Second, I know its… just meet me at the old oil house tonight.”--Megatron

“Tonight? What happened with next cycle? You already breaking tradition?”--Buddy

“Can you—”--Megatron

“I’m just messing with you Megs. I’ll be there.”--Buddy

“Be careful.”--Megatron

“Please Megs, I’ve never been caught, and I will not get caught. Don’t worry so much.”--Buddy

Everything was going to be all right.

Right?

That night, Buddy was an hour late.

Buddy was always a punctual bot, the most they had been late was a couple minutes late.

Worried, Megatron decided to take things into his own servos. He managed to sneak into their quarters the same route he had done multiple times before.

The entire place was stripped clean.

“Buddy? Buddy!”--Megatron

Silence.

“Buddy this isn’t funny. Come out!”--Megatron

Silence.

“Buddy?”--Megatron

He went to ask the bots in the next room, but no one was there.

The room was also stripped clean.

He went in a frenzy opening door finding the same thing in each one.

He would have been caught by the night guards, if it weren’t for Ravage and Soundwave.

They would later find out that the entire quarter of gladiators in that section had been relocated to another city. But the ship had been ‘accidentally’ taken down as soon as it took off near the city limits. It was clear as day that the ‘accident’ was planned, but no one would investigate a case of nameless gladiators.

There were no survivors.

“I am sorry Megatron. They are gone.”--Soundwave

“…”--Megatron

“Megatron?”--Ravage

“I need some time by myself now.”--Megatron

“…Ravage.”--Soundwave

“On it.”--Ravage

Ravage hadn’t felt such spark break than he had in that moment with Megatron. He and Soundwave had to break the news to the others when they got back to their makeshift base. There was a lot of shock and mourning that happened that night. Everyone tread carefully near Megatron as if he were a ticking time bomb.

Ravage stayed by his friends’ side for a good time before he was deemed fine once again.

Megatron was far from fine.

Megatron was near inconsolable at the beginning. He felt almost as helpless as when Terminus had disappeared. His old friend, Impactor, after hearing the news tried to get him out of this hole. He was lucky enough to get him out of his habsuite and back outside. He took him to Maccadams for a drink.

The rest went downhill from there.

Meanwhile Buddy had actually been transported to a different ship at the last second thanks to an error in the system that no one wanted to fix.

Buddy had been taken to one of the colony ships instead.

The ship set to go to Caminus.

While it was rough to adjust at first, especially after hearing what happened to their ship. Buddy quickly found some friends and began their new life on Caminus. They wanted to build a life on Caminus first and as soon as they got the chance, they would go back to Cybertron, grab Megatron and his friends and have them all live with them on Caminus.

Buddy met three bots named Chromia, Nautica, and Windblade. The three didn’t judge Buddy by their past and made it their goal to help Buddy adjust to Caminus the best they could.

Windblade would go more on the cultural and artistic facts about Caminus, a planet that made Cybertron seem very rough by comparison.

When Chromia found out about Buddy’s fighting career, she wanted to spar.

If it was okay with Buddy after all.

She was not disappointed with the new challenge.

She even managed to get Windblade to join in too.

Nautica was a bit intimidated by Buddy at first but quickly warmed up to them once she saw that Buddy wasn’t a bad bot.

Being the wall flower Nautica was, she didn’t offer buddy to go out in crowded places too often.

Instead, she indulged Buddy in her deep sea findings.

Buddy loved seeing their friends so happy.

They did try and find out more things about Buddy’s past, but with Buddy being vague with the details, they decided that if Buddy did wanted to talk about it, they would on their own time.

“You care to go on another sparring match Buddy?”--Chromia

“Since when have I backed down from that challenge Chromia?”--Buddy

“Well good luck you two—”--Windblade

“And where do you think you’re going Windblade? You’re sparring with us.”--Chromia

“But—”--Windblade

“Maybe if I join in, it won’t be so bad? I could use the warm up.”--Nautica

“Well…”--Windblade

“Well?”--Chromia

“All right. I guess—”--Windblade

“I’m on Buddy’s team!”--Nautica

“Nautica!”--Windblade

Buddy did try and call Megatron, he never answered them. They stopped trying after hearing all the atrocities he was committing on Cybertron. It soon became clear that the Megatron they once knew was gone and replaced with this… awful monster.

Between their work on Caminus and their free time, Buddy did try and keep tabs on Cybertron through the air waves.

Buddy decided to stay neutral for the longest time, not wanting to get involved with politics that no longer concerned them.

That was until on night they had been flying their personal space cruiser when they received a distress signal.

They turned to the signal and saw a red mech flouting around waving his arms around.

Buddy grabbed the mech and pulled him inside the ship.

“Wow, you look like a Sharkticon chewed and spat you out.”--Buddy

“Thanks…”—Hot Rod

“Anyways stranger I’m here to help you with some repairs.”--Buddy

“You’re going to repair me? But you’re a NAIL.”—Hot Rod

“So… your point?”--Buddy

“Don’t you guys hate us, for the war and all?”—Hot Rod

“Kid—”--Buddy

“The names Hot Rod.”—Hot Rod

“Hot Rod, I may not be associated with either of your sides right now or ever, but that doesn’t mean I’m some sparkless bot who’s going to let you bleed all over my ship cold and alone. Now hold still, I know how to repair most of this stuff with what I’ve got so let’s make it count.”--Buddy

“…Thanks…”—Hot Rod

“The names Buddy, Hot Rod.”--Buddy

“Buddy? That’s a… fun name.”—Hot Rod

“Yeah, yeah, it was supposed to be a mean nickname for me back in the old days for my ‘friendly’ personality, but jokes on them, I liked it better than my actual name, so I adopted it.”--Buddy

“Oh!”—Hot Rod

“So, what actually chewed and spat you out because these dents are definitely bite marks.”--Buddy

“It’s a long story.”—Hot Rod

“I’ve got time and enough fuel to get you to…”--Buddy

“Junkion—Wait you’re going to fly me there?”—Hot Rod

“Sure, I got free time.”--Buddy

“And you’re willing to help a stranger get to a planet near enemy territory? Aren’t you afraid of getting caught in the crossfires?”—Hot Rod

“Roddy, if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that I don’t get caught. Never have and never will.”--Buddy

The two had a nice time together while flying.

When Buddy touched down on the planet, they gave him their personal commline in case he was ever blow up into space again. He smiled widely and waved good-bye before racing out to join his group.

Buddy simple took off feeling a bit lonelier on the ship than before. In small solidarity of their little Autobot friend, Buddy decided to get a small Autobot insignia on the inside of their arm.

Time skip after the war and Nautica and Velocity had joined the Lost Light.

Buddy was feeling a bit lonely on Caminus now.

Chromia and Windblade were frequently going to Cybertron now that Starscream had requested their help in speaking with Metroplex. How either didn’t tell Starscream that Buddy was on Caminus was beyond them.

Nautica did call every now and then.

Even Velocity had managed a call or two.

Mainly talks about the science staff and the medical staff on this crazy ship.

Buddy wanted a change. This ship sounded like the change they needed, at least for a little bit.

Buddy packed their things and left the planet on their cruiser looking for the star ship.

It took a while of flying before the giant star ship of the Lost Light came into view.

Buddy hailed in the ship and was received with a talk from the ship���s captain.

“This is the Lost Light. Please state your business.”—Magnus

“Hello, this the space cruiser 1232024, permission to come aboard?”--Buddy

“…You sound familiar. Who are you?”--Rodimus

“My name is Buddy—”--Buddy

“Wait Buddy?! Buddy from Caminus? Wow! It’s been a while!”--Rodimus

“I’m sorry?”--Buddy

“Excuse him, he might think you might be someone else.”--Magnus

“No, you patched up a red mech during the war with pieces of their hull.”—Rodimus

“How do you know that?”—Buddy

“Well, I would be a horrible bot if I didn’t remember who saved me those years ago in space.”--Rodimus

“Oh Primus! Roddy is that you?!”--Buddy

“Yeah! Well, I go by Rodimus Prime now, but yeah come aboard!”--Rodimus

Buddy was greeted by Rodimus and Ultra Magnus at the docking entrance.

Rodimus is pulled into an armor denting hug. Buddy is relieved that their small Autobot friend was okay after all this time.

A former Prime too.

Buddy shook their servo with Ultra Magnus and greeted him politely.

Magnus has gained a friend.

Magnus is going to treasure this friend.

Finally, someone else on this ship that knows decent manners!

“So, what brings you in? You need some oil?”--Rodimus

“No thank you, I’m actually here to ask if I could join you and your crew on your quest.”--Buddy

“Really!”--Rodimus

“Really?”--Magnus

“Yes! I’ve heard about it through some friends of mine that are crewmates of yours. Nautica mainly.”--Buddy

“Yes, you can join! Welcome on aboard. I can comm in Nautica if you want.”--Rodimus

“Oh, that won’t be necessary Captain.”--Buddy

“Why?”--Rodimus

“Well, it kind of defeats the purpose of surprising someone if they know what the surprise is.”--Buddy

“Oookay! I got it! Magnus!”--Rodimus

“Rodimus--”--Magnus

“Call in for an audience in the bridge. We have a dramatic entrance to make.”--Rodimus

Rodimus leaving to the bridge.

“I don’t remember him being this energetic. But he did have though injuries.”--Buddy

“Get used to it, as Co-Captain he loves his role.”--Magnus

“Co-captain? Is that even a term?”--Buddy

“It is now. And welcome aboard.”--Magnus

“Thank you, Ultra Magnus.”—Buddy

Buddy soon was with Ultra Magnus behind one of the bridges blindside chatting about stories that happened before Nautica came aboard.

Apparently, they were going to have a rather unorthodox travel. They started loving this ship more then before.

Buddy would sometimes slip a glance out from their hiding space to see the crowd of Bots around them.

A familiar purple bot caught their optics. Buddy couldn’t hold back the fond smile coming onto their faceplate.

But something else caught their optic.

It was a streak of black, but Buddy could have sworn they had seen that bot before.

“What are you looking at?”--Magnus

“I found Nautica, which is amazing and all, but I thought I saw someone else.”--Buddy

“Who did you think you saw?”--Magnus

“I thought I saw—”--Buddy

“Buddy?!”--Ravage

“No, that’s me, but—wait…”--Buddy

“Ravage what are you doing here? You’re supposed to wait with the others down—”--Magnus

“Buddy! You’re alive!”--Ravage

“Ravage?! Wow! I haven’t seen you—”--Buddy

Ravage leaping to Buddy’s face, but Buddy quickly catches him and keeps him at arms length.

“Ravage!”--Magnus

“Hold it Magnus. Ravage—”--Buddy

“We mourned for you! Do you have any idea what happened when you left? Where did you go? Did someone kidnap you? Tortured you? Put you in a stasis chamber? What?! What happened?!”--Ravage

Buddy pulling Ravage close to their chassis.

“It is good to see you, my friend.”--Buddy

“…I’m not helping you with what happens next when you meet him.”--Ravage

“Meet who?”--Buddy

“You mean they haven’t told you yet?”--Ravage

“Told me what?”--Buddy

“Who do you think the Co-Captains are?”--Ravage

“Rodimus and Magnus?”--Buddy

“I’m not a Co-Captain.”--Magnus

“Really? Because it looked like you’d be one of the bots in charge of things around here.”--Buddy

“I am, however, I am not the other Co-Captain.”--Magnus

“Then who—”--Buddy

“—and without further or do. Here is our newest crewdition!”--Rodimus

“I guess this is my cue. See you in a minute Ravage.”--Buddy

Buddy putting down Ravage down and walking to the main part of the bridge.

“Wait! He doesn’t know they’re here!”--Ravage

“Who doesn’t know?”—Magnus

Buddy turned the corner and saw a sea of bots looking up at them. They saw many curious optics looking over at their frame. The first thing they heard was the familiar sound of Nautica squealing. Buddy saw Nautica making her way up to reach Buddy with Velocity trailing behind her.

The second sound Buddy heard was a loud gasp next to them. Buddy turned and saw the last mech they would have expected being there.

Megatron, in all of his gunmetal glory, stood next to Rodimus. Optics trained on Buddy as Buddy looked back with the same intensity.

Nautica stopped seeing Buddy looking at Megatron like they saw a ghost…

Oh!

Oh!

This made sense now.

Buddy had always mentioned a certain gladiator back in the old days with much fondness. She always teased Buddy from time to time about the little love, but Buddy wouldn’t do much to say otherwise.

Of course, it was Megatron! He matched too many of the stories Buddy had told her from time to time.

She looked back at Buddy as she began moving forward slowly to the ex-warlord.

“Buddy? Is that you?”--Megatron

Buddy picking up the pace a little bit.

“By the Prime’s it is you! But, how? You’re ship! The whole thing had engulfed in flames!”--Megatron

Buddy sprinting opening their arms out.

Megatron reactively opened his arms out too.

Buddy grabbing said arm and judo flipping the mech onto his back with a pede on his throat.

“THAT WAS FOR NEVER ANSWERING ME BACK YOU SON OF A TURBOFOX!”--Buddy

“Woah!”--Rodimus

“Hold it, hold it!”--Velocity

“That’s kind of hot.”--Whirl

“Not now Whirl.”--Nautica

Buddy getting off of Megatron and single handedly helping him up so they could hug him.

“This is for…for…”--Buddy

“Buddy…”--Megatron

“Hey Megs, I told you I wouldn’t get caught.”--Buddy

“I shouldn’t have doubted you, for a second.”--Megatron

“Finally learning your lesson?”--Buddy

“Maybe.”--Megatron

“…FINALLY!”--Ravage

“Yes!”--Nautica

“What. The.—”--Rodimus

“Rodimus language!”--Magnus

“I have a right!”--Rodimus

“Hey Buddy! Flip me next!”—Whirl

[continuous-spec]

Snippet from The Messages in Between Chapter 2. Garrus' message to Shepard during their six months apart. I broke my heart writing it.

[Garrus Vakarian - Draft Date AST: July 25th, 2186]

I’ve gotten more comm buoys out to increase the hard lines of communication. I will be pretty busy dealing with them and getting them up and running. Mom is back on Palaven. Treatments went well. She’s starting physical therapy. She’s really trying. 

I can’t believe I’m actually seeing her walk. 

[Garrus Vakarian - Draft Date AST: August 7th, 2186]

Okay, so I’ve learned from the best and started yelling. And the Hierarchy is listening again. My task force just doubled overnight and with more money. We have actual tangible stockpiles of food and medicine that could last us years in most of the colonies.

I’m finally getting somewhere on this, Shepard. 

[Garrus Vakarian - Draft Date AST: August 11th, 2186] 

Have you heard from Liara? I could really use her right now. The terminus system is giving us trouble on our comm buoys. I’m hoping she has a few contacts that could sort that out. She’s not answering, though. Remind you of anyone? 

[Garrus Vakarian - Draft Date AST: August 18th, 2186]

I’m this close to reaching out to Wrex for help. Maybe if I got him a bottle of Ryncol, he’d be cooperative? I’d save it for you, but we all know what happens when you get your hands on it, Shepard. And you know it would kill me. Wrex just seems like the safe choice for it. 

[Garrus Vakarian - Draft Date AST: August 24th, 2186] 

She’s in the hospital again. Spirits Shepard it’s bad. Something about her liver from the treatments.

I shouldn’t have hoped. 

[Garrus Vakarian - Draft Date AST: September 2nd, 2186] 

We just held her funeral.

At night, when the wildflowers bloom. An old Cirpritine superstition. Your spirit can’t reach safe passage without them. The flowers guide the spirits back to the grounds of Palaven for final rest. 

I’ve never seen the fields fuller than they were tonight. 

[Garrus Vakarian - Draft Date AST: September 2nd, 2186] 

On Omega, I thought I was going to die there and be stuck to haunt that rock.  Not exactly a lot of flowers flourish there. Thankfully I had you to pull me out.

I wish you were here with me now, Shepard. 

[Garrus Vakarian - Draft Date AST: September 5th, 2186] 

My mom’s name was Laesia Vakarian. She used to design ships for the turian military. Mainly she designed smaller military vessels, but she was so proud of her work. 

Did you know she wanted me to steal Normandy blueprints when I told her I joined? I’m only half-joking. She was pretty upset she wasn’t asked to be on the project. 

She said the Normandy was something she’d always hoped for, a true invention. 

She didn't care about C-Sec or that I quit. 

My joining made her so proud. She said I got to be part of the symbol of the best of what turian and humans can do together. That I was destined to do great things with the opportunity. She was right. But I’m hoping there’s more we can do with the Normandy. 

Her eyes lit up so much over that vid call when I told her I joined. That was the last time I saw her as truly herself.  

I was so hopeful I would have seen that again. I guess that is what I get for being greedy in my hope.   

I wish you could have met her in her better times. 

She would have liked you, Shepard. 

Read the rest on Ao3

[carabalism]

baby

pairing(s) twd x teen!reader, rick grimes x teen!reader (platonic)

synopsis y/n went through hell and back for a baby she didn’t even know the name of. but now she finally meets the father of the baby.

warning(s) canon-typical violence/gore

masterlist

“you’re gonna be okay.. shhh..” y/n whispered to the baby wrapped to y/n’s chest securely with a sheet covering her. y/n had rubbed her body with the guts of a walker to camouflage amongst the walkers, but she couldn’t bring herself to put any of it on a baby, “we got this baby.”

y/n had judith hidden under the sheet, so that her scent would be covered too. she was relieved that the baby made little to no noise, occasionally crying when she needed something, but this wasn’t such a fussy baby.

“we’ll get to terminus,” y/n mumbled, every inch of her body ached, burned, hurt. her eyes stung with every blink they took, her eyelids heavy from her lack of sleep and her throat dry. the weight of two bags was getting to her, but she urged her body to move on. for baby.

y/n had found the prison, destroyed and littered with walkers. but she also found judith, alone and screaming with walkers approaching. y/n saved judith. the teenage girl had saved the baby’s life and dedicated everything she had to return the baby to its family. no matter how long it took. she was determined to find out what her name was - “baby” didn’t seem like such a good guess.

explosions.

up the track there were explosions.

up the track was terminus.

a newfound energy kicked into y/n’s body and she began running towards the explosions. tears stung her tired eyes as she ran, holding judith as closely as she could. this was her last hope. terminus was supposed to be it.

a small cabin caught her eye and she decided that it would be a good place to hide out until she could be sure the coast was clear. with her gun raised she swung the door open quickly, ready for anything. what she found was a man tied up on the ground and another man with a beanie on, leaning against the wall.

“what the hell is going on here?” y/n glared at both the men, her gun pointing at the man not tied up.

“put the gun down, it’s not what it looks like.” tyreese raised his hands, “he’s from terminus… terminus isn’t what it seems.”

y/n eyed tyreese suspiciously, but one look at the smirking man on the ground, she could tell who the real threat was.

“i don’t want to have to hurt any of you, i’m just trying to find someone.” y/n explained, her gun still raised and aimed at the tied up man.

“i’m tyreese, if you put the gun down i’ll help you look for them as soon as this is over,” he smiled, his words sounding sincere. y/n wondered how he had survived so long but remain kind. she didn’t remember the last time a stranger was nice to her.

“i’m y/n…” y/n looked down at the dirty blanket covering judith, she lifted it slightly to show tyreese her head, “this is baby.”

tyreese’s eyes widened and he looked at y/n in complete shock, “is she..”

“can’t believe there’s kids having kids now and calling them baby! what a joke.” the man tied up on the ground laughed.

“she’s not mine, asshole.” y/n rolled her eyes, “i woke up one day and heard explosions, when i got there everything was already gone… it was a prison.”

“a prison?” tyreese’s voice shook, the realisation hitting him that judith was alive, “judith..?”

y/n looked at tyreese in shock, “judith?”

“judith grimes,” tyreese nodded, he seemed slightly dazed, but happy, “can i see her?”

y/n hesitantly pulled the blanket off judith and revealed the baby to the man, “you know her? do you know her parents?”

“this is so touching,” a scoff left the man’s lips and he rolled his eyes.

“you speak again and i’ll kill you.” y/n glared at the hostage.

“big guy over here won’t let you.”

“no one has to get hurt.” tyreese sighed, not wanting the teenage girl to shoot the man. especially not a kid.

“do you know baby’s parents?” y/n repeated her question, “sorry- judith.”

“her father… i knew him, but i haven’t seen him since the prison fell, we were hoping to find him at terminus if he made it. that’s where he would go if he made it.”

y/n sat down on a chair in the corner of the cabin, she unwrapped judith from her midriff. rocking her back and forth, y/n whispered to the baby about how she’d see her father again.

“you realise you’re going to have to kill me right?” the man spoke up again, making y/n roll her eyes.

“we don’t.” tyreese stared at y/n, silently pleading with her, “we don’t.”

“c’mon man, he’s tied up and you said he’s bad people,” y/n argued, “keeping him alive is doing no good to anyone. he’s a threat.”

“he’s tied up, you said yourself, he can’t hurt us.” tyreese pleaded.

everything felt heavy. there was a constant ringing that y/n couldn’t get rid of, her body moved on its own as her vision went in and out of focus. a shiver ran down her spine and in response a sob leapt out of her mouth as she hugged the baby close, tucking judith’s head under her chin.

blood stained her hands and each glimpse of red that she caught, the more she sobbed.

“hey.. hey, look at me,” y/n heard a distant voice, “look at me, hey!”

y/n stared into tyreese’s eyes and choked on a sob, “i’m s-sorry.”

the prisoner the two kept had inevitably attempted an escape and when tyreese couldn’t put a stop to him, y/n did. she gutted the man. stabbed him repeatedly. and finally a stab to the head to permanently end him.

“don’t be sorry.” tyreese shook his head, holding y/n by the shoulders as he crouched down in front of her, “you did good. you saved judith.”

“i-is she o-okay?” y/n tried to speak, but each word was almost impossible for her to say. she kept gasping for more air between words.

“she’s fine, she’s okay, we’re all okay.” tyreese smiled, “we have to get up now, you can finally meet her father.”

“really?” y/n whispered, she was slowly slipping out of her daze and noticed the group of people standing a few metres away.

“yeah,” tyreese grinned and helped her up, despite her shakiness she walked with tyreese to the group of people. a boy ran to her and immediately took judith from her grasp and hugged her. a man wasn’t so far behind and when he reached her he wrapped his arms around her and engulfed her in a tight hug.

“thank you,” the man cried, “thank you.”

y/n hugged the man back, a smile on her face. she had returned baby back to her family. she completed her mission.

“if she responds to the word baby sometimes, that might be because i started calling her that.” y/n smiled nervously as the man pulled away.

“i can’t thank you enough for what you’ve done,” he shakes his head in disbelief, grabbing judith from the boy and holding her close, pressing a kiss on her head and holding his tears back, “how old are you?”

“I’m fifteen? maybe sixteen..” y/n paused to think, “i’ll go with sixteen.”

“how many walkers have you killed?” he asked, a slight smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.

“a lot, never kept track though,” y/n shrugged.

“how many people have you killed?” rick questioned.

y/n’s face immediately turned sour, the question caught her off guard and made her mind flash memories she wanted to forget.

“two.”

“why?”

y/n looked down at judith who had fallen asleep in her father���s arms, “they tried to kill your baby.”

rick nodded, taking in the girl’s words, “i understand. i’m sorry you had to do that.”

“i wouldn’t have done anything different, i wanted to learn her name rather than calling her baby all day,” y/n smiled softly at judith, “she’s great company too.. totally nails the small talk.”

rick laughed and smiled at his son, who was smiling back at him, holding onto judith’s hand.

“i’m rick grimes, this is my son carl,” rick introduced himself and carl, “you already know judith of course.”

“she’s told me a lot about you guys,” y/n smirked.

“she spoke?” carl’s eyes widened. rick pulled his son into a side hug and just laughed.

“she was joking,” he whispered to carl.

“the others are michonne, maggie, glenn, daryl, carol, tara, abraham, rosita, sasha and eugene,” rick pointed everyone out, “you’re free to join us, i owe you.”

“i’m y/n,” y/n grinned, “i’m glad i found you.”

[weretheones]

All You Got | Part 12

Part 12: What's Left

Plot: Daryl Dixon hadn’t known much beyond anger and loneliness his whole life, until he found family at the end of the world. Everything he grew to care about was ripped away the day the prison fell; so when he recognized you, an enforcer of his loss, hiding in that cabin, he almost pulled the trigger. But after you end up saving his life, he couldn’t find the indifference to leave you for dead, even if you’d been on the Governor’s side. (Mid-Late Season 4)

Series Masterlist | AO3 Version

Paring: Eventual Daryl Dixon x Reader Word Count: 3.5k Warnings: typical twd content. references to sexual assault, nothing ridiculously explicit in my opinion but just a heads up. A/N: me? on time for a posting? impossible... enjoy ;)

Daryl insisted on traveling through the tree line rather than the road. That bandage had unsettled him— who knew who left it? The last time you’d seen people, it’d meant a week of bed rest, a bullet through the shoulder, and that broken look in your eye. 

He wasn’t eager to repeat any of it. 

But then there was you. You who couldn’t seem to stop chirping about how it could be good to find this new group— even if neither of you had any idea who the hell they were. How the gas you found would prove useful after all— even if the road was still long and dangerous. Hope seemed to infect you, filling every breath you took with an air of naivety that only made the hairs on the back of his neck raise— even if you had that pretty smile to tempt him, otherwise. 

“It might not even be there anymore.” 

He didn’t mean to be an asshole. Sometimes it just snuck up on him like an old habit. Thankfully, you mostly seemed to understand that, nowadays. 

Mostly. 

You rolled your eyes, voice a hitch higher. 

“They were broadcasting just a couple of months ago and they have signs all over the state,” you snapped. “It might be gone but it could very well still be standing, and if it is, then that’s what we need.” 

Put in his place, he shut his mouth for a moment. 

Those signs. Something about them was bugging him. It was like putting out a damn welcome mat for any Governor-type asshole this world still had slithering around. If Terminus was still around after all, and they let you both in, he’d be the first to rip them down. 

“Jus’ don’t wanna see ya broken up if it doesn’t work out.” 

His tone was softer. Concerned. 

You sighed and turned his way. 

“I know, and you’re right. It’s just… it’s nice to have a lead, again. It’s been hard not having somewhere to go, you know? Just wandering around, without an end.” 

Daryl nodded. “Guess it’s fittin’ then.” 

“How so?” 

“That’s what it means: Terminus. Endpoint.” 

“Well that sounds ominous,” you laughed. “I guess it could have a good meaning though. The end of running, hiding. All of that.” 

Daryl gave a half-hearted smile. His lips slightly curled with the only twinge of hope he had left in his chest. 

“Maybe.” 

The car couldn’t have been much further by that point. The road was littered with familiar cracks, from the glimpses of it you could see past the thicket of trees. Maybe it was time to put some concrete under your feet instead of cold earth. 

But just as you were about to say just as much to Daryl, the quiet air broke. 

“Bullshit!” 

The yell pierced the thin veil of safety that silence had wrapped around you. Daryl’s head snapped up first, hunter’s instincts and all that, but you were merely a fraction of a second behind. Within the next second, he had yanked you back behind a tree, palm pressed flat against your sternum as your back slammed against the rough bark. You bit your lip, trapping the gasp of pain as he glared around the side. He was close enough that you could watch the flick of his wide eyes, bouncing left then right then left again as he watched the road, waiting for the moment the group of men would notice that rustle in the bushes and head your way. As those blue slits of anticipation calculated your odds, you could practically hear the swear he only dared to mouth. Maybe he could hear the sound of your heart pounding against your ribs— he could definitely feel it. 

He was close— so were they— how many bullets did you have left? 

A squeeze of your shirt brought you back, snapping your eyes into focus as Daryl spoke to you through nothing but a look. Stay silent. You silently nodded as your hand wrapped around the cool handle of your gun at your hip. 

“The hell you idiots hollering about?” 

“Len’s a goddamn liar, tha’s what!” 

“I told ya, it's already claimed.” 

“Bullshit,” the man growled this time, voice so thick you could practically hear the way he clenched his teeth. “You didn’t claim nothin’!” 

You gingerly wrapped your fingers around his wrist, pulling his hand from your chest. He let it fall off silently, sparing you a glance as you checked your gun’s clip, then peeked around the bend of the trunk, too. Daryl held his crossbow only an inch from his eye, ready to fire around the tree’s cover at any second. The bush separating you from them— whoever the hell they were— was thin enough that if the men looked your way, and the light was right, they might’ve seen you. But as it was, the pair of you were as silent as you were still, and there was nothing to draw their attention your way.

You could see the men move around the car like a pack of vultures. The two arguing rounded the front with both their chests puffed out. The way they were going, it seemed as if they might solve themselves before they became a real problem. 

The one who was a proclaimed liar— Len— was tall, with outgrown brown hair and a thick beard that made his already long face look even thinner. That stained hoodie, half-zipped, hung off him. He was cockier than he deserved to be; the other man looked considerably more threatening, even if he stood a few inches shorter under his blue beanie. 

Appearances could be deceiving, though, and they proved to be when the shorter man finally snapped his fist forward and Len dodged it easily. He was thin but fast, and knew how to throw a punch as well as he could dodge one. It didn’t take long for the other man to end up on the ground, his stomach kicked twice while the others stood by idly. As if nothing was happening. Their indifference to violence was not necessarily shocking— but weren’t they supposed to be a group? They were traveling together, scouting together, but they didn’t care much about one another. 

No. These men weren’t family. They were just a group of survivors, cruel and scarred alike. Certainly not the type of men you wanted to find on the side of the road. 

But the car… 

“Should we wait them out?” You whispered. 

Daryl’s eyes never moved off them, and his jaw was clenched. Tighter than you ever remembered it before. 

“Dunno yet.” 

“Joe!”

The grey-haired one stepped forward. He had on a black button-down with red skulls embroidered and a commanding way about his voice when he finally yelled, 

“Will you two idiots stop already?”

The men listened. The beating stopped and Len laughed at the crumpled mess of a man on the concrete, even as the blood leaked out of him. He only managed to catch his footing with help from the car’s trunk. 

“Well, I’ll be damned,” Joe chuckled from in front of the wide-open trunk. 

“Wha’ is it?” Len asked, barely sparing the man he’d just beaten a glance before he was strolling to the others. 

“Found something else to fight over.” 

He threw a brightly coloured box to Len and your heart skipped a beat. 

Tampons. 

“This car belongs to a woman.” 

A sickening grin broke across his face. 

All their faces. 

The yellow of their teeth— the ones still left— was almost visible from here, and you didn’t need to look anymore to know that their eyes had all darkened. These men stank of cruelty and seemed to take joy in handing it out to each other. You didn’t expect they would spare a random woman of that, either. The chorus of sickening words that followed proved such: promises of first turns and declarations of the ‘lonely’ months since they last found someone to attack. 

The fear bundled in your chest. Tightening its little knot around your stomach, your lungs, reaching higher and higher until every muscle in your body felt acutely taut. A stinging mix of bile and a breath you couldn’t seem to catch burnt a hole right in the middle of your throat. 

Your finger twitched along the trigger. 

They couldn’t find you— you couldn’t let them get you. 

You didn’t realize when you’d looked toward Daryl, but a part of you knew it was only a matter of time. Whenever dread took root inside of you and seemed to burn your hope away from the inside out, he was there to calm the fire with those icy blue eyes. They were narrow now. Fierce and terrifying at first glance, but he held onto your stare firmly. And for once, you could read his mind as he so casually did yours. 

They won’t get you. 

You took a breath. It was admittedly raspy, a hitch too loud for your liking, so you made a point to be smoother the next time. 

“Think it's the same one?” 

“I hope so. Hope she got that piece of shit with her, too.” 

Your stomach dropped. 

Did they mean Daryl? 

“No. Whoever’s been shackin’ up in this van has been here longer than they’ve been house hoppin’.” Joe kissed his teeth in disappointment. “It ain’t them.” 

The knot in your stomach loosened a bit, but it was still a heavyweight; they might not have been tracking you and Daryl— not yet, at least— but they were tracking others, and you doubted they had good intentions once they found them. 

“So we stayin’ or not?” 

Another interrupted, “How do we know she’s even comin’ back?” 

“There's enough food in ‘ere to last a few days, at least. She’s either comin’ back or she’s already dead.” 

A shadow loomed closer, bigger and bigger until there was a rustle in the bushes. 

You and Daryl moved back behind the tree, without much time to go anywhere else. Bark digging into your back again, Daryl’s hands pressed around your body like a cage. You tried to find comfort in the idea of his arms surrounding you, instead of that suffocating feeling that was climbing up your chest. 

A belt buckle clinked. Then the thump of pants dropped to the ground. 

“She better be hot!” 

That thin man again. Len. 

“Waiting out here like a bunch’a assholes… better be worth it,” he grumbled, more to himself than anyone else. 

You heard it, of course. So did Daryl. 

The cage slipped away, and whatever comfort it brought did, too; one of his hands dropped to his hip, steady fingers unbuckled his knife’s sheath and wrapped around the handle. You glanced up to his face, where his eyes had narrowed into slits. It was a familiar look, one you’d seen before his bolt sliced into a squirrel or a rabbit. The look of a hunter, closing in on its prey. 

Anger swarmed him. Pupils blown so wide you couldn’t see that ring of blue anymore. He was going to kill him. Take his knife and stick it in him as many times as he needed until Len stopped squealing like the nasty pig he was. Right here, right now. 

And you wanted him to. 

But, then there was reason. 

It always snuck in, eventually. 

With a shaky— perhaps unsure— hand, you caught his wrist. Wrapped your fingers around him as softly as you could and held his hand still. Kept that knife in its sheath, kept the two of you hidden and safe. 

Daryl’s eyes locked onto yours, still steaming from all that anger boiling up. It took him a moment, but eventually your gentle touch swarmed his rage. Smothered the fire. 

He got the point.  

Not now. 

Oblivious, Len sighed.

You held your breath. Closed your eyes. 

Anything to get away, until you actually could. 

— 

The minute Len went back to the road, you and Daryl made a run for it. The gas canister and all your hopes of a quick trip up to Terminus were abandoned at the trunk of that tree. 

They hadn’t heard you get away. 

However, that little fact didn’t do much to soothe the worry in your chest. A heavy ball, swinging back and forth, slamming into your heart, your lungs, your ribs. It made you nauseous. Made your head ring like a damn church bell with every pulse of your blood. 

Dead leaves crunched under your bloodstained boots. Daryl’s too. The ground was cold and hard. Unforgiving. 

Chances were, it would be your bed for the night. 

You glanced up at the sky, already a dusty navy blue. Free of clouds, free of sun. The moon was round, just at the cusp of being a full circle of white light. 

The earth would be your bed if you ever stopped walking. 

It’d been since the car. Since the men who beat each other over a simple misunderstanding, but rallied together at the thought of an unsuspecting woman. 

You. 

“Daryl.” 

He turned on his heel. Faster than you expected. 

Eventually, your feet had stopped listening to the pursuit forward. A protest from stiff and tired muscles, standing still instead of following him through the weave of the forest. You weren’t sure why. Exhaustion hadn’t stopped you much before. 

You’d probably be dead if it had. 

“I, um—” 

You shook your head. At that moment, there seemed to be a lot you weren’t sure about. 

“Can we just hold up a minute?” 

“We should keep moving.” 

“We’ve been walking all day. All night.” 

“We gotta,” he huffed. 

“They didn’t see us leave. You covered our tracks.” 

You stepped closer to him, a soft, reasonable whisper into the dark air. 

“They’re not following us.” 

“We don’t know tha’.” 

“Daryl.” 

Your eyes did most of the pleading. 

He bit his lip, then nodded softly. 

The closest tree was as good as any. With a heavy sigh, you fell against it, and for the first time since those nightmares, you closed your eyes. Just for a second. The bark was uncomfortable, digging into the shoulder that had already been bruised under a similarly rough tree. But it’d been either that or being caught. 

Daryl was still standing. Pacing the small path back and forth like he could feel something coming closer. Watching you. He tried to watch it, too, but he never could seem to catch it. Or maybe there wasn’t actually anything out there.

From that angle, he seemed to be standing almost as tall as the trees. He was certainly as stiff as them when you called out again. 

“You can sit.” 

A glance your way. It felt tense, made your throat squeeze just a bit tighter. But eventually, he found something in your expression that seemed to stabilize the irregularity of his heart, pounding out of his chest. 

He sighed, then gave in. 

Winter’s breath slipped past your lips, a cloud of mist. It was dark tonight; there was barely enough silver moonlight to see past the second ring of trees surrounding you, but you were focused on Daryl anyway. His tree. The way he fell against it, rigid shoulders and bouncing eyes that always seemed to see better than yours when it came to the forest. 

Exhaustion had dulled your senses, no doubt about it. But you could still feel the goosebumps rise. Could feel the shiver run down your spine. It was as cold as it was dark, like every night before this one, though it’d been a long time since you’d had to curl up against a tree instead of a backseat or squeaky mattress.  

When he peeled off his jacket, your brow furrowed. His mouth was still shut, from what the shadows spared, but then there was a tumbling ball of darkness coming toward you until denim landed in your lap. Your heart dropped. It wasn’t an aching pain, this time. Not a bad one, at least. A low thump of memory coursing through your veins, thinking back to all the times he’d spared an inch of comfort just for you. 

You bundled the jacket in your hands, then with your last burst of energy, pushed yourself back up and practically crawled over to his tree, instead. His jacket was always thrown overtop a couple of flannels and still loose, so it was big enough to wrap around you, and then him. 

Him who stared at you like you’d grown a second head. 

“This okay?” You asked, a touch too late. 

Still, he nodded. Eyes falling off your sweet expression to find that cold earth underneath him. 

“’S better than a fire.” 

Another meaning slipped into his head— maybe the one he really meant. His voice picked up to clarify, “The smoke, I meant.” 

“I figured you’d say no.” You spared a small smile. “But it’s still too cold.” 

Daryl looked out to the forest again. Maybe he could see something out there, or maybe staring out into darkness was better than acknowledging how close you were. You shuffled next to him, trying to give him space without compromising the jacket’s cover, but damn, he was so warm. So close already.

Did another inch make any difference? 

“You burn like a damn furnace, anyway.” 

You took in a deep breath. Every thump of his nervous heart beating waves of heat toward you, melting away that frost that seemed to line your insides some days. 

“So do you.” 

He scoffed. 

It grew quiet, again. 

Breaths in and out. Daryl even seemed to relax. His shoulder became softer and softer under your cheek— only God knew when it landed there. The comfort should have lulled you to sleep, but there was still something lingering at the back of your throat, waiting for the chance to slip your lips. 

“You wanted to kill that guy.” 

It wasn’t a question. It wasn’t really an accusation, either. 

“I woulda.” His voice vibrated into you, that deep, threatening rumble of a man. “If he’d seen us.” 

But you’d seen that look in his eye. Knew the urge ran deeper than that.

Daryl seemed to notice you picking him apart, piece by piece like a damn puzzle, and his gaze slipped away. Lost in the breeze of tall trees and low bushes, where he prayed nothing would jump from. 

Still. 

There was something about the way you watched him as if you could see past the mask he spent years piecing together. For his father, for his brother, for anyone else who dared to spend more than an hour by his side. It wasn’t enough. Not for you. 

And for once in his life, he didn’t seem to mind. 

He sighed, “Shoulda put a bolt in him, anyway.” 

“If you did, they would be hunting us down right now.” 

You were right.

Of course, you were right. It didn't make his regret ache any less. He sighed, again, and let his head rest against the tree trunk. Pressed to his side, you could hear the slow inhale of his breath, rattling past his dry throat and into those smoke-stained lungs. The thump of his heart seemed stronger than any of it, though. A soothing pulse, more even as the seconds ticked by.

Yours had evened out, too.

“I’m okay, you know.” 

His head turned. A soft rustle compared to the low night breeze. It didn’t matter that your gaze had slipped off him, a moment or two ago. You could feel his stare lock onto the curve of your face. The flutter of your eyelashes as you blinked away that shimmer in your eye— the bad kind. Shift down to the way your shoulders slowly relaxed. Reaffirming those little words; wrapping a warm blanket around his heart. Making that crossbow in his hands feel as light as the way your arm brushed up against his.

He cleared his throat. You could feel his breath on your cheek. 

“Ya— Y’know, I’d die before I’d let…” 

His voice was raspy, dying off even before he lost the words entirely. It wasn’t anything you needed to hear, anyway. Not when the shine in his eyes was pointed down at you.

No more anger, not anymore. 

Something darker than the night sky. Unreadable. 

You nodded. 

There was still that inkling of dread in your chest, stomping on top of your hope like a bratty child, but he seemed to make the pound of your heart slow. Seemed to make you feel safe even if you were anything but. 

“I know.” 

The words were a bare whisper. A delicate hush that came out as softly as the way your eyes felt slipping down his face. His lips were parted with slow breaths slipping past, like those thoughts that snuck into your mind, wondering what he might do if you leant closer. Touched him in a new way. 

A breeze ran past you. Cold air biting your skin and a tinge of smoke. 

The pair of you stilled. Pulled apart. The thought was caught in the smokey wind, carried away. 

There was a fire nearby. 

-> part 13

A/N: shit is about to get real y'all.

if you’re reading this, thank you! I hope you enjoyed this chapter. please feel free to leave feedback, it helps so much and I love to read it. have a lovely day <3

AYG taglist: @fuseburner @itsmeatballworld @rickysgrimes @stevenknightmarc @huffledor-able541 @your-shifting-gurl @hopefulatrocity @strnqer @dreamtofus @fillechatoyante @suniloli @kiaslily @poubxlle @normanplusdaryl @sseleniaa @wanhedavaliquette

[twwings]

so I spent the last few months just marathoning The Magnus Archives??? I was curious and I have a long-ish commute that I need to fill with audio, so I went for it. I was somewhat spoiled by fanart I saw randomly over the years but not entirely spoiled, and I quite enjoyed it. Some thoughts (both positive and negative thoughts below) because I wanted to write them down as I chew over the show. Also my ramblings might be pleasurable to folks who are big fans and enjoy hearing about people listening to their thing for the first time?

Spoilers for all of TMA, but as I haven't listened to The Magnus Protocol yet (I'm sure I will) no spoilers for that.

thoughts in no particular order:

didn't know that my trypophobia could be activated aurally! thanks, season one. it's good to learn about yourself

because I had seen lots of fanarts around, I knew that Jon/Martin would eventually be a canon thing, so I just spent the early episodes making fun of Jon whenever he was mean about Martin. Jon would be like "ugh, Martin, amirite?" and I'd yell at the car speakers like "lol you're gonna MARRY that guy"

sometimes I found the show a little boring or too expositiony (like the episode where Leitner shows up) and it made me think a lot about the conditions of production, like, having fans who were super into the show and red stringing it up clearly made them want to explain things sometimes in a way not necessary to the story - or, at least, it didn't feel necessary to me as a casual listener who was coming in after the fact and not part of the fandom. maybe it felt necessary for other folks, or to the cast and crew at the time.

relatedly, oh god, I did not keep up with all the plotlines and stuff. like it took me a WHILE to realize that the show was not just gonna be standalone/anthology stuff and would have an overarching plot so I did not pay attention early on to repeated names or plots. and because I was listening on my commute I was like "welp, can't google it, gonna let it go" and I did. I'm here to tell you that the magnus archives is still enjoyable even if you don't care that much about what's going on

when I did really start to care was the end of season four/season five. absolutely love that they went there with the end of season four (I thought it'd just be a buffy-style "now we fight a BIGGER big bad at the end of this season" escalation forever, but no, they unleashed hell on earth, baller move, A+, loved it

so I was spoiled that Martin (and Jon? I wasn't sure) died at some point, though I didn't really know where or how. I also saw someone post something like "oh TMA, great show, too bad it ends after five minutes into episode 160" so from that I kind of extrapolated that Martin died in episode 160? so my experience of listening to that one was REALLY on tenterhooks because the first five minutes was Martin going for a nice walk! and then Jon getting taken over by the statement! so while listening to the middle bit of 160 I was convinced that when Martin came back from his walk Jon was gonna kill him (while possessed, obviously) as part of the ritual thing. so really the following 40 episodes of Martin being alive were pretty sweet to me. Every episode after that when Martin was alive I was like, score, bonus, love it, I'm glad Jon didn't stab him three seconds after they got into a relationship

kept listening for a physical description of Jon to match all the fanart and never got one? I guess the fanon of what Jon looks like is just super consistent for some reason?

hated Tim, I can't disguise it, I hated Tim and I was glad when he died and I was glad he didn't come back, sorry Tim fans, live your truth and I will live mine

wish there weren't so many cops on this show, tho the show did seem to recognize that a little in S5 and try to do some things about it

I'm just a huge sucker for every genre experiment in S5. omg I loved it. Terminus gets a coroner's report, The Unknowing gets slam poetry, The Flesh gets a gardening manual?????? mwah. it made me excited for the format of the statements again when they'd gotten stale. so many smart and interesting genre experiments in S5! and I, like Jon, don't even like poetry (just write some prose! I've never identified with a character more), so you know I'm impressed when I'm exclaiming about some poem

seriously! the genre experiments!!! so good

"queer couple navigate their new relationship and also The Hellscapes" = amazing, ty, also ty for doing it twice

somehow I managed not to notice the line about Jon being asexual at first and then I saw some tumblr post about it and I was like, wait what? my brain had gone pretty far down into some non-asexual fanfiction stories before I got that bit of canon and had to record-scratch freeze-frame. anyway I am pleased by the ace rep and hope to go read some non-sexual D/s for them in the future, please tell me if you know some good stuff

please also tell me if you know about fanfictions where Martin consensually feeds Jon his own memories and it's weird and intense

saw a cute fluffy domestic fanart where Jon was blind (ie had blinded himself to escape the eye) and I laughed and laughed that this is a fandom in which the happy fluffy AUs are the ones where the characters have violently blinded themselves. not to say I'm not gonna read the fluffy AUs where they've violently blinded themselves, I am, I'm sure they're lovely, it's just funny

don't think I wasn't thinking about Crowley and Aziraphale in the episode where Jon is like "what if we ran away together" in season four. When Jon is like "What if we ran away together, you and me, we could do it, what if we did" and he absolutely knows that Martin is not gonna say yes and maybe he doesn't want Martin to say yes but he wants to ask him anyway, he wants to try it anyway, because the fantasy of escape, together, is overpowering. anyway don't think I didn't think about Crowley

also laughed and laughed at the like four episodes at the end where Jon is like "maybe I should . . . . . . . . . . . become the Torment Nexus? From the classic scifi novel, Don't Become the Torment Nexus?" and first Martin and then everyone else is like "Jon, don't become the Torment Nexus" and it's really clear that you should not become the Torment Nexus but then later Jon says fuck it and becomes the Torment Nexus

I say it's really clear but the idea that you should strand and isolate and burn out the powers is not a bad one. I did like that the second to last episode was just a debate on morality with no clear resolution. that's a lovely way to send off your characters. tho it didn't matter a lot to the end plot? but still.

Jon "I think I'll just become the Torment Nexus" Simms, istg

THE TORMENT NEXUS

Sue Simms' voice is incredibly hot, Gertrude Robinson is absolutely deadass smokin, love how the Legend of Gertrude just built up over the seasons until by the end she was this like powerful callous avenging angel, no notes, might build a shrine in the woods with pictures of Gertrude in little jars

Gerry and Jurgen were both madly in love with her and she didn't notice or care because she was too busy kicking ass, no notes AT ALL

I really like the bit at the beginning of S5 where Jon is depression-listening to old archives tapes, like it's really effective to do the birthday party flashback just there when the world's just been apocalypsed, but I can't stop thinking about how Jon is listening to that tape and, in retrospect, being like "did Elias/Jonah use his all-powerful knowledge and vision to find out that there was cake in the office?" idk it really feels like Elias's motives in that flashback are like "eat cake" and no one else realizes that he's used his monstrous evil eye power to locate cake. anyway I imagine that Jon had all of these thoughts during his depression

Basira made me laugh ALL THE TIME, the voice acting was so good and she was so over everyone's shit. but at the same time there's this real softness to her at the end of S5 after she's killed Daisy, like she's still tough and grounded in her own perspective but suddenly more compassionate or sympathetic. she has such a good journey over the show

were Basira and Daisy a thing? I could not tell. maybe I should not ask. maybe I am not meant to know. maybe even asking shows how little I know, because their intense and murderous bond exceeds traditional relationship categories

I had a really nice time!!!

I will need to read fanfictions

I will need to watch animatics

I will need to seek out fanarts

the end

[neutron-stars-collision]

Waiting for the Night

Bruce Wayne x F!Reader

Epilogue - Always You

Chapter 20; Masterlist Summary: One December evening, Vengeance climbs into your apartment through the window. That's regular occurrence by now. What isn't regular, is the conversation you share. Warnings: 18+ (sorry, the gremlin in my brain insisted I describe some of that), swearing. Author's Notes: So, this is the official farewell. This epilogue turned out to be kind of an 'evening in the life of', but I think I needed that. Even if only just to say goodbye to those two. It's 6k of headcanons and fluff, so I hope you enjoy 💕 Once again, thanks for sticking around ✨ A playlist will follow bc of course I have that too. Feel free to let me know what you think? Tag list: @thecraziestcrayon, @kookiewastolen, @imimsy, @tuskens-mando, @sugarcoated-lame, @blue-aconite, @hypnoash, @rabbitdictionary, @nicklet94, @mcrmarvelloki, @shimmeringgrim, @ttae-yong, @freyadruid, @siriuslydestiny, @ms-dont-care, @raphaelaisabella, @itsmytimetoodream, @brightjimini, @castellandiangelo, @grunge-n-roses5

(gif credit: @1038276637)

No amount of thinking and consideration could have ever prepared you for the reality of being Bruce Wayne’s partner. Or girlfriend, a term you had sometimes relished teasing him with. If only to get that same deadpan look, complemented by a pink blush on his cheeks and one sentence reply.

Always the same: “You’re much more than that to me”. Every time the answer made you blush too, overwhelmed with love and hopefulness like never before. Because, as it quickly turned out, Bruce treated this seriously, daily putting in work to make sure whatever you had would survive.

And it did, at least until the rain showers had been replaced by snowfall, and the white coat covering most of Gotham almost made up for the plummeting temperatures. Long enough for you to get used to the idea that a solo night at your place did not mean loneliness. It did not even mean that you would be alone for that much longer, for, as it happened, Bruce’s patrol now sometimes led to your apartment instead of the Terminus. It was a substitute for the nights when you opted to stay at your place instead of perusing the Tower. All the heads-up he would give would be a quick text sent between the hours when you were likely still awake. But it was all you needed, instantly perking up at the idea.

That night was like that, as you were informed by a message on the burner phone: “I’ll come by after 2”. Easy fate to achieve - waiting for Bruce until 2 am. Although, the slow passage of time made you groan for the umpteenth time as you found it still to be only 1 am. An hour. A whole bloody hour. Your head dropped onto the table with a dull thud. The waiting for him was the worst part of it all, perhaps only next to the constant anxiety that filled your veins whenever Bruce was playing the part of Batman. Mostly because you never knew whether waiting up on him in the cave would be to get that desired kiss and help him with the amour or whether it would entail cleaning the wounds and bandaging the cuts. You already had a fair share of both. And there was no point guessing which you preferred.

Your favourite nights, by a large margin, were those when Bruce stayed home. Or at least stayed long enough to go to bed with you. Those were the nights of discoveries and enlightenment, leaving you breathless and wanting more. Always wanting more. Luckily now, you did not have to deny yourself what you had become addicted to. And the list was growing exponentially. Like the fact that after that first night when you had confessed your feelings for Bruce, the three words had only gained power. Enough so that when you whispered them at just the right time, with Bruce still buried deep inside you and inching towards his release - they were all the trigger he needed. All sense of control seemed to disappear as soon as you reminded him you loved him. And for that, the affection only grew.

You knew that was very much mutual.

The other discovery, which had led to many sleepless lonely nights, spent squirming under the covers, was that once Bruce had understood that he truly was the best you ever had, a new level of confidence was unlocked. Some might even call it smugness. But you could not possibly mind a bit of cockiness when it got you a man who would tease you with his fingers and mouth till you were a whimpering mess. And then, only then, he would lean in close, let his mouth brush your heated cheek and the shell of your ear, and whisper: “Come for me”. A request. A command even. You had no choice but to obey. Not that you didn’t want to. By now, the exact way he had spoken had become a go-to soundtrack to all your daydreams. A weak substitute for when you were apart.

It was still better than nothing.

Glancing at the watch to check the time, you were easily brought back from the pleasant recollections. It was almost 2 am. Not long now. You did not need a mirror to confirm your mouth stretched into a dumb smile. The reaction was involuntary at this point, transforming you into that type of lovesick individual you always scoffed at. The irony was infuriating. Feeling the tell-tale shiver of anticipation, you made one final lap of the flat. Smoothing out the bedsheets (even though neither of you cared about it), taking out the short-rimmed tumbler (in case he did want that whiskey you offered before Halloween) and dragging a hand through your hair to detangle any knots (even though he had seen you with bed-hair and mascara stains on your cheeks). Only then you could say you were ready.

And right on time, too, for before long, you heard the familiar light knock upon the window frame. A smile broke out on your face as you crossed the room to unlatch the window and stepped back. This part always made you laugh. You knew why Bruce deemed the window a better way of entering your apartment, but it was still a strange spectacle to witness. Using the grappling hook, he would lift himself to the level of your building and gracefully slip in. The only downside? The melting snow created puddles on your floor. This time you were prepared, a sweeping mop in hand.

The first glimpse you caught was a smile under the cowl. A look so strange for Mr Vengeance himself, yet something you had grown accustomed to. You returned the expression with ease, watching as he jumped in feet first through the window frame and landed on your floor with a quiet groan. That, too, was a sign – this night had been rough. Before you could process the realization, Bruce strengthened up and took off the cowl. As always, that first shared glance made you shiver. The smudged black makeup was smeared around his eyes, hair messy and unkempt, begging you to arrange it. There was no reason to wait.

“Hello, you” you closed the remaining gap and placed your hand on his shoulder.

The material felt cold and made you shiver as you rose on your toes to level with him. Bruce’s eyes traced your every move as he wound his arm around your waist, keeping you close and secure.

“Hey,” the whisper you got in return was the last thing you let him say before you crashed your mouth into his with a satisfied hum.

The coldness of his lips did nothing to stifle the spark of fire slowly building in your veins. As always. Carefully you let your tongue trace his bottom lip, prodding at the seam till Bruce opened his mouth, inviting you in. The familiarity of the feeling was enough to let you drop the remaining weight from your shoulders and sink into him, tasting and consuming all you could. All that he was willing to give you.

Bruce responded in kind to the tempo you had set, caressing your tongue with his and lightly nipping at your bottom lip. He felt like home. Even with the melting snow dripping onto your clothes and the hard edges of the armour digging between your ribs. The need to continue was stronger than anything else. Until neither of you could get deep enough breaths to continue.

You drew back with a quiet whine, frustration adding spikes to the warmth in your chest. The blue of Bruce’s eyes staring back at you smoothed the feeling, instantly making you notice the glimmer in his gaze. The love that was no longer a secret between you. It was impossible to escape the blush blooming on your cheeks and the pick-up in your heart rate. Ignoring the urge to hide from his perceptive stare, you returned to the task at hand.

One assessing look was enough as you raised your hand to cup his cheek and then up to comb through the hair falling into his eyes. You carefully brushed it away from his forehead, barely managing not to drown in the grateful look you got awarded. The only way of avoiding the shame of losing your mind and doing something utterly stupid like falling to your knees before Bruce, you grabbed the mop and pushed it onto his chest with a simple instruction:

“Now mop the floor” you eyed the growing puddle at your feet with a critical eye, adding, “You’ve made a mess” without waiting for a reply, you turned away towards the kitchen.

Just in time to hear the answer.

“Yes, ma’am” you did not need to see him to know he was smiling.

Approaching the counter, you opened the cupboard and eyed the contents. It was too late for a meal, but when Bruce visited, you would always share a drink before retiring to your bedroom. It was only a question of choice. What suited him better on this particular December night?

“What’s your poison tonight?” you asked and turned to face Bruce, finding him leaning the mop on the wall and the floors shiny and swept (naturally), “Coffee? Tea? Whiskey?” the first two had been staples on the menu, the last one was an inside joke.

An option you always gave him for the sake of it. And also, because you were yet to see Bruce Wayne relax with an alcoholic drink in his hand. Early on, he had told you he did not indulge in that too often, seldom, in fact, because alcohol did not exactly help the difficult thoughts springing in his mind at every possible chance. You knew the feeling too well, so you never pushed. But maybe-

“You know what?” Bruce’s question interjected your internal monologue as he eyed the tumbler you had taken out earlier, “Maybe it’s time. At last,” raising his head to meet your searching gaze, Bruce grinned.

Even now, when smiles no longer were rare, you still treasured each one. Mostly because they lit up Bruce’s beautiful face like nothing else, throwing everything into perspective. It was a point of personal pride you made him smile like that.

Without waiting for Bruce to change his mind, you took the bottle off the shelf and grabbed a second glass to fill. Two ice cubs per drink clinked in the tumblers as you poured the rich brown liquid and turned to hand it to him.

“Cheers,” raising yours to toast, you sent him another pleased smile.

You did not need to discuss the arrangement, wordlessly taking a sip from the glass and placing it back on the counter to free your hands for the next step in the routine. Bruce mirrored your moves, patiently waiting for you to start taking off the armour pieces. By now, the process was almost second nature. You did not need his directions, easily following the straps and buckles to undo them. Each plating would end up on one of your chairs, a dark heap covered with the cloak. Only once Bruce was left with the black thermals, you drifted to the sofa and fell against each other on the cushions. Multiple points of contact at every spot. Calves, knees, thighs, hips, and shoulders. At the least.

At first, you did not talk, quietly soaking in the calm. It quickly became evident that Bruce valued his peace, and each nightly escapade was enough to drain his battery. Both physically and mentally. That is why when he returned home or to your place the priority was letting him rest. Usually, you would put the tv on as background noise, but tonight as soon as you turned your head to look at Bruce, the remote control was frozen in your hand.

Suddenly it struck you. The strangeness of the moment in its entirety. It was nothing you could have foreseen, not in a million years. And yet, it made perfect sense.

You must have stared for too long because the next thing you registered was Bruce looking back at you with an incredulous glim in his eyes. He arched an eyebrow, his hand landing on your knee to gently stroke the skin beneath your pyjama pants. A question followed:

“What’s that look for?” the curiosity in his tone made you smile, barely resisting the urge to hide your face in the crook of his neck to avoid being stared at.

Especially by someone who could see through each wall you ever tried to raise. By now, you never even tried anymore, aware that it was pointless. Bruce (somehow) wanted all of you, so that is what he got. You could only hope he would never change his mind.

“It’s a lot to take in,” shrugging with one shoulder, the one not tucked against his side, you chose the safest answer.

All the while knowing Bruce would not let that be the end of that conversation. You only had to wait approximately 10 seconds for the follow-up question.

“What is?” you had to admit he was good at this.

Interrogation techniques that somehow fit right in the dynamic between you. And made it impossible for you to hide from him. While the thought had been terrifying once, it was almost easy to get used to. Almost being the keyword there.

“Oh, you know” feigning nonchalance, you chose to pace your answer, taking your time with the reveal, while watching him closely, “Having Vengeance in my living room” was the most obvious of hang-ups, something you did not think you could get accustomed to. Each time you saw tv coverage of Batman or had your work colleagues develop a piece on the vigilante, the thrill of realization felt like something new, something you had never experienced before. Now, you let your gaze stray to the half-empty tumbler in his hand, adding another layer to the confession, “Serving whiskey to Bruce Wayne” lifting your eyes to catch the growing smile on his face, you allowed the fondness seep into your tone. The feeling was almost drowning out the disbelief that still tinted your vowels. You never expected to get rid of that either, “Having that same Bruce Wayne as my boyfriend…” it was strange to let the term roll off your tongue this freely, but the strangeness could not contend with the happiness you could see in his eyes. It was enough to make you grin, the conclusion to the speech coming up effortlessly, “Never once saw that coming” no lies were to be found there, “I need to stare a little longer to make sure you won’t disappear on me now” the excuse was flimsy, but it had the intended effect.

Bruce smiled and pulled you closer again, your body falling against his chest like always. The warmth of the embrace kept the chill from settling in your bones. His arms tightened around your waist as he rested his chin on your head and let out a content sigh.

“I won’t” there was no need to question him, all sense of doubt disappearing like melting snow when he added, “I like you too much,”

It was both what he said and how he said it. Like it was no big deal. Like the admission did not cost him anything. Like the character evolution you had witnessed in Bruce was something he was proud of. Something he took joy in if only because it mattered to you.

That was a little difficult to get used to.

So much so that instead of facing the affectionate admissions head-on, you chose to go for a joke, using it as a protective veil:

“Damn, never imagined Bruce Wayne would be such a softie” you lightly swatted him across the chest, not expecting the delighted giggle that would erupt from your throat when he caught your hand in his and squeezed it.

“I’m not” it took one look at Bruce, registering the slight pout and the petulance in his eyes, to make you abandon the pretence.

You dove in for a kiss, pressing your mouth against his in a quick, firm peck balancing just on the right sight of not being too greedy. Or distracting for the conversation you were still hoping to have with Bruce.

“Sure, babe” you placed another kiss on the apple of his cheek, slightly tinted pink, and changed the topic, “So, how’s Gotham? Any hot goss I should know about?” you bated your eyelashes as a complimentary show of begging.

Not that Bruce would otherwise deny you the answers. He never did that, which quickly made you the second most informed individual in the city. After the Batman, of course.

Bruce shifted slightly - a sign you had come to associate with the conversation taking a more serious turn. Placing a comforting hand on his knee, you waited as he gathered his thoughts and replied:

“There’s some talk of the Penguin putting most of his resources into bringing back the drops business” you frowned, already knowing what a mess would result from such a move. Although, unfortunately, it sounded plausible, “I’ve got addresses to scout that might be their new labs” Bruce glanced at you, awaiting a comment.

And potentially wordlessly asking whether you wanted to accompany him during the recon. It was something you did together, from time to time. An unusual way of spending time and a first-hand opportunity to gather information for work. And if the pleasant side-effect were the heated kisses shared in the shadowed alleys, then it was nobody’s business but yours.

You already knew it was a yes if he asked.

“That’s probably something you should share with Gordon” instead of voicing that, you chose to offer him reasoning.

The close cooperation between them was still a surprising development. But it was getting stronger and sometimes made you wonder whether the GCPD lieutenant would not be the very next person to learn Vengeance’s identity. So far, Bruce denied it, but you knew better than to take his word for granted. After all, decisions changed.

“And I will. But once I’m sure there’s truth in what I’ve been told,” Bruce shrugged, a brief hint of petulance in his tone making you grin.

Bruce Wayne also did not seem to change. Not completely.

You could never let a chance like that pass you by. Shifting yet again to sit up on your knees and face him, you dropped your voice a notch, giving it an appropriately seductive timbre:

“Good boy” before Bruce could react, you patted his head and dragged your fingers through his hair, tugging at the strands.

That was another key phrase of your relationship. The magical two words, if used correctly, gave you complete control over Bruce. As it turned out, the Wayne heir was incredibly susceptible to praise. You could never have too much fun with that knowledge.

You watched with growing satisfaction at how he shuddered, the two words already having an impact. Bruce blushed, and his eyes darkened almost imperceptibly. To anyone else, the reactions would have been difficult to discern from the poker face he had slipped back on. But it was much harder to fool you.

Bruce knew as much. He shrugged off your hand with unnecessary care and turned to glare at you. The twitching corner of his mouth was an easy giveaway.

“Careful there,” the warning in his voice was another trick taken straight from the toolbox.

You already knew what this was. The rules of the game were familiar by now. You did not have to fake the heat blooming in your face at the tone Bruce had implemented. All you had to do was give him your brightest smile and amp the innocent flicker in your eyes to fit the intent. That was always fun.

“Or what?” enjoying the way his eyes followed your every move, you placed your hand on his chest, pressing it flat against the fabric to feel the heartbeat, “You’re going to jump me?” as the question left your lips, your fingers begun tracing their path up the length of his thigh.

More often than not, that was how those precious nights between you began. With a ridiculous conversation and increasingly risky touch, getting rid of the remaining inhibitions. Not that there were many left.

You could see Bruce ponder the assumption, using the ball you had placed in his court. The decision was strictly up to him. You liked to remind him from time to time that you both could share the control equally. And that whatever he chose did not change anything for you. You were there for the long run.

“I’d love to” he reached out to brush the stray hair from your forehead, eyes showing hints of remorse that spoiled the answer before he gave it, “Not tonight though, sorry” it was impossible to miss the subtle wince on his face as Bruce shifted on the sofa.

That told you all you needed to know. Your hand stopped all its wandering, resting atop his thigh and tracing lazy circles over the black fabric. You knew that before you both went to bed, you would need to take out the ointments bought specifically for evenings like that and ask Bruce to take off his shirt. And it was alright. Fine, even. Because seeing Bruce Wayne shirtless was a perk of every kind of evening. Full stop.

Hoping the convey the feelings through the softness of your gaze, you allowed yourself one last joke. One final tease to satisfy the need and drag that shy smile out of its confines.

“You’ll pay for your crimes soon enough” Bruce let out a breathless laugh, and you felt like the luckiest being on the planet.

Yeah, you never saw this coming.

***

It was well past 4 am when you finally turned off the ceiling lights in your bedroom and joined Bruce on the bed. Sometimes that part, the brief conversations whispered with your heads resting against the headboard, felt almost like the domestic future you never expected to have. Like the word, which began with an m and ended with an e. You were still too scared to say it out loud or even in the quiet of your mind.

Ignoring the thought now, you quietly settled against the pillows and turned to stare at Bruce. He looked as if he belonged there, nestled underneath your woollen quilt with his damp, dark hair falling in strands over his forehead. Your heart throbbed in your chest. It was almost too good to be true. Fearing another wave of feelings you could not control, you broke the silence with whatever sentence you could think of:

“You know there’s this gala Réal is hosting before Christmas…” admittedly, it was something you had wanted to bring up to Bruce.

It has been on your mind since the mayor’s announcement via press release weeks back. After the election and everything else that followed, she had taken decisive steps to fix the city. One of them was inviting the elites and the journalists to the charity gala this December. Although you were sceptical about the effects, the intents alone were admirable.

You knew Bruce had received an invite. But if that were not common knowledge, the myriad of emotions passing through his face at the reminder would have been the giveaway. You could easily discern discomfort, uncertainty, and fear among them. Without thinking about it, you took hold of his hand resting on the covers and squeezed it. That was a common way of assuring Bruce that you were there, of offering him comfort when he would not ask for it first. After what felt like hours of silence, Bruce let out a tortured sigh and replied:

“Yes, of course. It’s only every other day that Alfred reminds me I should show up” from that dejected tone alone, you could recognize that it was a touchy subject.

And that Bruce had already made up his mind about doing everything he could not to go. Unfortunately for him, with this case and with many others you were on Alfred’s side. You made a quick mental note to mention it to the butler the next time you saw him.

“Well, you should” as soon as you spoke, Bruce sent you a glare and let out another pained groan. His penchant for dramatics was something you never expected but was incredibly happy to discover, always making you laugh, “I know, I know, but… I mean, I’ll be there” once the bit of information was out, you winced. It was a stupid thing to add. While it was true, the fact was entirely unnecessary. For obvious reasons, “Obviously we can’t go together… which I don’t mind, by the way,” nervous laughter broke through the surface as you unconsciously moved away from Bruce and fixed your gaze on the swirling patterns of the duvet “I knew what I was getting myself into with you, so…”

And you did know. You never expected to ramble around Gotham’s public events holding onto Bruce’s arm. It was not even something you actively yearned for, finding the desired happiness and peace in those quiet private moments instead. It was another case of your mouth having a mind of its own and an incontrollable want to fill the gaps between reasonable sentences with bullshit. It was far from the first time that had happened.

Maybe that was why what Bruce said next did not surprise you but only made the pricks of conscience worse.

“I’m sorry” the apology was filled with enough sincerity to make your heart ache.

You knew that he meant it. In his eyes, something as silly as keeping your relationship secret was another way of letting you down. Of not being enough for you. It was another thing to nag him in the quiet of his mind when there were no distractions. You knew what that was like all too well. Before Bruce could drown in the spiral of his own making, you leaned in to cup his face and spoke:

“No, Bruce, I… I love you” the admission was an easy thing to say these days, falling from your lips like the tears you had once shed over it, “Nothing changes that. Plus, there’s an exciting potential in taking some time away from the other guests by perusing the bathroom” you wiggled your eyebrows comically, delighted to see him smile “It’s just a suggestion,”

It felt like a relief when Bruce grinned and gave you a forehead kiss.

“I’ll think about it. I promise” giving his hand another squeeze, you accepted the truce and made sure to meet his gaze. The tone Bruce used told you that was only just the beginning, “You’re not the only one who didn’t see this coming” slightly changing the grip on your hand, Bruce caressed your knuckles in broad, repetitive strokes.

The shyness in his eyes was familiar by now. Although, still, his openness could surprise you. Like just now. With an admission that he had no obligation to make yet seemed eager to anyway. You tightened the hold on his hand and asked:

“Yeah?” wincing at the wavering voice, you could hardly conceal the surprise in your gaze.

Because that was a line of conversation, you never expected him to follow. At least not tonight. But it did not make you any less curious, always happy to get another glimpse into the workings of Bruce’s mind and heart. Those were utterly precious. It was pointless to even think about getting rid of the gaping mouth and the dazed eyes.

Judging by Bruce’s smile, there was no need to try either.

“Yep,” he nodded and raised his arm in an invitation, soon followed by words, “Come here” you did not hesitate in scooting closer and letting Bruce pull you to rest with your back against his chest. You could feel him nosing along the tendons in your neck, voice slightly muffled yet still audible “You’re absolutely terrifying” you could picture his gleeful smile with your eyes closed.

The joy in his tone felt infectious. It was easy to say he meant it. That being called terrifying was one of the highest honours Bruce could bestow on you. You leant into the lingering kiss he pressed to the nape of your neck and breathed out the reply:

“That’s a new one, but I’ll take it” stringing together the words and ignoring the fire torched in your lower stomach from something as simple as his lips on your neck were too difficult a feat to achieve.

It became apparent as soon as you became aware of your breathless voice and heard Bruce’s low chuckle resonating through your body. It was a sound you came to like, very much. It meant he was finding you amusing and decidedly good enough. It was something to shove in the face of struggling self-confidence that could always try a little more.

“You’re terrifying because, with you, I can’t hide behind the cowl and pretend I don’t exist” the sincerity of the statement was enough to make your heart trip over itself in your chest.

Without thinking, you raised your clasped hands to your mouth and kissed his knuckles. A few days old scrapes scratched the skin of your lips. It felt real.

“Is that a good thing?” you had to ask, even if only to prolong the fragile moment.

Because no matter how much you enjoyed the loudest of nights and the blatant confessions, poignancy was something else entirely. Something you would always chase after if it stepped into your sights. Like just now.

“Yes, because you make me braver” Bruce did not hesitate, his grip around your waist tightening just a little bit as he continued, “I’m pretty sure you know this, but you’re the only person that gets to see me. The real Bruce Wayne as he’s supposed to be” you did know that which did not make the knowledge feel any less groundbreaking “It’s just that I know I’m not enough. For you-” it was once he started saying utter bullshit, that you had to interject.

That was not acceptable. Not on your watch. Gently peeling Bruce’s arms from your waist, you turned in his lap to straddle his hips and placed your hands on his shoulders. He did not expect that. You could tell as much from the hitch in his breathing and the widening eyes. Bruce still took it in his stride, steadying you with his arm around your shoulders, the other hand tracing invisible pathways along your thigh. You knew he was struck into silence, unable to do anything but wait on your next call. Something about the power you possessed over him was intoxicating if you did as much as stop and think about it.

Most days, you simply did not.

“You’re really dumb, but that’s okay” without hesitation, you cupped his cheek and carded your fingers through his unruly hair, smiling like an idiot. Because in the end, it was quite simple, you were astonished Bruce did not know it just yet. You waited for his blue eyes to meet yours and whispered, “You’re everything to me,”

It was an easy synonym to the familiar I love you, and to the less apparent I don’t want to imagine my life without you. It was the only way you could tell him the extent of his importance. The only way you could try to without dissolving into tears or doing something stupid like asking him to marry you. You did not think that would be quite the right time for it.

Bruce’s answering smile, softened by the persisting edges of disbelief, told you that you made the right call. He understood. As always. Unlike your very first kiss, you moved simultaneously, colliding somewhere in between with strangled gasps. Your tongues met in an electrizing touch, igniting the fire in your veins and making you fall against him with a whimper. Bruce swallowed the sound, his fingers buried into your hair as his tongue traced the sharper edges of your canines. As if he did not have the inside of your mouth memorized by now.

You could only step into the dance, letting him set the pace. His warmth overwhelmed your body as you kissed his lips with the hunger and thirst of a dying woman. Because that was the next best thing you could think of to show him you meant it. Because the pressure of his mouth against yours and the taste of his tongue sometimes were the only things that felt real. Real enough to make you believe hope could persist. That it had a place within your reality. With each kiss, each confession, and each day that passed with Bruce, hope slowly replaced the longing that used to fill your heart. You could only trust that one day it would be eradicated.

Your kiss stretched until it was nearly impossible to breathe. Then, and only then, you nipped at Bruce’s lower lip and softened the bite with the swipe of your tongue before parting. His eyes looked beautiful when nearly swallowed by the gaping black of his blown-out pupils. And it was all your doing. You always took pleasure in the seconds just after the kiss, the few ticks of the clock when Bruce had to forcibly shake himself awake from the spell you had put him under. You could see it in the slight shake of his head, clearing the daze in his eyes and the deep breath he took before even trying to speak.

You rested your forehead against his, the pounding heart slowing down. Until everything that was left was a pleasant hum of the passion coursing in your veins. There was no need to act on it, so you let yourself exist and bask in the warmth of Bruce’s body against yours. When he finally spoke, you were almost composed:

“See? Terrifying” happiness shone in his blue eyes as Bruce raised his hand to let his fingers trace the edges of your features.

It was impossible not to lean into his touch, greedily taking every ounce of tenderness Bruce would offer. He always took that additional second to brush the pad of his thumb over your lower lip, soothing the kiss-bruised skin. You could hardly stop the satisfied purr that rose in your throat.

Instead, you tried to focus on the sentiment. On how much it must have meant for Bruce to admit. Without needing to think about it too hard, you knew you understood the feeling. That the myriad of emotions swirling in your chest could be summarized with one response. One that Bruce would see through easily. One that would show him that you have this in common, too.

You leaned in to place a kiss on his cheek and whispered the reply:

“Quite right, too,” the unspoken meaning shone through the gaps between the vowels, highlighted by the slight waver of your voice.

When Bruce tipped your chin and met your gaze, you knew you made the right choice. Another ounce of hope replaced the longing. Another heavy sigh became unanchored and took flight within the safety of his eyes.

As the snow covered the city outside, you became aware of two things. 1) It was good to be seen if the gaze that pierced through your soul was kind. 2) Bruce Wayne could be many things, but above all that, he was yours. And that was enough.

[enaelyork]

This is all we are, a product of war I [Part I]

[PreWar Cooper Howard x F! War photographer reader]

Prompt

After her dramatic photo which won the World Photography Award, Y/N is propelled to the rank of essential war photographer. What could be more normal, then, than that the New York Times sent her to the Alaskan front to cover a decisive turning point in the war? If she is ready to face the hostility of the battlefield, she is much less prepared to fight Cooper Howard and his hostility, as well as everything that this meet will provoke.

Discl: Fallout fanfic in 2 volume : During the Sion War (I) and one year before the Great war(II). Eight years between the volume I & II.

Tw & others: 18+ / Angst / Violence / Slow burn / Before and after Barbs ('cause i like her) / Fluff / English not my native speak

Words : 1.9 k

Chapters navigation : 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6

Tag list : @ghcstvibess , @thebumbqueen

You can ask for tag in comment ;)

She is dead.

I made her immortal.

Her face hanging above mine, the thin smile playing on her lips as her eyes close for good. An angel. That's what I thought as I held up the lens under her blank gaze. An angel who flew through the bullets and the screams. Her body collapsed on top of mine just after catching that last glimmer inside her.

Then nothing. Silence, nothingness.

Me, alive. She, dead.

Maybe because I made the wrong choice at the wrong time.

I don't think about it, I don't think about it anymore. At least, I try. The world looks at me as the one who symbolized in a single photo the horror of war. Others - most - believe that I took death as an opportunity to rise above the world.

But they don't know anything. They will never know.

-So, are you the photographer?

I raise my head towards my colleague. Inside a military truck that agreed to take us with them, there is a mortuary silence, almost as cold as the environment in which we have been operating for weeks. I guess from his accent that he is not American and that he crossed the Atlantic to follow the last decisive round of the conflict. As we all.

-You and I are the same.

-I can't believe you're here, next to me.

- I'm James Ford, The Telegraph. Your photo has gone around the world, my dear. Are you here to repeat your success?

He offers me a hand that I don't want to take, out of politeness I return his greeting before avoiding his gaze. Around us, the soldiers give us glances, sometimes bad, sometimes intrigued, often revolted.

There is nothing worse for them than hearing us talk about our business. Because that's the real problem.

War is our livelihood.

Each of us feeds off their misfortunes and perhaps most of them despise us for that very reason.

-It seems that things are completely in shambles on this part of the front, that your country is on the verge of losing the war, do you know more? I shake my head.

Of course I know more than I want to tell him. But our job is not to pass information on to a rival. It's about doing something with what you have, producing a report that holds up without needing anyone's help.

He thinks he is going to the decisive stage of the conflict, but I know that I am going to the place of our perdition.

The Bible was wrong. Hell is not just made of flames and demons. It is sometimes wet, windy and freezing. Full of humans ready to kill each other for a cause whose source they have forgotten.

-We stop here, terminus.

The marines barely glance at us when we get out of the truck, entering the polar atmosphere of the camp for good. It only takes a few seconds for a discerning eye to understand that nothing is at stake here, except the little pride these soldiers have left. Wrapped up in my anorak emblazoned with the word press, I take the risk of taking off my gloves to capture a few photos of these men consumed by despair.

Then I saw him.

He was getting out of a truck coming from the combat zones, carrying at point blank range one of his comrades who was visibly in poor condition. The desolation with which he tried to keep him alive gripped me to the core of my being, because that is exactly what I felt that day.

So, after taking a few steps, without greeting my colleague who was already moving away to the other side of the camp, I caught my reflex.

And I took a photo of him. Several times.

First I took an overview. Him and his makeshift companion, on the ground. Him, his hand outstretched towards a group of soldiers running with a stretcher. Him again, a zoom on his features carved in rock, his helmet held firmly on his head by a strap which dug into his skin. Him. His eyes of a color that the zoom could not define perfectly. A strange mixture of caramel and hazelnut. A warmth emanating from his gaze contrasting violently with the ambient cold.

Jostled by a soldier, I interrupt my session considering the chaos reigning around me. My journalistic gear immunizes me against the violence and animosity of the fighters; better still, they must guarantee my safety while some dream of killing me. It is therefore like a ghost that I advance towards the tent into which the soldiers have entered, haunting a place where everyone is unaware of my presence.

-I'm sorry, there was nothing we could do.

The soldier's shoulders slump when a doctor walks towards him, not even bothering to take off his gloves to give him a futile hug. Everyone here knows that one gesture won't replace any deaths, but they're trying hard to keep things warm.

One more photo.

That's what I'm for. Not just to show the horror, but to make people feel all the emotions that result from it. The sadness freezes on the memory card forever while the event floats away in a flood of torment that only peace can dry up.

It was at this precise moment that he became aware of my presence.

He gave me that look in the face like a slap.

A look that had, for a brief moment, bypassed all the barriers I had erected around me to feel nothing other than indifference. I was screwed, but I didn't know it yet.

-Are you okay, did ya get your pic?

Much more fascinating with your mouth closed.

- Would you have started again if that wasn't the case?

I realize I'm going too far. Sometimes I forget that my defenses are not those of others and that it still happens here that someone has feelings.

-Sorry, I shouldn't have. I am…

-No need to make introductions. I know exactly who you are.

Amazing. He knows who I am AND he hates me.

-Nice to meet you, Captain Howard. You and your obvious sympathy.

He didn't want to argue, that was understandable, but something pushed me to follow him when he turned his back on me to go to another compartment of the tent. He knew my name and hadn't even introduced himself, reason enough to convince me that I had scented the right target.

Like a snake, I had slipped into a corner of the room, ignoring the looks that instinctively turned towards me before returning to their main point of interest: a large makeshift table where a map of the region was placed. I have no military training, but what I saw there was not a shadow of a doubt.

We were going to lose.

It was there, between the pawns strictly aligned to the north of our position. The reds were going to get us and it was only a matter of time. It was for this reason that I was here, to see my country fall to its knees in front of it stronger than it for the first time in its history.

-We have to hold on until the new armor prototypes arrive. said a visibly exhausted general. So they have to be there within a week, maximum.

Howard remained profoundly silent, his gaze fixed on the table. Strange attitude for someone I thought was rather angry and nervous. He clung to this map as if persisting would allow him to detect the flaw, where no hope remains.

-I suggest we try for a breakthrough here. Continued a visibly confident captain.

This suggestion drew immediate ire from the main protagonist of my report.

-A breakthrough ? he replied, acidly.

-If we manage to progress this far, it will take us little time to act after delivery of the prototypes. We will take the reds by surprise and turn the tide.

-We still need to have the necessary soldiers for this. I lost half of my men in the last attempt.

The observation plunged the room into silence. It was just a polite way of telling him that a man here was just gunpowder. He understood it perfectly because I saw his eyes clouded with bitterness. His helmet removed, I discovered a man of war-worn beauty.

-We can provide you with men, Howard. Captain Brendol puts forward an idea that should not be overlooked.

It had darkened, again, I could see the depth of his distress from where I stood and it was sucking me in, literally.

-Cooper. I can hear that the situation is confusing you, but you're going to have to go back.

-So are we there? Bet on a hypothetical prototype whose real delivery date is unknown ?

-It's an order, Captain Howard. Gather what's left of your corp and we'll provide you with what you're missing. You leave tomorrow.

The discussion was over. The general packs up his things and Captain Brendol gives Howard a triumphant smile. He's the kind of man who likes to show off by proposing suicidal ideas, but not courageous enough to carry them through to the end. There was now only me left in the room.

And him, too, him and his hazel eyes that pinned me to the wall.

-You want to come with us, right? He had swept everything away. His resentment, his fears too, all of that had waltzed away the very moment the order was pronounced. Yet he didn't follow the others, content to stand there and consider me a negligible garbage.

-That's the idea, indeed.

-And it's bad. I'm not going to explain to you wha' you might see there, your mouth will water.

-Too late for that. You already make me dream.

His hand lands on the table next to us and his eyes focus on me like two knives trying to tear me apart. I jumped in spite of myself at the violence of his gesture and his intact will despite the fatigue that stretched his features. He still believes in it, I thought, and if I wasn't so captivated by his will, I would have taken a photo of him

-I think there are things the world shouldn't see.

-And I think just the opposite. I don't think they'll miss a thing.

I stayed there, clinging to my reflex with the firm intention of not giving up any piece of land to this man. It made me wonder which of us was more accustomed to war and who was going to win the one we had just declared. I probably exaggerated my initial intention a little to provoke him a bit more, which was not the idea of ​​the century when you had to find a place among soldiers at the end of their nerves.

But I feared nothing: he could not forbid me from following them. And he knew that just as much as I did.

-Do what you want. But I don't babysit. Me and my men will have other fish to fry to save your skin. But scavengers like you, people who take photos of those who die to win trophies, know that, don't they?

It was in this way, by literally sticking a knife in my heart, that he permanently sealed our lives. Because I will never forget Cooper Howard again, and not just for the meanness he showed towards me from the moment he laid eyes on me.